Drawn the Road Again

Category: Weirdo

  • Toast-n-trinkets

    Toast-n-trinkets

    The Friendly Toast is a masterpiece of kitsch—sort of the Wall Drug of diners (except the food is excellent!). Come hungry, and bring a sketchbook—you’ll have plenty to keep your pencil occupied while you wait.

  • We’re going to need a lot of butter

    We’re going to need a lot of butter

    Confession: I planned an entire leg of my trip around this place. Now, pretty much all of the central California coast is worth any detour, if you ask me, but when it comes to the kitsch category, Castroville’s got a permanent blue ribbon in my book. And while Giant Artichoke is not quite technically a…

  • Duck dining

    Duck dining

    A “duck” is kind of the architectural version of “you are what you eat”—at least in this case. Hey, if you’re looking for good roadside food, it’s hard to go wrong with a place that gets a blue ribbon in the atmosphere department.

  • Just slightly corny

    Just slightly corny

    Every time I see something like this, I have to wonder why there are still plain, non-food-shaped watertowers in the world. I mean, come on!

  • Travel checklist

    Travel checklist

    I love hanging out with other travel bloggers—sometimes it’s just fun to know I’m not the only one closely studying my surroundings. Last year I took a road trip with my friend Mary-Alice of Dog Jaunt fame (with her lovely pup Chloe in tow). When we arrived at our hotel that day, we both did…

  • Paul’s flaxen frére

    Paul’s flaxen frére

    Oh, you didn’t know Paul Bunyan had a brother (from another mother)? Well, neither did I. But thankfully my proud K State alumni friends, who know the “Little Apple” better than anyone, set the record straight for me. I give you Johnny Kaw—the frontier’s biggest pioneer. Let Paul handle the trees up nort’—Johnny’s got his…

  • Deck the halls

    Deck the halls

    We’re away for the holidays this year (sketches to come, I’m sure), so instead of a tree at our house, I’ll have to settle for a picture of one. But I tell you what: there are few things more lovely than sitting for hours by the tree, basking in its glow and sketching every ornament,…

  • Tinsel tunes

    Tinsel tunes

    The Tailor and I have a fairly massive collection of vintage holiday music on vinyl. Some of these are great (Bing! Burl!), and some are terrible (it’s not my fault we own a Lawrence Welk album!), but what they have in common is some seriously fabulous mid-century graphic design and typography. So while the Tailor…

  • Topsy turvy tannenbaum

    Topsy turvy tannenbaum

    This is by far the best use of a chandelier fixture I’ve ever seen. Now if only I could convince the Tailor to let me hang our tree upside-down…

  • Life (or death) drawing

    Life (or death) drawing

    Speaking of taxidermy, Wednesday’s post reminded me of my trip back to Providence a couple of years ago, to show the Tailor around my old city and my alma mater. He was politely interested in my tour of the campus, but I knew he’d completely freak out (and I was right, he did) when I…