Signs of Austin

We took a trip to Austin, Texas, to visit someone very special, and of course I took a few photos. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you know that I’m drawn to vintage signs. Austin has some good ones, new as well as vintage. . . .

Guero's

Don-Mar

This place no longer exists, but the sign remains.

Toulouse

Austin is the live music capital of the U.S., so there are a lot of clubs where you can hear great music, especially blues. Many of them are located on Sixth Street.

Soho Lounge

Bat Bar

The sign isn’t vintage, but I liked the graphics. The bar, however, is very old.

Ritz

The Ritz was the first theater in Austin to be built specifically for “talkies” (movies with sound). It’s now the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, where they serve food and show older films.

Continental

The Continental Club has been called a “high class dive bar.” From the looks of the place, the name fits. Love the sign.

Hope you all had a great weekend. . . .

{carole}

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Morning Glory

I’m away this weekend, so will leave you with these shots of morning glory I took a few months ago.

The white picket fence really sets off the blue, doesn’t it?

Great weekend, everyone! I’ll be back on Wednesday.

{carole}

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Dusk

Dusk

“Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher.”

~William Wordsworth

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Vintage Beauties

A while back, we discovered a little car show going on at Glen Echo Park. There were only three vehicles, but they were beauties!

1939 Ford

How cool is this 1939 Ford pickup? If you’re thinking the Tweety bird in the back window inspired the colors, you would be right.

'39 Ford pickup

There were so many people milling about I couldn’t get a full shot, so settled for the details.

'39 Ford front end

So beautifully restored.

Here’s a full-length photo if you’re interested:

Google image

There was also a 1939 Plymouth. . . .

Hood

That’s the Glen Echo carousel in the background.

The interior is just as pristine. . . .

Plymouth interior

I love those old steering wheels.

Ford steering wheel

vintage interior

Finally, a vintage LaSalle:

LaSalle

They just don’t make them like they used to.

{carole}

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The Stuff of Life

roseglow

“One may live without bread, not without roses.”
~Jean Richepin

Great weekend, everyone. . . .

{carole}

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A Walk in Safari Park

I meant to add this photo on Monday and forgot. It’s a little bougainvillea blossom with the sun coming through. Reminds me of a Japanese lantern.

bougainvillea

On to San Diego Wild Animal Park, or rather San Diego Zoo Safari Park. They’ve changed the name since I was there years ago. The park sits on 1800 acres and that’s what I like best about it. Zoos seem so confining. Here the animals have a lot more room to move about.

I had seen lorikeets in photos and never dreamed I’d see one in person or have one land on my head. They are so tame. Kids in the aviary loved how the birds would land on them:

girl w/ lorikeets

pair of lorikeets w/ boy

You can feed the birds too, if you want.

feeding lorikeet

Aren’t the colors incredible?

lorikeet

Of course, you’ll see lions, tigers and bears, and an elephant with her baby.

elephants

I didn’t take that many photos of the animals, because they were kind of far away and I didn’t have a zoom lens with me. Plus we were with my son and wanted to just enjoy being together.

Since it was autumn, I couldn’t resist shooting some of the trees changing color:

picnic table

pepper trees

Finally, I don’t know the name of this little guy, but thought he looked so sweet sitting in the fading light. . . .

DSC_0967

Hope your week’s going well so far. Valentine’s Day was especially nice this year.

{carole}

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A California Break

We were in California for Thanksgiving and I just haven’t gotten around to posting those photos. Here are a few random shots from that brief trip:

Last call

We almost made the sunset, but had to meet someone, so left before the sun hit the water. I love how clear everything is in the fall and winter out there.

Beach cruiser

While sipping coffee outside, I took this with the iPhone. I love beach cruisers. I love drinking tea or coffee under a blue sky and palm trees even more.

Night flares

It looks like a threatening sky, but the weather stayed nice.

San Diego Wild Animal Park

We went to the Wild Animal Park in San Diego and enjoyed it very much. The whole place has been redone and is much better than it was years ago. I’ll show you some of the fauna on Wednesday.

{carole}

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Petals

I thought for sure I’d posted this iPhone shot, but a search proved otherwise. It’s one of my favorites.

blossomsky

In case you’re weary of spring petals, here’s a drool-worthy cake I saw in a bakery case recently. . . .

petal cake

I’m guessing that’s shaved white chocolate on top. How do people do these things?

Great weekend, everyone!

{carole}

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Vintage Blossoms

While browsing through my “archives,” I found this photo of Kwanzan cherry blossoms that I took last April:

Kwanzan before

I like it well enough, but think it lacks a little something. So I applied a Florabella action called “Vintage Spring XP” that gives it a soft, old-fashioned quality. . . .

Vintage Spring

Hope your week is going well so far.

{carole}

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Hearts in February

Since it’s February, I thought a few images of bleeding hearts would be in order. Probably my second favorite flower to photograph, after peonies.

bleeding hearts

hearts on a line

bleeding heart

Hope you all had a great weekend. . . .

{carole}

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