Drawn the Road Again

Category: Yuck

  • Of man camps and mass destruction

    Of man camps and mass destruction

    I always embark on road trips with the expectation that I’m going to delight in what I see along the way. Mostly that’s the case—I’m interested in just about everything, and the road is always full of pleasant surprises. But while this blog mostly has been a collection of things I love, I also sketch…

  • Sealed with a kiss

    Sealed with a kiss

    I’ve never done Highway One in the summer, so I’ve never seen it the way most people do—choked with tourists and traffic. I prefer to see the coast highway in the winter, where the only teeming hordes to contend with are those of the pinniped variety. The elephant seal breeding ground on the Big Sur…

  • The swan song of the Kalakala

    The swan song of the Kalakala

    There are restoration success stories like Lucy…and then there are others without the happy ending. In my part of the world right now, a floating rust bucket is the talk of the town. That’s because at long last, an odyssey spanning nearly 90 years, thousands of miles and a whole lot of folly is about…

  • Animal, Vegetable, Polymer

    Animal, Vegetable, Polymer

    Continuing on the whole fake farm theme, the ones that make me giggle the most are those that don’t try very hard in the ambience department. When my friend Elizabeth and I went to PEI together, our whole trip was centered around our childhood (and adult!) love of Anne of Green Gables. But even we…

  • Corn-fed

    Corn-fed

    Here’s what you do: you go to the Minnesota State Fair with at least four or five people in your party. Then everybody chooses one or two things to eat and shares with the group—that way, you get a small sample of a lot of different things. (Added bonus of sharing small bites: not suffering…

  • Secrets, seastars and spring tide

    Secrets, seastars and spring tide

    There was one other time that my sketching had the benefit of a supermoon. Last summer I spent a morning with some fellow sketchers under the ferry landing in Edmonds, WA. This is one of a few spots along Puget Sound where the tide goes out far enough to expose more than just a strip…

  • Brownout

    Brownout

    At the time of this posting, I’ll be away on a new sketching adventure (for clues as to where, check out the Facebook page—or you can wait until I post a few sketches here in two weeks!). At this time of year, my destination is known for unpredictable weather that can be all over the…

  • Heart of the city

    Heart of the city

    I’m almost hesitant to include this sketch in my week of kitschy food posts, because I’m in the camp of folks who firmly believe that Twinkies aren’t food. Yet I love this building so much that I just couldn’t leave it out. The old Hostess Cake factory in Seattle has seen quite a few changes…

  • Speechless

    Speechless

    There really are no words for this one—except that ever since I saw this sign, I’ve found ways to work in the term “ho-made” to as many things as possible. Comedic gold. As an aside, I didn’t sketch it, but just a few blocks away is a bait shop that sells wine and spirits. Read…

  • Where the Heck?

    Where the Heck?

    I was born 50 miles west of Wall Drug. True story. I think, therefore, that my undying love of roadside attractions is imprinted on the genetic level. Even if you don’t have this place in your DNA, it’s pretty hard not to be curious about something hawked by a hundred billboards as you drive through…