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| Perks of Travel I love to travel -- planes, cars, trains -- you name it and I'm in! Recently I took a road trip to the LA area. I'm not very used to freeways. Especially seven lane versions of freeways. But there were postcards to cheer me up. |
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| Highway 5 The main roue between SF and LA is Highway 5. I can't tell you the number of times I have been up and down Highway 5. I have to think of things to do to keep me amused in the car. Taking photos out the windows is one thing. And then there is In & Out Burger. |
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| This trip we had six hours of the most incredibly beautiful and dramatic skies which really helped to keep us entertained. |
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| And then there is California Agriculture -- just like the postcard says. There are grapevines and citrus trees for mile after mile on 5. Lemons, oranges, tangerines... And nut trees -- almonds and pistachios. The trees look different in every season. I like looking for birds nests in the bare branches. |
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| POST BOX This time I managed to get my sweetie to stop in Bakersfield, CA so I could hit a farm stand. Score! Postcards and avocados and nuts and lemons.... |
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| I love that CALIFORNIA RAISINS postcard... wonder who will get that one? |
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| Menus from Musso and Franks and Canters Another perk of travel is picking up maps and menus which can then be made into all kinds of mail art... |
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| LA Origami booklets Mail art like these origami booklets that I stuffed with California postcards.. and I made collage postcards and envelopes too. I wonder if Planet Susannia has received hers yet? Mail can be slow this time of year. |
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| OUTSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD POST OFFICE They say everyone in Hollywood is skinny -- well, not this big fella. People must be feeding him a lot of mail! |
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| That's So LA This is my 199th (?) post -- I guess 200 is sort of a milestone so I'll have to think of something interesting to write about and photograph. I have some ideas. I thought a random LA travel post might be fun because personally I am tired of holidays. I want to get back into the studio and catch up on mail and collage. I hope everyone has been having fun celebrating various things. Happy New Year to All and see you soon for Number 200. Thanks for all the comments and support and good mail. |
I enjoyed reading your road trip post, especially becuase I know the interstate very well. I live in Las Vegas but I am from Bakersfield, so I perked up when you mentioned you stopped at a fruit stand there. That's one of the things I miss about California. That and little independent food drive-in's.
ReplyDeleteJarieLyn--Oh yeah, the farm stands and produce in CA are wonderful, I agree -- you'll have to come back for a fix. Vegas isn't that far. And you do have Viva Las Vegas rubber stamps (have you been?).
DeleteI agree, that stretch of road can be soooo monotonous! I've been driving Hwy 5 up to Oregon lately. But I also love the produce and you got some nice postcards.
ReplyDeleteI relate to the desire to be in the studio! That's where I'm sequestered. Happy New Years!
shams -- have fun in your studio! happy New Year.
DeleteLove this! I did a double take when you said Hwy 5, because that is the name of the main strip in my tiny little podunk town here in West GA! :) Funny! I visited LA once when I was in college and I would looooooove to come back to California again someday!
ReplyDeleteJenny -- come on back for a visit. California is a wonderful state (if I do say so myself). We've got everything -- cities, farms, produce, ocean, rivers -- lots to do. Buy hey--you've got Georgia Peaches and BBQ.
DeleteGreat Cali post cards. One thing even I can say is that your part of the world has the freshest food on the road ever. Always some veggie addition to even burgers and stuff. Never did go that route, will have to try it some day. Thanks for the views. Big chunky post boxes and all. xox
ReplyDeleteCorrine -- oh yeah -- we've got produce! xo
DeleteI've always loved a road trip - the longer the better. (If I didn't have a job and a kid, I'd be on my way to SF by car in a hearbeat!). I just found a pile of stuff I collected on a cross country roadtrip with my mom in '98. I think we planned to make a commemorative scrapbook and never got a around to it. Imagine my mail-art glee to find it now!
ReplyDeleteHey Karen --come on -- road trip! You can sleep on my couch. I made a number of cross country trips back in the day including transCanada highway which sadly was a real snooze....Have fun with your stash of road trip ephemera and I hope you'll show us what you make from them. My friend saved all the gas station credit cards receipts from our trip and it is a riot to look at the names of the towns -- and cry over those gas prices.
DeleteThis post is very timely - I am heading to LA in 10 days and staying in Hollywood for a couple of days while I am there, most likely will be posting my mail from those mailboxes! Did you find any interesting stationery/postcard stores us mail artists love while you were there?
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel--I stayed in Hollywood a couple of nights but sadly I won't be of much help to you. I don't know about any cool paper shops there but the Hollywood Farmers Market is really fun to walk through. I make most all of my mail art from things I pick up for free -- like menus, hand-outs, local free maps etc
DeleteHave fun in Hollywood and let me know if you find any great shops I've missed there. (Now if you were coming to SF I could tel you about where to go for cool stuff).
I've done virtually no travel in California...just quick trips to LA and San Francisco. I would love to be able to roam the highways and explore some of these areas you describe. I admire your timeliness in turning your souvenirs into paper/book/mail art! You are inspiring!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andria -- if you've hot SF and LA you have covered the two best spots -- but the drive along the coast in Hwy 101 is really amazing if you ever get the chance to do that and make some stops along the way.
DeleteThat just might be the biggest mailbox I've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteI'm ready to get back into the studio too!
and I'm trying to work on a new blog post too.....
DeleteI went on a mini roadtrip with my friends in Utah, we drove for hours on the I-80 in the direction of Neveda, I thought it was beautiful! So much space, and all that sky! And a little "town" of three houses and a gas station somewhere in the middle :-)
ReplyDeleteHey Annejo -- Happy New Year! Hope you got my letter a while back....
DeleteYes your letter arrived safely! I am going to write you back as soon as possible :-)
ReplyDelete