virginia Archives | Girlie Motorcycle & Road Trip Blog

Photo: Coca-Cola Ghost Sign – Richmond, Virginia

By Fuzzygalore | August 24, 2020 | Comments 2 comments

While traveling through the city of Richmond, Virginia I saw this beautiful multi-layered Coca-Cola ghost sign.

Coca-Cola ghost sign on E. Main Street in Richmond, Virginia

The city of Richmond, Virginia is one of America’s oldest cities. It is the home to an incredibly large variety of modern street art. There are dozens of beautiful murals peppered around the city, thanks to the Richmond Mural Project.

And as an old city that has been densely populated and rich in industrial history, it is also ripe with advertising ghost signs of yesteryear. You will find them graces the facades of, in some cases, centuries-old buildings.

You could spend ages exploring and documenting what the city of Richmond has to offer.

Alas, in the early autumn of 2018, I was just riding through town on my way south. I didn’t have very much time to spend looking around. But, I did manage to snap a few photos like this one – a lovely Coca-Cola ghost sign paired with a modern portrait mural. Good old serendipity struck again. Lucky me.

There is something particularly sweet about stumbling across things that you love versus seeking them out. It’s like uncovering a treasure.

Coca-Cola Advertisements

Coca-Cola began using the slogan “Delicious and Refreshing” as part of their first advertisement in 1886. You can see that slogan featured here on this ghost.

Also visible are the phrases “Relieves Fatigue”,”5¢”, “Sold Everywhere” and “Drink Coca-Cola.”

The slogans in Coca-Cola ads can sometimes help to zero in on the age of the piece. For example, the word “Drink” being placed above the logo came into use in the mid-1920’s. In addition the Spencerian script of the logo can also be a clue to assessing age.

Visit this Coca-Cola Ghost Sign

Coca-Cola Ghost Ad Location:
2100 E Main St, Richmond, VA 23223
(on the side of Whisk Bakery)
Google Maps

Nothing Lasts Forever – The Future Is Now

By Fuzzygalore | August 24, 2020 | Comments 3 comments

D*Face mural in richmond virginia - nothing lasts forever

Recently I’ve been resurrecting some old posts and sharing them on social media. The nature of chronological blog posting means things just get buried over time. Sometimes old posts need a bit of a… tickle.

One of the posts that I shared last weekend was about the old Underwood and Petty service station that I’d seen in Strawberry Plains, Tennessee in 2018. My friend Andy left a comment on Facebook about making more of an effort to stop and take photographs or to document such things in his future travels.

Well? The future is now.

And now. And now. And.. you get the point. We’re always one second away from the future. So, why wait?

Motorcycling has proven to be a satisfying and socially distant activity for me over the last 20+ years. Getting out on your own to snap a few interesting photos seems like an okay idea to me! Don’t you think?

nothing lasts forever mural D*FACE richmond virginia

So with that, are you looking for something to do? Looking for something to post about? Why not go snap a photograph or two of some of those places in your local area that are hanging on by a thread? You know – those places that are in danger of becoming a “do you remember when so-and-so used to be on the corner there?”

Take the picture. Capture the memory. Share it.

You might be the reason someone remembers or tells a story, or recollects fondly. You may even become the spark that sends someone out to explore and see something with their own eyes.

Or, maybe you’ll just get out and enjoy a ride on your motorcycle.

If you find something to share, leave a comment and let me know!

Ghost Sign: Pepsi-Cola – Richmond, Virginia

By Fuzzygalore | June 6, 2019 | Comments 2 comments

In the fall of October 2018, I rode through the city of Richmond, Virginia on a Sunday morning. City riding isn’t so great, generally. But being on a motorcycle gives you the opportunity to pull over, squeeze into tight spots for a few minutes and to park and snap pictures in a way that you couldn’t possibly do in a car. Being on a low, slim bike like the Bonneville makes that even easier.

I was in town spotting ghosts. An old city like Richmond, has plenty.

This Pepsi-Cola ad is just hanging on for dear life. Topped off with “Watkins Barber Shop” the bottle cap is but a whisper. A quick search around the web and you can find images of this wall that were much more vibrant. Hang in there, lovely. We still see you.

Without any knowledge of the company’s history, I have no idea if they ever engaged in widespread campaigns like Coca-Cola. In my travels, I haven’t had the opportunity to see many Pepsi ghost signs. Off the top of my head, I can only think of one other. It was in Galena, Kansas:

fuzzygalore galena ansas pepsi ghost sign

Now that my antenna is up, maybe I’ll start seeing them.

[edit] How could I possibly forget the gorgeous Pepsi ad on the old post office in Burke’s Garden?

Not Much Doin’ in Esmont, Virginia

By Fuzzygalore | January 25, 2019 | Comments 4 comments

Have you ever heard of Esmont, Virginia? I hadn’t until I found myself passing through on the way towards the tiny Rockfish post office.

How had I even heard of that? Really, what’s a suburbanite from Long Island with no connection to Virginia and whose only recollection of The Waltons was, “Goodnight, Johnboy” doin’ knowin’ about such things? …the Rockfish post office. I mean, c’mon. Surely this space in my brain was meant for something greater like quantum physics, time travel or how to will my legs to stop growing hair. That’d be useful! But, no. I’m cerebrally filing away rickety old post offices.

Oh well.

Were it not for the backroad whims I follow, I’d miss out on a lot of quiet moments in out of the way places. I s’pose that’s part of the beauty of not planning the fun out of everything. You find yourself meandering through places you wouldn’t generally have cause to be in otherwise.

I know I’d miss out on the wonderin’ about the life lived in those tucked away corners of the world if I didn’t slow my roll through places like Esmont.

Who was Miller? Where’d they go? I’ll just have to keep wondering.

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