Which still beats this, taken outside of Taichung:
Why bother to knock down a building when you're widening a road? The remaining structure makes a great place to hang a few banner ads.
Tacked onto the front of a typical 1950s ranch house (and likely occupying the spot formerly used for the house's garage), Monona Bait & Ice Cream was always a fun destination for Celeste & I to pedal to on summer nights. Serving only the best ice cream from UW Madison's Babcock Hall dairy, it was always a treat to buy a scoop or two and then walk across Monona Drive to the park on the shores of the lake.
This late-70s "bay window" bus is yet another one of the many VW vans that have seemingly failed to disappear from our local streets. A nice, era-correct shade of green; I wonder if it has the oh-so-70s orange/green plaid fabric underneath those seat covers.
Nothing quite like the refreshing feeling you get when spreading your toes between ~5 lbs of leftover ice from the cooler.
The first non-kid's movie I remember seeing was at the Fischer Theater (c. 1884), pictured on the right. Star Wars as a six year old in the summer of 1977 was mind-blowing.
grrrls, picnic lunch off of Hwy 1 in Malibu
Why would I have these horrible-tasting "candies"? Well, when I started terrorizing the suburbs in my mom's sweet turd-brown 1981 Buick Skylark (powered by the mighty Iron Duke 4-banger) in the mid-80s, WLUP Chicago DJ combo of Steve Dahl and Garry Meier started talking about how these putrid pastel pucks were the *exact* dimensions of a US quarter.
This Elco has been hard to snatch as it's often living underneath a car cover, as shown in the bed of this car/truck (cruck?).
Nothing fancy here, just simple white paint, Chevy "Rally" wheels and likely a small block 350 engine. Perfect for cruising El Camino Real. Thanks to Chevelle/El Camino expert Ron for IDing the model year.
Titled "The Nation's Summer Vacation-Land", this card dates from 1944. Wisconsin Dells, Interstate Park, Copper Falls State Park and Devil's Lake State Park are all called out in captions. Now to the back...
"Wisconsin, area 55,265 square miles, the 'Land of Lakes,' fishing streams, deep pine forests, diversity of scenery, good fishing, extremely interesting state parks, is the ideal vacation land."
(artist's rendering)
Our trusty nine year-old Yakima Rocket Box has been a godsend, especially when our "large" car consisted of an efficiently-sized Subaru Forester that generally had a large black lab riding in the cargo area.
I'm constantly amazed at the fantastic glare reduction afforded by my Oakley Five(squared) sunglasses. The key are the polarized lenses that drastically reduce strain on my (very) light sensitive eyes.
I wasn't fully sold on the benefits of GPS when I bought my low-end Garmin last summer prior to making the move out to California. However, I've grown to love using it on longer trips to unfamiliar areas. Especially useful is the ability to find gas stations, restaurants, loging and other points of interest. Still, I'd be foolish to leave home without the excellent Michelin road atlas and a California Gazzeteer complementing the technology.
"Go juice" for someone that (sadly) never acquired a taste for coffee.
(obviously an older photo - it's never that lush out here!)
five bucks, how could I say no?
Of course I never pumped mine more than 15 times (tongue planted firmly in cheek). After making sure the coast was clear we counted down for launch. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...
LIFTOFF! With soaked shirts and firmly-planted smiles we watched it sail 10-12 feet up in the air. Not only sideways (as pictured), but on a few occasions actually up. Of course I remember my old rocket sailing hundreds and hundreds of feet, scraping the clouds hovering above Central Illinois. But everything seems bigger when you're a kid.
the "Banana Split" coming in to port
A thoroughly modern "oasis" (as Illinoisans call 'em) off the highway. Delicious foods too, even though I didn't recognize a thing. Lots of fish-related items. Not sure how glad the embankment air was though, I didn't have time to check it out.
A timely find, we saw this at Fry's this morning - a computer towers and cables for the ladies! Defying Fry's NO CAMERAS policy, I snagged a quick shot of the tacky display. Oh, and the USB, power and data cables aren't just pink, they're also oh-so-cutely adorned with crappy and tacky plastic crystal jewels.
OMG!!1!, isn't that 7/8-scale hammer just soooo cute?? The bottom set is labeled for repairing and redecorating. Not for remodeling or renovating.
what time is it? tree:30.
All of these disappeared into clouds of iron oxide in the Midwest decades ago. When living in Boulder I had the chance to buy a solid 1973 example from a neighbor for the whopping sum of $2000. Faded baby blue paint and a brake system that needed an overhaul, but complete, straight and rust free. Every time I see one of these on the road I kick myself for passing on the opportunity.
Sure looks better than the numerous FJ Cruisers that call North County home.
For me the real treat was walking downstairs into the basement "boneyard". He's got hundreds of bicycle carcasses and a few dozen complete bikes. It's a pick-your-part for the two-wheeled set. (advance apologies for the poor photo quality - iPhone + low light = crap pix)
Bins line one wall with parts sorted by type. Shifters, cranks, stems, seatposts, etc. Everything was reasonably priced. While you're not going to find vintage Campagnolo parts down there, they should have what you need to keep a mid-priced mountain or commuter bike on the road.
"Decent", non-damaged frames are also available. They may be ugly and dated but are completely serviceable.
Also downstairs is a pile of semi-collectible bikes. These bikes are sold complete, thankfully not to be parted out.
if I remember correctly, that Monark was $200-$250 or so
ambrosia
There are a few variations of the ride that can be done, with many others doing the ride as a shuttle. We chose to "earn the turns" by making the trek up the steep road to the trail head.
one of the steeper parts of the road
looking back down
still more climbing - see road cut across the slope
There were a couple of other groups that were taking the trail on the same day, a little map check was in order. Note the dead trees - a forest fire swept through the area back in 2003.
Surprisingly there were a few small creek crossings.
About a third of the way down is where the technical and rocky sections start.
pushin' back up a loose and steep section
Most of the trail is exposed with scrub brush providing zero shade along the way. Bring lots of water - and it's probably best not to ride it in the middle of the summer.
Here's a link to more info on the trail.
