Art & Inspiration A cool roadside attraction!

One fall, in the early 70's, my parents thought it would be cool to drive up the Skyline Drive to Luray and go to the caverns. That was their plan, no motel reservations, just get in the car and drive. Well about one million other people had the same idea. We drove around for what seemed like hours trying to find a place to spend the night. We ended up at one of those cottages, Don-Day-Courts. I will never forget that place. Cold like you would not believe. We all laugh about it now. Ron, you might know where this place was.

 

...............Usually accompanied by a fine red.

 

Never forget this landmark outside Merrifield Virginia..

Nipper.. The RCA Dog

 

How do y'all pronounce Vienna Sausage? In Kentucky its Vi-ennie Sausage.

 

Old Virginia City

29-211 (Lee Highway) Fairfax..

Pretty sure it's now a Costco

 

It is back in Baltimore now.

 

{57 Heap} That's one of the best road trips you can take. It would be great for a car club, or just some Hot Rodders to get together. Take the Skyline drive from Front Royal Va. to I-64. Then take old U.S. route 11 north from Stanton to I-66 to make it a full circle. This BIG watering can was in Stanton Va. Those big landmarks are pretty cool.

 

This old roller skate is along Va. route 17. The skating rink is not there anymore. But I remember back in the 1970s, they had American gray spokes on it.

 

Always enjoyed the Crosley on a pole in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Rt. 301 North of Richmond.

 

Family photo time...

My dad's junior executive hot rod at the home of Louisa May Alcott (the author of Little Women) in Concord, MA.
Some roadside attractions, however, are best left unvisited...

 

CHRISBCRITTER, ( open to the public) that's funny! Don, That old Crosley metal woody would make the COOLEST Hot Rod! Here's another Hot Rod on a stick.

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A 1930's Service station that's now a house. It'd be cool if they would add a couple old gas pumps.

 

Some neon signs,


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Took this at sunset on Live Oak Ave. in Arcadia, CA many years ago; gone now.

 

I love Americana, I thought there would be more pictures of all the cool and crazy stuff, around the country. Also is there cool roadside attractions in other country's too? Ron...

 

I'm about 15 minutes from the teapot. When I was young, my Grandmother would come to visit and we would tour all the pottery outlets around Chester. I would get a hotdog from the teapot. We would also so go to Rock Springs Park. Big fun when I was kid. Bill

 

BILL that's cool. My parents would take us to Atlantic City as a kid. I remember visiting Lucy the Elephant. She was built as a home in 1881.

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What's with the road signs? East/South, right left, whatever. It's all good, eh?

 

Sorry, I was just trying to find road trip photos on my phone. That picture was of my grandson with his road atlas trying to find which way to go. He won't let me use the G.P.S. Lol Ron

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No, what I meant was, the road signs are confusing! Looking at them again it must have been a business loop.

The gas station turned-home, don't they get pissed off at tourons??

 

There's probably not many people like me stopping by. Lol Ron A few vintage Cal. photos. I flew to the west coast a few times. But I never driven from coast to coast. Ron...

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One place we used to go one in a while was Lion Country Safari down by West Palm Beach,Fl.Maybe a couple of times a year.All gone now I think.Hi Ron.If you and yours traveled US 1 a bit,you most likely went through my home town in Fl.Vero Beach.There were some neat road side attractions back in the day.One that I always enjoyed was McKees Jungle Gardens in Vero Beach.Was close enough to my house that I could ride my bicycle to it.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

My aunt Always reads the bottom of road signs because everyone else starts at the top and can’t get all the way before passing.

 

The coolest place I ever took kids was the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. My G.F's son stood there with his jaw on the ground watching the bats fly out at sundown - billions of 'em. He was amazed by the cavern decent too.
As a youngster my folks would take us up Ca. Hwy 99 to the Delta to go boating. On the way we always passed The Big Orange (shaped and painted like a huge orange) and I always badgered my Dad until he stopped there.

 

This one looks like a big butt, I mean peach.

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Abandoned RR Bridge in Kearney NebraskaRoad trip to Alaska.
Cassiar Junction, British Columbia.
Old Motel in Fort Bridger Wyoming
Pony Express Trail near South Pass Wyoming

 

Must be a small guy to hide behind that suitcase.

This thread is great.

 

“Who can it be, knocking at my door (head)?” Men At Work…1982
Hey Ron,

Great thread for like minds and travels. I am sure that your dinosaur place is a packed attraction in Virginia. It looks like a real jungle, whereas in So Cal, it is dry and hot. Maybe that is why they vanished as a species? Ha! So Cal travelers have always seen this similar, giant attraction on the side of the road in Cabazon, CA, on the way to the Eastern USA or to Palm Springs, nearby.

When Spring Break at Palm Springs was the big, So Cal thing…this giant brontosaurus was in plain sight. But as teenagers, the goal was Palm Springs and not a giant dinosaur. “Cool, and keep driving” was the motto. A 4 hour round trip, 250 mile drive, and the resulting fun times, made it well worth the hot rod, cruiser drives yearly. Yes, the 58 Impala made the cruise, even with the 4:11 gears. So did the 65 red, El Camino in 68-69 "psychedelic" era. (The Palm Springs Drive-In was a haven for rock concerts in the desert.)

Over the years, the dinosaurs had other changes and became attractive as the family grew. This attraction was a show stopper for all little kids and even for the ahhs/ ooohs from the "big kids," too. The vacation hot spot has freeway access and now, has the proximity to one of the largest Factory Outlet Centers in So Cal. That has its own attraction for people.

Jnaki

Be forewarned, the Summer time temps in this region are totally outrageous. So, a Fall or Winter visit is probably much better, just check the predicted temps in the Winter time. It is So Cal, but that area is the desert and it gets hot AND cold. Wind? Bring a jacket…wind farms nearby…

“Cabazon Dinosaurs, formerly Claude Bell's Dinosaurs, is a roadside attraction in Cabazon, California, featuring two enormous, steel-and-concrete dinosaurs named Dinny the Dinosaur and Mr. Rex. Located just west of Palm Springs, the 150-foot-long (46 m) Brontosaurus (Dinny) and the 65-foot-tall (20 m) Tyrannosaurus rex (Mr. Rex) are visible from the freeway to travelers passing by on Southern California's Interstate 10.

The creation of the Cabazon dinosaurs began in the 1960s by Knott's Berry Farm sculptor and portrait artist Claude K. Bell (1897–1988) to attract customers to his Wheel Inn Restaurant, which opened in 1958 and closed in 2013. Dinny and Mr. Rex were completed in 1975 and 1986, respectively. Bell died in 1988 at age 91 and his family sold the property in the mid-1990s.”


“The Cabazon Dinosaurs have long been regarded as one of the most iconic roadside attractions. Featured in cult classics such as Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure and the Wizard, the dinosaurs have staked their place in pop culture. The Dinny’s Gift Shop features a wide array of unique dinosaur-themed merchandise and souvenirs. Mr. Rex’s Dinosaur Adventure includes a dinosaur exhibit featuring over 50 lifelike dinosaurs, a dinosaur dig, fossil panning, and access to climb inside Mr. Rex all the way up to his mouth.”


Google 2017

Google 2012

 

I like this one.