The new place is a fraction of the size of the previous.  But with some perks including an el-e-va-tor for the first time in my life.  And, most importantly, it’s right across the street from The Park (Prospect Park) where I spend every morning with the dogs.  A mandatory ritual with my high energy dogs for the past 15 years or so.  Before 9am, dogs are allowed off leash in a good chunk of the nearly 600 acres.  More about all that here if you’re interested:
http://www.fidobrooklyn.org/

So, here’s my block — the glassy, brand new Richard Meier building with million dollar condos:
http://www.onprospectpark.com/
If you ask me, pretty dull, for such a cutting edge architect.  I’m on the corner on the right in the little tan building:

Although my building has sort of a streamline look, all the records I’ve found say 1961.  The entrance door pulls certainly fit the era:

My block abuts the quite grand, Grand Army Plaza with one of Brooklyn’s most famous landmarks — the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch from the 1890s:
http://www.brooklynlibrary.org/civilwar/cwdoc101.html

Just north of the arch is the nifty Bailey Fountain (not on this time of year).  The standing figures look towards Manhattan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bailey_Fountain

And just off the circle is our park entrance — with a much smaller arch — the Endale Arch.  Just through it marks the point where the leashes come off each morning.  This morning though — flooded and downed trees & branches:
http://www.museumplanet.com/tour.php/nyc/pp/36

Just across the street from my building, the stunning Art Deco library:

Some not-famous architectural details from my block:

While Park Slope is famous for its brownstones and limestones, there’s plenty of that here in “the Heights” as well.  Functioning gas lights as well (see foreground):

Signs?   Not so many here — or much elsewhere in NYC for that matter.  Sure, Manhattan has some neon — but sadly not nearly the quality or quantity of even a medium-sized city anywhere in America.  Here’s a super cute plastic sign a few blocks from me at King Laundry:

And some other fun signs at my local hardware store.  Which smells like a real hardware should, with super friendly staff, and loose nails for sale by the pound.  They opened in 1964:

The neon skeleton (window) signs might be from the 1960s — or they might be much more recent — but still, all the hardware classics are here:

The hammer works in 3-part animation:

Exploring the main shopping street in the slush last weekend, I encountered this little thing parked on a newspaper machine:

Three Mexican restaurants, a big beer store, a friendly auto mechanic — I’m set!  And I discovered what I believe are the world’s best bagels.  And god knows, I’ve had thousands!  From the “Olde Brooklyn Bagel Shop”, this is a multi-grain with vegetable cream cheese:

The dogs are adjusting well.  Although the view sucks compared to the one we had, there’s no street noise and still loads of sun for basking:

OK — one more gratuitous doggie photo — Nik thinking he’s oh so invisible:

Hope you enjoyed the quickie tour.  I’m back at work on the website, adding the rest of the Oklahoma photos.  Hoping to finish them by Thanksgiving and then start on the Upper Midwest photos.  No roadtrips on the calendar til the next biggie in Spring.  But I’m sure there will be some little getaway before that and I’ll be blogging to you then.

The pretty contrast of snow and fall foliage made the 10 hour drive almost worth it (8 hours on the Thruway and 2 hours of NYC rush hour traffic).  The dogs got some good running in the brisk Adirondack air (38 degrees) — not at all what we’re used to yet.

The mysterious “mission”?  It’s a long story.  To shorten, let’s just say that I’ve had a Muffler Man head in my possession for about 10 years.   When I read that the new owners were looking for The Head, I vowed to myself to return it the next time I was up that way (Lake Vanare).  I never did make it up there this year — but today was the day due to my residential downsizing (I moved last week, not far).  The Body has been repainted but the poor guy is still missing an arm and part of a foot.  Hopefully, with the Head, the owners will be further motivated to restore the statue.  The Body is wired and roped to a tree.  Here’s how it looked in 2010:

And today:

A side view which shows his missing arm and new paint job better:

Nobody was around when I arrived at the campgrounds.  So, I put The Head in a safe but obvious place.  Hopefully, the owners will be thrilled to find it.  It’s in excellent shape — exactly as it was when it was found lying by the side of the road.  He’s been a good companion but now he’s back in the forest where he belongs:

It was hard to get a good shot of it– so here’s the same head of one of his relatives over in Lake George from today:

If you’re unfamiliar with these statues, I’ve got lots of photos of them over at my site in the Giants section:
http://www.agilitynut.com/giants/main.html

And RoadsideAmerica has lots of info about them:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/muffler/

OK so let’s move on to some other subjects.  Although I’ve been to Lake George and thereabouts many times (my dog agility competition days), there were still some nice surprises.  Like this former train station:

And this Rexall drug store with orange vitrolite.  I can’t remember ever seeing this glass in orange before.  The Rexall letters appear to be a decal-type application:

I was devastated to see the Surfside on the Lake sign like this:

Just last year, it was looking spiffy:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/5006954726/
The motel’s website is still up:
http://www.surfsideonthelake.com/

and I didn’t see any “Available” or “For Sale” signs.  So maybe they are “fixing” the sign (repairing or, ugh, altering).

