Contemplating.

Contemplating.
Wayzata, Minnesota

Friday, November 18, 2011

Sepia Saturday 101 : Saturday 19 November 2011

WELCOME TO ANOTHER   SEPIA SATURDAY   POST

Postcard series on U.S. 66 and 60 at East City Limits, Amarillo, Texas, and an authorized Standard Oil Dealer.  Everything a traveler could want, gasoline and a place to sleep.
by Preziosi Postcards.
    This week Alan from Sepia Saturday is bringing color and Chevrolet's history to life....so I'm feeling like a great all American road trip for our dear friend Alan....kind of a 101 lesson- on the days of yesterday tooling around America with your brand new Chevrolet!  I hope you all come along too.  Our first stop will be at the Pabst Blue Ribbon factory in Chicago, Illinois.  Hop aboard everyone.....

Oh dear, oh where could Alan's Chevrolet be.  I hope we haven't lost it?

photo by Library of Congress, at Chicago, which also was the point of origin for the famous Highway Route 66, about 1941.
Next on our road trip is lunch..............


Located on a busy stretch of Central Avenue in Albuquerque, New Mexico, we stop at the El Sombrero Drive-In, and reflect on the lovely architecture and blend of sunshine rays and the American country side that we got our kicks along Route 66.....is there really any question as to what the menu might have under this sombrero hat? - another Preziosi Postcard.
We should interrupt our road trip for a moment to post a couple of the gasoline stations that aided in our journey from Chicago, Illinois to New Mexico, and on to California and Mexico....

Most everyone knows that you must take your Chevrolet to Texaco at least once on your road trip.
Of course a road trip of this great many miles required lots of gasoline stops, and a side trip was necessary to pass through Minneapolis, Minnesota because we've heard such great things about the town.


Right in the heart of downtown Minneapolis where the palm trees here are only painted on buildings.  This was Tankar gas station on Washington Avenue in 1932.
photo by Library of Congress, Minnesota Historical.

Of course after thinking about all that gasoline consumption aren't we a bit hungry again?  Or maybe we should travel slightly north and cruise through Salt Lake City, Utah first.



They call this Eagle Gate, Salt Lake City, Utah....can you spot Alan's Chevrolet?

Okay, now we'll drive a bit more and then find that spot to eat......I'm starved, how about you?


Los Angeles, California featured so many places to stop and eat on every busy street corner.  So for us, it's another Drive-In, like the classic Simons.  It was a fabulous place to dine.....yet gone today replaced by a shopping mall.
- photo Los Angeles Public Library.

...and every great road trip requires stopping at an Auto Camp, this one located in San Diego, (a very different looking San Diego then what I just visited for myself) but none the less San Diego, and it's time for us to get some water and use the toilet facilities. 
so check where we stopped...
Well we all could use the showers, right?  By the 1940's these "sanitary facilities" slowly faded into oblivion....and this one was pretty nice compared to some of them.  They were also called, Outhouses..... photo by Library of Congress.

Did you bring your passports along?  Oh wait, it's only recently that you need your passport to enter Mexico...



International Bridge, Juarez, Mexico-El Paso, Texas.....after all if you're this close why not cross over, right? - a Natural Color Cards, by Ray Manley postcards.


Last stop on our journey will be a splash of color and jazz....everyone welcome to

The Madonna Inn on Highway 101 and Madonna Road San Luis Obispo, California. This is their lobby. - (We'll all meet up in their Champagne Bar, directly around the corner) please don't be late....
If you enjoyed this American Road Trip 101 then you just might want to see some other viewpoints by going here

http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2011/11/first-of-all-big-thank-you-to-everyone.html

26 comments:

Galen Pearl said...

The Madonna Inn looks so inviting! Great place to meet up!

sage said...

Neat photos and post cards... Speaking of Pabst Blue Ribbon, I thought they'd gone out of business until this summer when they served it in a dining car of a Chinese train!

North County Film Club said...

