What a difference a day makes – cloudless & sunny all day today. And chilly enough to keep me energized for the shooting sprint from central TN to western KY. Tomorrow will be the last full day of shooting. I’ll work my way eastward through KY until I run out of sun. Then, I will probably get a jump-start on the interstate push towards home. If I blog tomorrow night, it’ll be a quickie. Then I’ll give you a double-dose of photos from home on Monday.
This sign in Goodlettsville, TN would not have looked nearly as wonderful if I’d shot it yesterday:
I’m pretty sure this sign is an oldie. It’s in Cross Plains, TN at the Thomas Drug Store in which has been there since the 1920s:
This liquor store is in Bowling Green:
Another great sign from Bowling Green:
This appears to be a former Gulf gas station in Glasgow, KY. I have no idea why they put that weird roof on top & back. Is that an attempt to mansard-ize it, make it less ugly & gas station looking? Or could it have some attic-like purpose or cover hideous air conditioning units or something?
Uh oh. I have some bad news for those of you that are familiar with the Star Motel in Cave City, KY. Those of you that don’t know it, here’s what the sign has looked like since forever:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadtripmemories/519085656/
I spoke with the owner and he said that the sign was falling apart. The faces will be replaced with backlit plastic. He saved some of the neon stars and might replace them. But it’s not sounding likely to me. This is heartbreaking.
On a cheerier note, how about this guy from Cave City. He shares the parking lot with an ancient mini golf and a sports bar:
This building in Cave City is from 1970 and was originally known as Big Mike’s Treasure Chest. It was decorated as a Treasure Chest (a photo of it in the book “Well Built Elephant”, p. 86). When the shop closed, the building was donated to the city. They moved it and now use it as a welcome center. A shame that it no longer has the fun details though:
A nice Art Deco building from Horse Cave, KY:
My westward route towards the end of the day took us over a very pretty stretch with lakes (including “Land Between the Lakes”). Had to stop for the dogs of course. Nearby, I stopped to shoot the neon sign at Belew’s Dairy Bar in Aurora. As I was doing so, the owner called me over for a free milkshake. They hadn’t opened for the season yet but he was there testing out the equipment. The shake was super thick and filling — that was dinner. The dogs loved it, too:
The last city for the day was Paducah where I ran out of sun and will have to resume tomorrow. I got a couple of shots for you of some odd sculptures from a neighborhood with galleries. I can’t quite figure this one out. Is that Obama (the ears) or just a freaky Santa?
And a pair of grazing giraffes:
RoadArch.com companion 