The Surfside is one of very few old motels left.  Thankfully, OOO’Sullivan’s looks like it’s still going strong.  I posted a photo of it here at this blog last year — but since today was much better weather, I’ll include it again:

Here are a couple less-photographed motel signs in Lake George:

I’m betting the Windsor Motel sign had ballies on top of the poles.  Lots of examples in the “Signs With Balls” group:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1091399@N21/pool/

Moving down to Saratoga Springs — the Valley Acres Garden Center.   Despite the rusty/crusty sign, the place looked to be thriving.  That top part of the sign looks like it’s been smacked a time or two by a big truck:

A closed streamline-y car dealership:

And lastly, the Saratoga Diner sign — which is apparently lit at night:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wendresma/4549924154/

I hope you enjoyed tagging along for this daytrip.  Not enough photos?  I posted a few others over at Flickr today:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

It was nice to take a break from my laptop.  I’ve been working every free moment on getting last spring’s photos up at my site — haven’t started on the summer photos yet:
http://www.agilitynut.com/whatsnew.html

I’ll try to get you some photos of my new neighborhood in the next day or two if the weather’s nice.

Trip recap:  This was the most stressful trip I’ve ever taken because of all the mechanical problems.  I blame it on inept mechanics — not Sparkle.   The dealership in Grand Forks finally got it right — no more glitches after that.  For the most part, great weather.  Although it seemed we’d never even get to MN after all the early troubles in the trip, I managed to get through about 80% of my stack.  So that leaves about a week’s worth of stuff undone in WI & MN that will have to wait til a MT & WY trip, probably summer 2013.

Trip stats

days on the road:  36

photos for the website:  approx. 5,100

miles driven:  14,060

total spent on speeding tickets:  $205 (total of two – Ironwood & Manistique, MI; one verbal warning in WI)

total spent on gas:  $3,315

total spent on repairs:
$673 for an A/C compressor (which should be reimbursed, all or part, since the part was less than a month old)
$0 (fuel pump replaced for $995 but then reimbursed when it the fuses continued blowing)
$437 (for three frayed wires and an evaporator vent valve = the resolution of “check engine” light and fuse problem)

Expenses not kept track of:  oil changes/maintenance, motels, food, etc.

Memories, good times, and photos:   more than worth every penny!   And the dogs give the trip an A+.

If you’d like to help with the costs of these trips, the website, all that… no amount is too small, my Paypal account is the same as my email:  agilitynut@hotmail.com

***************************

Now, on with the final photos from Friday.

The morning started in Marshall — so here’s a couple of shots from the big hotel which, sadly, has been boarded up for years:

A nice mid-century bank in town:

One more from Marshall:

This one from Ghent:

At Brad’s Market in Minneota:

On to South Dakota.  I went to Prairie Village in Madison to check out the steam-powered, super rare Herschell-Spillman carousel.  A madhouse there since they were having a big tractor show.  Which turned out to be pretty interesting.  One of the stars — sputtering and whirring:

I know nothing about tractors but can easily understand the obsession with them:

From Freeman:

On to Yankton — a new city for me and one of the biggest reasons for the extra miles traveling SW of Minnesota even on the last day of shooting:

From Beresford.  The apostrophe probably a mistake, but no matter:

On to Sioux Falls for some reshooting from previous grey trips — and a few things not noticed or shot before:

Although this Burger Time building has a 1960s/1970s look, evidently this chain was founded in Fargo, ND in 1987.  I don’t know if any of the other ND/SD locations have this rootop triangle thingie:

More from Sioux Falls.  It was in the 90s today — so ice cream sounded like a good idea.  The B&G Milkyway rooftop sign has a tilted cone like Dairy Queen and Tastee-Freez.  But I don’t think this place was built as either of those.

