Sunday, January 19, 2020
Ghosts of U.S. Hwy 58
Highway 58 runs from Northeastern Tennessee all along the southern border of Virginia to the coast. We travel on a section of it when we go from our home in North Carolina to visit #1 Son in Virginia Beach.
And also, of course, on the return trip. Here are a couple of abandoned structures that struck me as mildly interesting.
Looks like the Happy Horse Bar & Grill was put out to pasture a long time ago. There's still an old menu online; I wonder what the "Redneck Happy Meal" was? (And the slightly less expensive "Not-So-Happy Meal"?)
This place may be abandoned, but somebody doesn't want you fooling around anywhere near it. There's a fairly prominent sign in front that warns, "Private Property, No Trespassing - Violaters Will Be Prosecuted". There's also a small "no parking" sign.
Incidentally, we have returned to the Paco Command Center, and all is well.
And also, of course, on the return trip. Here are a couple of abandoned structures that struck me as mildly interesting.
Looks like the Happy Horse Bar & Grill was put out to pasture a long time ago. There's still an old menu online; I wonder what the "Redneck Happy Meal" was? (And the slightly less expensive "Not-So-Happy Meal"?)
This place may be abandoned, but somebody doesn't want you fooling around anywhere near it. There's a fairly prominent sign in front that warns, "Private Property, No Trespassing - Violaters Will Be Prosecuted". There's also a small "no parking" sign.
Incidentally, we have returned to the Paco Command Center, and all is well.
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Sunday funnies
Those awful man buns are catching on everywhere.
I can fly! (H/T: David Thompson)
She's got rhythm.
From Powerline's "The Week in Pictures".
Don't grow up too fast, buddy.
True story. An apprentice at the tattoo shop where #1 Son works was sent out to buy a couple of ice trays for the break-room refrigerator. He apparently was baffled by this request, but he did as he was told, returning after a while with ice trays - and a bag of ice. Guy had no idea about old-school ice-cube making.
Some presidential administrations you endure, others you tolerate, others provide you with a bit of satisfaction now and again
And then, very rarely, you get a presidential administration you revel in: "The Trump admin has moved to roll back school nutrition standards championed by Michelle Obama, an effort long sought by food manufacturers and some school districts. The proposed rule came on Mrs. Obama's birthday."
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Close one
My last post from yesterday came close to being my last ever.
That's right: I went to an IKEA store yesterday. First time in the place, Mrs. Paco and I wanted to get #1 Son a little dining table (eating arrangements have generally featured some combination of the coffee table and our laps). The place was massive, with acres of parking lot and a parking deck, to boot. We arrived just as the store was opening, and I saw plenty of spaces near the entrance - but it turned out those weren't for the likes of us. Signs read, "Disabled only", "Veterans", "Families of veterans", "Employee of the Month", and the cryptic "Manager of Tertiary Parking" (not sure what that was, or why it needed its own manager).
So, we wound up parking a little farther away than I had anticipated. And once inside, we saw how devilishly cunning these Swedes really are. It took us awhile to find the dining furniture, having blundered first into "Returns" and one of the store's two cafes. Once we tracked down our quarry, it became clear that closing the deal was not going to be that simple. We had to go find the downstairs warehouse where they keep the boxed furniture, locate the item and load it on to a cart. I made the mistake of following the exit signs in an attempt to leave the dining-table section and find the warehouse area. As it turns out, these signs very cleverly forced me to walk through practically every section of the huge second-floor showroom; no doubt it's set up that way to encourage people to buy more stuff than they originally had planned on purchasing.
The whole thing was only marginally easier than escaping from Alcatraz. Still, the table and chairs were very economically priced, we Mrs. Paco had little trouble putting the things together, and #1 Son and Maggie find the table and chairs to be a definite improvement over the old system, so I guess the experience was worth it all (once, anyway).
That's right: I went to an IKEA store yesterday. First time in the place, Mrs. Paco and I wanted to get #1 Son a little dining table (eating arrangements have generally featured some combination of the coffee table and our laps). The place was massive, with acres of parking lot and a parking deck, to boot. We arrived just as the store was opening, and I saw plenty of spaces near the entrance - but it turned out those weren't for the likes of us. Signs read, "Disabled only", "Veterans", "Families of veterans", "Employee of the Month", and the cryptic "Manager of Tertiary Parking" (not sure what that was, or why it needed its own manager).
So, we wound up parking a little farther away than I had anticipated. And once inside, we saw how devilishly cunning these Swedes really are. It took us awhile to find the dining furniture, having blundered first into "Returns" and one of the store's two cafes. Once we tracked down our quarry, it became clear that closing the deal was not going to be that simple. We had to go find the downstairs warehouse where they keep the boxed furniture, locate the item and load it on to a cart. I made the mistake of following the exit signs in an attempt to leave the dining-table section and find the warehouse area. As it turns out, these signs very cleverly forced me to walk through practically every section of the huge second-floor showroom; no doubt it's set up that way to encourage people to buy more stuff than they originally had planned on purchasing.
The whole thing was only marginally easier than escaping from Alcatraz. Still, the table and chairs were very economically priced,
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
