Roadside Americana

Well, well, well. Would you look at this dapper gent with his new paint job! The last time I stopped in for a visit The Big Man was suffering from a heinous case of the peels. This picture was snapped in 2012. He'd even lost his hat. Poor fella. Seeing ...

Mainer C. Lobster sits outside of Taste of Maine restaurant in Woolwich, Maine on Route 1. Isn't he glorious? Having a lobster this excited about well, everything would probably bring a lot of sunshine to your life. I'm a little bummed to discover that I could've gone inside and bought ...

While in Boothbay Harbor, Maine last week, I was drawn to a lovely olde tyme gas pump standing outside Gimbel & Son's Country Store. I'm not much of a shopper. If I venture in at all, I usually breeze in and out of store fairly quickly. With vacation-centric places it usually ...

Troy, New York was once a bustling place that depended largely on the steel industry. When that moved away, the city began to decline. Such places are great for spotting ghost ads. I passed through town over the weekend and saw a few. I'd pulled over to take a photo of this ...

Big Bertha of Boothbay Harbor, Maine wasn't even a whisper of a thought in my mind before meeting her. No, on a gorgeous summer day, we were enjoying our time in the quaint harbor town when she came into our lives unannounced. Oh, what a lovely little house. So New ...

While riding along Route 6 in Pennsylvania, I passed through the town of Port Allegany. On the corner of Mill and Main, in the middle of town sat a small but eye-catching park featuring colorful glass block structures. I couldn't resist stopping for a look. The park is called Serenity ...

I finally broke down and replaced my manky street helmet. After riding in the outer bands of a hurricane during the Void Rally last October, it never smelled quite right again. As a matter of fact, the clearcoat was destroyed and the graphics peeled away. I've never seen that before. The poor ...

In the beginning of June, we spent a long weekend based out of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. My hubs Kenny was doing the Durty Dabbers Dual Sport. I wasn't into it so I opted out this year. Instead, I spent my time bumming around and taking in scenes of America. These ...

This morning I was trying to recall when and where I was first exposed to a Mail Pouch Tobacco barn or ad. I've come up with nothing concrete. My first blog post related to Mail Pouch was from 2009. I'd stopped to take a picture of a barn while we were ...

While I was standing in front of the charming Rebersburg, Pennsylvania post office taking photos, the clip-clop sounds of an Amish buggy crept up behind me. As the buggy rolled by, a little girl of maybe 7 or 8 hung halfway out of the back window. She wore a bonnet ...

Chef Boyardee Statue - Milton, Pennsylvania Every American kid who grew up in the 70's and 80's probably had more than their fair share of curious meatlumps and squishy sketties from a can courtesy of this dude. The man with the can - Chef Boyardee. As an adult, the idea ...

I've passed through Renovo a few times over the last couple years. Each time I've stopped to snap a photo of the Mail Pouch Tobacco ad on the corner of Huron and 11th. The fade progression is clear in the pictures. Considering the weather and the blazing sun that batters ...

While riding around central Pennyslvania last weekend, I saw quite a few painted murals. They're one of my favorite things to spot when passing through smaller towns. The town of Jersey Shore had a lovely Veterans Park. It was beautifully manicured and featured a prominent mural. After nearly being hit ...

With the heat supposed to come on like gangbusters, on Saturday morning I zipped out from Lock Haven before the rest of the world was stirring. There was still a coolness hanging on the air following a quick rainstorm that passed through the valley. As I motored along PA 44, ...

When I was a kid, each summer my family would load up my mom's green Chevy Vega or my dad's Tradesman 100 van and take a camping trip to Speculator, New York. Those trips usually involved a stop at the Red Apple Rest. Going out to eat was a treat ...

There's no good reason at all that I'm posting this photo of the Bonnie next to the track-clearing plow train. I just like it. JAWS III sits beside the Long Island Railroad Museum in Greenport, NY. Whenever I stick close to home I seem to find myself out there on ...

While in West Virginia, my friend Joe and I were just bumming around and looking at stuff. We stopped in the town of Welch. I'd read the name in the book The Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam. He grew up just 'round the way in Coalwood. Welch is the McDowell ...

Coalwood is a small town located in McDowell County, West Virginia. As the name implies, coal mining was the main industry for much of its history. It was also the birthplace of Homer Hickam, Jr., the former NASA engineer who wrote the memoir "Rocket Boys," which was later adapted into ...

Last week, my daughter Chloe and I were sitting in the backyard melting away the day's have-to-dos in the sunshine. Seemingly out of nowhere she said, "I wish I could just get in the car and drive and drive and drive." I gently reminded her that she's old enough to ...

When I'm cruising around, little post offices or post offices in interestingly-named towns catch my eye. Don't tell anyone this but, when I was a kid... I collected stamps. I was fascinated by them - their age, their history, the images within. They themselves were like little postcards. Looking stamps up ...

While my good riding buddy Joe and I were cruising around the greater Welch, WV area - as we pulled in to town I spotted the unmistakable sight of a Merci boxcar and quickly pulled in to the little park. I recently learned about the Merci boxcars from the Team ...

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My route back home to Long Island from Catoosa, Oklahoma in October of 2016 bumbled along Route 66. At the time I remember feeling like I was moving too fast, that I wasn't taking enough time to linger. I don't know why that happens but it does. You long for ...

"Babe! You're never going to believe where I'm standing right now!" "Where?" "In front of the world's largest rocking chair!" "Why am I not surprised?" "Actually, I ended up here completely by accident." "Of course you did." My husband Kenny's sarcasm came through loud and clear, even in text. It's ...

Thanks for sending in your question, KHick (that's like J-Lo). I thought it would be best to add the links I use most often to a post so that you can take a look. I read tons of blogs each day. I've got over 300 assorted feeds in my feed ...