I went with the Peach Avalanche — which was vanilla soft-serve with some “real” peach chunks.  Sorry bout the crappy photo — wasn’t going to shoot it but changed my mind in traffic.

Back in Minnesota — from Worthington.  These customized rubber mats are very rare now I think:

And they have a nice embossed plastic sign as well:

Last one for the trip — and I think it’s a kicker.  From St. James.   Art deco borders, great colors, and best of all — the loaf on top:

So, with this trip over, I’ll get back to work on the website in a day or two.  I’m only about halfway through adding the TX & OK photos from the spring.  Hoping to catch up with these two trips’ photos this winter.  Then, it will be time to start planning the next five-weeker.  Spring 2012, the dogs and I will be headed back to western TX so I can finish what I didn’t get to this year.   Then moving on to NM and AZ.  I’ll probably sneak off for a couple quickie trips this fall or winter.

You might want to check in now and then with the “Upcoming Trips” page here at the blog or the “What’s New” page at the website if you don’t want to miss these posts.  Thanks for tagging along with us.  Your comments and praises are much appreciated and give me a real boost.  It keeps me doing posting when I really should be sleeping.  I hope my photos and chatter encourage you to shoot more, travel more, and find art and value in the rusty, crusty, funky places and things that are rapidly disappearing.

Til the next adventure,

Debra Jane
Gripper, Fixie, Sputnik & Gremlin
Sparkle & Dee

I followed the hurricane’s path all day today on the radio.  Earlier in the day, they were saying she would arrive in NYC around dinnertime.  But as the day wore on, the estimate ran later and later.  Now (9pm), they’re saying 7am.  It sounds like power loss is a possibility — not to mention blown out windows, floods, etc.  The mayor shut down the subway system at noon today and it won’t be resumed until Monday night.  Which means I have Monday off – yay!   When I heard that there might be tornadoes in NJ tonight, that was the clincher for me.  I’d rather not get me, a canine buddy, or hard-working Sparkle hit by a tree or power line.   I’ll just stay here in central PA and see what transpires overnight and tomorrow morning.  When it’s safe to return, I’ll get you that final batch of photos & the wrap-up post.

Let’s start with this building in St. Joseph.  Built in 1917 so it pre-dates Art Deco – but much in the same vein:

For you fiberglass fans out there — a giant fish in Rockville.  At Rockville Gas & Bait:

From Sauk Centre — stained glass and glass checkerboard:

Also Sauk Centre:

From the same building:

From Osakis — a cowboy at Osakis Meats & Deli.  I’ve seen a lot of cowboy statues in my time but this is a new one on me.  Similar to the bucking bronco type but obviously always a seated type.  I thought for a moment about doing a group shot of the dogs, me & this guy — but there was nobody around to take the photo.  More cowboy statues if you want ‘em here:
http://agilitynut.com/giants/cowboys.html

Off to Alexandria.  I drove the three blocks to see what other kind of sign the Viking Motel might have — bummer, plastic.

Still Alexandria.  Fans of my Flickr stream can identify this one in a heartbeat.  A futzed-with Sinclair gas station.  You know from the little roof tiles, the peak above the sign, the little Art Deco caps on the columns.  The canopy portion was filled in — as many of them have been.  A little Texas collection — still adding (interrupted by this trip) — for compare/contrast purposes:
http://www.agilitynut.com/gas/txsinclair.html

And, last one for the day (keeping it short so I can get a bit of extra zzzs for the highway hell to come) — from DeToy’s Family Restaurant in Madison:

That’s a broaster chicken — looks like this sign had neon.  Same top-hatted company chicken / advertising symbol as these statues:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/4867349843/

Way more than I want to know as a vegetarian — but maybe you’re interested in the company’s concept:
http://www.broaster.com/about.htm

So — no “real” post with photos tomorrow.  Probably just a quick texty “hi” this weekend to let you know I’m alive. I don’t know if Hurricane Irene will be waiting for us.  At the moment, they’re saying direct hit with NYC on Sunday.  But, most likely, I’ll post Friday’s photo batch on Monday or Tuesday.

Water, water everywhere — meaning every two or three hours we MUST pull over before I go deaf.   Hardly any mosquitos though.  Maybe it’s the zillions of dragonflies that are eating them?

