Orange You Glad To Be My Neighbor (December 4th, 2006)

"Not all who wander are lost."
J. R. R. Tolkien

Maybe it was visiting Bubble Gum Alley while is SLO, or the book that I was perusing through just before going there (Crazy California and Beyond: Roadside Vernacular Architecture), that lead me down this road to wander after roadside Americana. The tawdry terror has arisen in me. I have always had a small fascination with the gaudy and kitschy world of roadside attractions, but now I have given myself over to its pursuit.

I am now eight books in and a couple of day trips out in this new found world. So, I figure I will post some places that I have been or will be going to on my Blog and just maybe it might spark your interest for the strange and curious road that is eccentric America.

What better place to start than in your own backyard! My first road trip and first stop lead my family to Bono's Historic Orange stand in Fontana. The stand now closed, its along the historic Route 66 and is mentioned in Route 66 Adventure Handbook by Drew Knowles. The Historic Orange represents a time when the design of your business building was also the promotion of your product.