This photo was taken in 1972, a few years before Pappas built a brand new restaurant right on the sponge docks on the corner of Dodeconese and Alternate 19. The new restaurant was ultra modern for 1975, and would seat over 1000 people.
Here we see the Hitching Post at Six Gun Territory in Florida. Like most things in this theme park, the horse was not real, but the gunfights were certainly a realistic event.
Men walking through town moments before a well rehersed gunfight.
Here's a shot of the water ski show in 1965. Note that the spectators sat on the grass. This was before the grandstand (if that's what they call it) was built.
A close up of the skiers in one of their famous formations.
Mr. Toast is a lovable little charactor whom I will be photographing from time to time. Creator Dan Goodsell had a photo contest and I was one of the winners, so I won a Mr. Toast doll to photograph doing all sorts of things.
This small park included some gift shops and a restaurant calledTrader Franks. I remember walking through Tiki Gardens as a child in the early 70's. There were lots of little things to see and plenty of photo spots such as tiki statues, gardens and a rickshaw which my brother and I had to jump in.
Whatever happened to family owned neighborhood grocery stores? You know, the kind that sold a little bit of everything - from bread to screwdrivers. Here's a photo of a store that probably didn't change much from 1930 until the time this photo was taken in 1973. Adair's Grocery was a small store located in Palm Harbor, Florida, on Florida street, a couple of blocks east of Alt. 19. The building is still there, but it's been renovated.
Here's a photo taken in 1975 of the Holiday Inn sign in Calhoun, Georgia at the Redbud Road exit. Don't ask me who Kim and Kathy are, but the boy in the front gives you an idea of how large these signs were.
After a record setting 60 degree Valentines Day, super cold air dropped temperatures below zero. In just 2 days the lake is beginng to freeze. Here's the vacation house today all iced up.
Hey! Remember this? No, not the Beatles or the radio station, but the billboard itself. This old building was on California Ave. in Chicago, right next to I-55. All Northbound traffic was confronted by this 4 storey brick billboard that was newly painted every few months. The building probably fell down because of the weight of the paint alone!
Today at our local library, a special guest came to the weekly children's story time. Jared Ross, a professional hockey player with the Chicago Wolves stopped by to talk to the kids and sign autographs.
Just thought I'd share with you a television show I've been watching for the past couple of months on the Science Channel. It's called Survivorman and it teaches you how to survive in various wilderness situations. Survivorman is a one man show, Les Stroud is the host, narrator, cameraman and he even writes the music. The interesting part of this show is the fact that Les is alone for 7 days in the wilderness, he is the camera crew- having to lug 60 pounds of camera equipment with him, and film himself from several different angles. It would be hard enough trying to survive for 7 days in these areas, but he also has to film it.
With Valentines Day on it's way, I thought I'd give everyone a big kiss. This sign was a landmark in the Chicago area. I think there were a few of the Magikist Carpet Cleaner signs around, but I distinctly remember the huge one just off the Kennedy Expressway. We would pass it each time we drove to my Aunt Marge and Uncle Roman's house. This giant sign would light up at night with vertical pieces of red neon and the lights would move from the outside edges to the center and back out again.
I got out to take a look at who hit me and survey the damage, it seems it always feels worse than it is. My rear bumper didn't have much damage, just a couple of scratches that can be sanded out. My front license plate bracket is toast, I'll need to replace that. The camera phone came in handy; I can prove there wasn't any damage to the car ahead of me.
A great place to stop on the way down I 75 in Georgia is the Best Western Colonial Inn in Cordele. If you leave Chicago before 8:00 AM, you can make it to Cordele by 10:00 pm without killing yourself - earlier if you only stop for gas and the bathroom! They offer very competitive room rates that include a large breakfast bar in the morning. The breakfast goes far beyond donuts, bagels and coffee, it includes lots of cereals, grits, biscuits and gravy, fresh waffles, fruit and lots of juices. If you're hungry after this, it's your own fault.
Traveling down over the years, John seemed to remember another motel at this location, and sure enough, it used to be a Howard Johnson's. Here's an old postcard of the original motel, before the renovation and additions. While I don't remember this Howard Johnson's in particular, I do remember visiting others and stopping by the restaurants - especially for a hot fudge Sundae!
Driving to Florida when I was a kid in the 1970s was a lot of fun. This was before seatbelts; driving in huge cars; 70 mph speed limits; AM radio; a CB; no video games and no air conditioning. All we had to do was look out the window, read books and draw pictures.