Started the day in Brainerd – home to many giant things.  Including this laundromat reference.  Pole in the way on the sunny side of the sign, forcing me into this off-kilter angle:

More Brainerd — the Log Cabin Bar.  This must have been a kick-ass sign back in the day — with a simulated spinning wheel:

Just south of town, I encountered “World Guy” and his dog “Nice”.  He’s doing all this walking and pushing of the giant globe for diabetes awareness.  More about him and his cause here:
http://www.worldguy.org/

This one from Motley.  Tree in the way — had to shoot shady side.  Obviously, a repurposed sign.  And yes, the ice cream place, which is also just as much an antiques sort of place, is in a former silo:

From Staples:

Also in Staples — this nice glass work.  An eyewear shop in the storefront below now:

One more from Staples.  Even during the day, this neon target sign was lit and hypnotizing.  The rings are lit sequentially.

The Minnesoda Fountain in Park Rapids:

Also in Park Rapids.  This restaurant is still open but unfortunately, these clocks and animated figures are stationary now:

Back to Brainerd on my loop to get to Paul Bunyan Land when it would be open.  I had been hoping that the Paul and Babe that were at Bunyan Bowl (now closed) would be here.  Turns out those statues went to a log cabin homes place in NC:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drower/211042312/

But this place did get the Babe head that was inside the bowling alley.  It’s not really on display yet since they need to repair it.  This Babe blows steam from her nostrils.  Or is Babe a he?  I seem to recall seeing male body parts on these statues — too exhausted to check.

There are signs here and there at the Old Farm part of Paul Bunyan Land.  Not the neon variety but gas station and plastic signs.  I like this metal sign — Paul or at least a lumberjack:

From Ironton:

Also Ironton.  This nice miner sign hangs on the side of the American Legion Building:

This one from Crosby:

Over in Garrison:

And last one for the day — a goofy Paul & Babe — in front of the Mille Lacs Museum in Isle:

Just two more days to shoot.  I’ve decided to focus on the southwest corner of Michigan for the remainder of the trip.  If I forget to mention it, tomorrow night will be the last blog post until I get home.  Friday night, I’ll be driving and downing coffee trying to lay down some miles towards the 20 hour drive home that I need to get through this weekend.  The final blog post and Flickr photo batch will be on Monday or Tuesday.

It was all little towns today — most of them only for one or two photos.  But all worthwhile to me.  I think nothing of driving three or four hours for one building or sign.  So, twice as many photos for the blog today as Flickr.  Let’s get to it.

From Jamestown, ND (the giant buffalo quite impressive, the fake Conestoga wagon blocked a lot by tractor trailers).  This sign goes to show it doesn’t take much extra work or money to make a clever and memorable sign:

A few signs from Valley City, ND:

Regular followers of my blog know I’m nuts about opal glass signs.  This one’s pretty rusted-up.  I couldn’t tell if the “Shoe” and “Repairing” were made of some other translucenty material — but probably.  The shoe store still in business:

Lots to look at here:

The Art Deco fan details on this one have been repainted.  ”Auto Supply” probably had neon originally — or the entire sign might have been a re-work:

Moving on to Wahpeton, ND:

Make that three Art Deco era signs in a row here.  The sunny side of this one was even more paint-blasted — so I went with the shady side:

Still Wahpeton.  This one has bubble type plastic that I’ve never seen before:

A couple next-door neighbors.  The Good Luck must have been another restaurant originally.

This sign is on top of the liquor store’s canopy (the building is a former gas station).  Neat tail on the arrow:

Back in Minnesota — in Pelican Rapids.  An old creamery building had this nice pelican detail:

Over to Fergus Falls — one of my favorite vitrolite storefronts.  The letters are incised:

Another angle:

And, yes, I did.  This is a treehugger scone (dinner, very filling) and a peach crispie (like pie but smaller and easier to eat):

Also Fergus Falls.  The letters on this sign are made of glass.  Not a style I’ve seen before with the heavy outlining and pretty much flush with the sign panel:

Some stained glass above the Lundeen’s storefront:

Over in Vining — there’s a sculpture park with about a dozen of these sculptures by Ken Nyberg.  I’ll include just a couple of photos and this link for more:
http://thebigstuffproject.blogspot.com/2008/07/vining-sculpture-park.html

A couple of beer signs at Madsen’s Resort in Battle Lake.  I’ve seen a bunch of these plastic Grain Belt signs — but the paint is always super faded.  This one is mint:

The Hamm’s sign was really hard to shoot under a tree — but it’s faded but nice with the top of the beer glass in high relief.  This faded example in NV shows better what I mean:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/polyman/24809028/

From Wadena:

From Clarissa — simple and effective:

Hauer Brothers Electric in Little Falls:

Tomorrow, I’ll be in Paul Bunyan territory — so brace yourselves for lots of photos of him.  I’ve debated about whether to start skimming and get closer to home (Wisconsin) by Friday.  But I think I’ll just plod along following my list and see where I end up here in MN.  Three more days to shoot.

