Roadside Americana

Everything doesn't always come up sunshine and roses when you're road tripping and looking for something you read about or might've heard of in passing. Sometimes a pin on my map for a Mail Pouch barn will turn up a pile of collapsed wood where a barn used to be. Or ...
Read More

In December of 2016, I was in California taking a week-long riding trip. I flew to LA, rented a bike and wandered about. While heading towards Borrego Spring on Montezuma-Borrego Highway, I passed a Yeti in Ranchita. Often people will ask me how I find such things. In this case, it was ...
Read More

While my love for Mail Pouch Tobacco barns and murals is well documented, I do find other olde tyme advertising campaigns appealing, too. Even though I find smoking and tobacco use totally gross, the nostalgic feelings that are stirred within me when I look at Mail Pouch ads is deep ...
Read More

One of the stars on my Google Map that was close to where I stayed one night in Tennessee, was the old Underwood & Petty service station in Strawberry Plains. I'm not sure where I first saw a picture of the old station. It may have been something in my ...
Read More

When I rolled into Culpeper, Virginia I was charmed by the small town America vibe. At the heart of things is a lovely main street lined with well-manicured restaurants and shops. What pulled me to Culpeper was my worst addiction, the drug I crave most: Love. But before I could ...
Read More

Thursday was the reckoning. I'd enjoyed mostly dry weather the whole week prior so it was time for me to pay the toll. The rain dogged me all day long varying from mist, drizzle, frog-choker, to partly cloudy but menacing. It made for a long cold day and I wound ...
Read More

This Harley-Davidson mural in York, Pa. has been starred on my Google Map for some time now. It was painted in 1996 by Michael Svob. York has many murals scattered around the city that are worth a look. Address: 258 West Market St. York, Pa ...
Read More

Do you think the people who live in this neighborhood are tormented by the irresistable urge to wave back to this muffler man? I mean, look at him. What a friendly guy. "Mornin', Bob. Have a great day at work." "Hi, Mable. Hair looks great today." "Hey, Jimmy. Goodtaseeya, buddy." ...
Read More

This spring after spending the night in a caboose, I decided to take the long way home and to stop and see a few stars on my Google Maps app. One of the things I was most looking forward to is this Cerasota Flour mural. Sadly, my car looks way ...
Read More

Hands down, the most incredible mural I saw while visiting Lynn, Massachusetts, and perhaps that I've ever seen is this collab between JPO and Miss Zukie. “Zukies are a fluffy and chubby character that don’t talk,” the Peru native said. “They communicate with facial expressions and thought bubbles.” -itemlive.com They ...
Read More

The town of Lynn, Massachusetts has been incredible-ized by a program called Beyond Walls, which features neighborhood beautification with vintage neon, sculpture and gorgeous murals. We activate spaces that foster more livable, economically viable, and equitable communities while retaining the voice and integrity of area residents. On Saturday I zipped up ...
Read More

Though I don't drink soda or smoke, I do have an affinity for tobacco and soda wall advertising. Whenever I see a Coca-Cola ghost ad, it feels like a win for the day. Previously I posted a few ghost ads that I saw in Middletown, New York. One that I left out ...
Read More

Last weekend we had an itty-bitty taste of spring. Temperatures crept into the 60's and so I decided to hop on the Bonnie and visit a few of the pins on my Google Maps app. If I don't look at the Streetview of a pinned item, sometimes I'm not sure what ...
Read More

Sleeping in a caboose is one of the items that has been on my life's To Do list for many years. How it ended up there, at this point I can't say. It's not like I'm not a railroad fanatic or anything. No doubt I stumbled across the existence of ...
Read More

In September while heading east on the Lincoln Highway in the Chambersburg area, I stopped to snap photos of two gas pumps that were part of the Pump Parade. The first was at Shatzer Fruit Market in Chambersburg. It features a Chambersburg peach motif. A little way down the road was ...
Read More

Stopping and snapping photos of post offices while traveling has become something of a habit. A post office seems to give clues about what a place is like. These snaps are some of the post offices I stopped at in 2017. Rhodell, WV 25915 Helvetia, WV 26224 Vesuvius, VA 24483 North Matewan, ...
Read More

A Whimsical Wonderland In January of 2017, I was riding my motorcycle on a solo trip through California. I followed a leg of Route 66 back towards Los Angeles. That's where I learned about Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch. January 2, 2017, was a gray morning, I cruised along Route 66 ...
Read More

A Road Food Oasis Like No Other While cruising along the Ohio River on my way to Point Pleasant, West Virginia, I made a pit stop at the glorious Hillbilly Hotdogs. If you're ever in the area, it is not to be missed. Previously, I posted about a postcard from my ...
Read More

After leaving the town of Buckhannon, West Virginia then stopping at the tiny Randy Brown Memorial Chapel - I wound my way across the mountains down 219, across 250 and into the town of Monterey, Virginia. I've ridden this section of Route 250 quite a few times and it never disappoints. After ...
Read More

My love for the ghost ads of yesteryear is strong. While out and about in 2017, I saw some excellent examples: Mail Pouch Tobacco - Point Pleasant, West Virginia Mail Pouch Tobacco - Point Pleasant, West Virginia Mail Pouch Tobacco - Layton, New Jersey Mail Pouch Tobacco - Grafton, West ...
Read More

I don't have a unique method for finding oddball stuff. There is no special radar or a giant U-shaped magnet that draws me to it. But I do sit in front of a computer all day and I do mentally (and electronically) catalog things that interest me. Map pins aside, ...
Read More

While I was on my way to see the Snoopy barn in Nazareth, Pa. I happened to pass by this house with a great menagerie of critters in the front yard. If I had just one of these animals, I'd be happy. But to have them all? Man. Sadly I ...
Read More

Following the very wiggly VA 623, will drop you into the upland valley of Burke's Garden, Virginia. When there, something about it feels like you're in a place cut off from the rest of the world. The local whitepages: My travels brought me to Burke's Garden because of a photo I'd ...
Read More

Maybe I should just go ahead and have all my mail forwarded here 😉 I think that the first time I ever saw the name Odd, West Virginia was in a photo from David over at Less Beaten Paths blog. He always features great Americana from his travels on his ...
Read More

Snoopy as the World War I Flying Ace After seeing a photo of it somewhere in passing, a quick turn around the ole Google-machine said that the Snoopy barn was just a hop, skip and a jump across the Pennsylvania border. Seeing it in person was impossible to resist. Isn't ...
Read More