Such a fun trip. And so nostalgic. Reminds me of our road trip from Chicago to San Diego in 1954. I can just taste the tacos at that sombrero shaped restaurant in Albuquerque.
Nancy Javier
http://ladiesofthegrove.blogspot.com/

Tattered and Lost said...

Such fun images. Great trip!

And oh my, the Madonna Inn. Friends have stayed there and gave me several post cards. Each room has it's own theme. I've eaten in the coffee shop once. Driving down 101 you can't miss it outside San Luis Obisbo. I'd recommend folks take a look at this link to see some really bizarre room decorating:

http://tinyurl.com/clmg2l2

21 Wits said...

Barbara and Nancy, sounds like a cool trip you took, and I bet your food was the real thing....and the best tasting!

21 Wits said...

Sage, Jeff that's so funny, my parents used to buy it all the time...until Lite Beer came out..did PBR make that too? I can't remember...then there was Old Milwuakee too!

21 Wits said...

Tattered and Lost, thanks for that great link...I have one more postcard from there too, of one of the dining rooms...it's such a must see place!

Anonymous said...

I loved our virtual Cruise in the Chevy, Karen - thanks! Jo

Christine H. said...

Karen,
This is brilliant. You hit all the great spots including the Madonna Inn. Reminder: we need to stock up on beer at the Pabst Blue Ribbon factory in case we can't find any in Utah.

Postcardy said...

Fun trip. Roadside postcards are one of my favorite kinds of postcards to collect.

Liz Stratton said...

Great collection of postcards. We frequently follow Route 66 on our way out West. There are still a few diners and nostalgic stops along the way. Great memories!

Max Sartin said...

Whoa, great old pictures. The Eagle Gate in Salt Lake City is in the same place, on State Street and South Temple, right in the center of the city. They've changed the pedestals that it sits on, they're metal matching the rest of the structure, but other than that it looks much the same. Well, except for the buildings nearby.
Great diner pictures too!

Linda said...

Very cool! That Madonna Inn is the happening spot. I still see old auto court type motels in northern NJ, from the 50s and 60s, with great old signs out front announcing TV and air conditioning!

Pierre BOYER said...

Great !
Best regards,

Pierre

Marilyn & Jeff said...

Fabulous post, thanks for taking me along on the ride.

mary said...

The Madonna Inn!!! You really must see the rooms!! It is quite an "unusual" place!

Unknown said...

The Madonna Inn photo brought back memories of the many times we stopped there when we lived in CA. Quite an olde time travelogue you shared today.....seeing the USA in the Chevrolet!

Little Nell said...

That is an inspired take on Alan’s theme! I’m quite giddy from the whistlestop tour. Very enjoyable, great pictures and of course I’ll meet you in the champagne bar.

Alan Burnett said...

Oh, thanks for the delightful journey. We had a series over here on TV recently where the comedian Billy Connolly traveled along Route 66 : but your road trip was even more enjoyable.

Unknown said...

Great trip, some of architecture as an almost unreal quality. Couldn't happen over here, too many regulations.

Bob Scotney said...

I've seen none of these and on the few road short trips I've taken in the USA I can't understand why you have shown no McDonalds.
Give me an American diner any day.
Thanks for the tour Karen.

The Cedar Chest said...

I used to stop at the Madonna Inn all the time on trips from SF to Ventura.I miss seeing it. I love the Sombrero building!!

Sheila @ A Postcard a Day said...

What a wonderful trip! I especially enjoyed the stop at the Pabst Blue Ribbon factory. All those lovely old cars line up, waiting for new owners.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

Hi Karen,

Oh, my, thank you so much for the tour and trip! Way cool post. I've enjoyed my whole visit to your blog this morning.

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Kathy M.

Bruno Laliberté said...

what a fun ride, and if this had been MY post, I would have ended it possibly with a clip of the movie "Thelma and Louise", even if it involved a Ford Thunderbird.
:D~
HUGZ

tony said...

I Love The Colour Tints.Vibrant + Optimistic + reflecting the attitudes of the time I think.