On the way out of Grand Forks, ND, I shot this one for you.  I think those disks cover earlier neon tubing holes — indicating that this sign must have been retexted at least once:

On to West Fargo — a roundie building housing a liquor store:

Lots of stuff from Fargo proper.  Nodak is an appliance, clothing, etc. store.  It’s also the nickname for North Dakota, of course:

Super cute, no?

This is a replica of the original sign — part of a building renovation around 2000.  While I applaud the effort — and it’s a nice big sign which cost quite a lot I’m sure — but I think that channel lettering (metal surround the letters) looks kinda cheesy:

I’m betting there was another name before “Metro”, matching the green color, font, and embossing of the “Drug” portion.  The arrow was probably bulbs or neon.  But I’m grateful that this is still here:

Back to Minnesota for some things.  This one’s in Dilworth:

Also in Dilworth.  I like how the sign is integrated into the building.  And the way those drainage pipes extend way, way out to the edge of the sidewalk:

Out of daylight but Dee came through for this one in Detroit Lakes:

One more from Detroit Lakes before hitting the highway back to ND.  A bar with some decorative glass block:

It was a very long journey back to ND.  I wanted to get to Jamestown to get set up to shoot the giant buffalo, a faux Conestoga wagon, etc.  Should have been a couple of hours from Detroit Lakes but torrential crazy rain with sideways lightening made it a real white knuckle journey.  Had to drive 25 and 30 mph most of the way because I could barely see in front of me and was worried about flash flooding.  But we made it.  Not much sleep but I’ll get by with coffee and knowing I only have four more days to shoot.  From Central MN back to Brooklyn, it’s a 21 hour drive — so there will be no messing around — must hit the interstate on Friday night.

Otherwise, all good — weather fantastic, cool with pretty non-interfering clouds.  No doggie problems.  As I waited for the tow truck (90 mins), I took them for a good walk.  I noticed I have new critters to watch for:  lots of prairie dog holes.  I had forgotten about them.  I could lose Grem & Nik for hours or weeks if they take off after those things.

I’m sparing you lots of fiberglass statue photos tonight at Flickr and here.  Personally, I love them and I need every last one of them for my website.  Sometimes there’s an hour or more drive between them.  But I know most of you are here for signs and buildings.

From International Falls.   This place and the TeePee Motel (night-time photo at Flickr last night) are both for sale.  The chains are starting to move into this area so I think it’s just a matter of time before these signs are gone.

Also in International Falls:

Moving on to Northome.  These pay phones must be very rare now.  I can’t remember seeing one before.  Yes, the dial tone worked when I picked up the phone:

Another King Koin sign (one previously posted to this blog a few days ago).  This one from Blackduck:

Just one of a dozen or two doggie breaks.  Something wonderful in the grass — I don’t know what.  But Nik is always just a waiting for the ballies to be thrown:

From East Grand Forks (the Minnesota side).  No other way to shoot this because of the tree:

I love the Hugo’s Market mascot.  Such a delirious shopper!  I saw a plastic sign today with this guy and didn’t shoot it.  Been regretting it ever since.  I did at least get this side of a truck shot in Grand Forks:

The rest of the photos from Grand Forks.  Wish I’d had wheels to see if any of the nice neon signs were lit at night.  But it was also Sunday night so that would rule out all or most of them.  Maybe if I’m still stranded here tomorrow night I’ll see what I can find.

Simonson gas stations — new to me — also have a goofy mascot.  This is the only sign I’ve seen of theirs so far that wasn’t modern.  Most likely this one was adapted from another station — and the Simonson parts were all porcelain & neon like the “gas for less” arrow:

Another fun, former station, let me count the ways.  The “people going places” motto, the stop sign shaped sign, the checkerboard bay doors:

Love the bulbs used as the horseshoe nails:

And last one for the night — surely this monster sign had neon originally.  What mostly intrigued me was the monthly “Sleeping Rooms”.  Meaning, what, you rent by the month and can only use the room for sleeping?

So, hopefully tomorrow, we’ll get rolling and I’ll be able to get some photos.  This trip has really been an emotional roller coaster.  Lots of great photos & places & natural beauty — but oh so much stress at the same time.