ToadMama – Page 68 – ToadMama.com

August 10, 2014August 10, 2014

The Things I Find

Quite a few folks that see my varied posts and ride pics remark that I find the oddest stuff. It’s true, I do.

But odd in a good way, I think.

Some are appalled by the creepiness of some of my pics. Like this one…

And this one…

Others are weirded out by my photobomb-like selfies.

But I’ve never found clowns to be creepy. Or elves. I just think they’re fun. Same goes for photo-bombing my own pics. LOL.

Some people don’t understand why I bother to capture these oddities. A moto-blogger pal, Darlene (aka Princess Scooterpie), who lives on Vancouver Island in Bristish Columbia, Canada, captured it well in a recent post on her blog:

“I love it when I am out riding and spot something that catches my attention and makes me pull a u-turn and go back and look, I am more apt to do this on the bike than when I am in the car. I think blogging has a lot to do with this, we bloggers are always looking for the eclectic, interesting and appealing blog subjects.”

It’s true. Imagine how dull my blog posts would be if I just said something like, “I did about 150 miles, ate breakfast, and saw this cool collection of parade stuff.”

Really.

“Oh the things you can find if you don’t stay behind!”
— Dr. Seuss

My recent visit to American Celebration on Parade. To me, anyway. I’ve known vaguely of the place’s existence for years. So I didn’t do much research before going beyond finding the address. Which somehow made it even better. Because I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I was imagining a bunch of sorta tacky, old, parade floats crammed into an empty lot behind the caverns. Like an afterthought. Something you’d see on American Pickers perhaps.

Boy, was I ever wrong. The collection is housed in a huge, nicely landscaped modern building. The clown is one of only a few statues on the outside. The Statue of Liberty is another.

Huge, Modern (as in recently constructed) Building

And when you go inside, this is what you see, seated atop the ticket booth.

The $10 admission fee was a small price to pay for the delight I felt while visiting this place. Of course, if I were traveling with a group, that could add up. But I was alone, and I literally had the place to myself. Other than the staffers, I was the only person there.

As I entered the exhibit hall, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. I felt like I’d stepped into Wonka land.

It doesn’t get much more colorful than this. Or does it?

There are signs like this one by all of the floats.

That genie is 30 feet tall and 47 feet wide!

I didn’t care as much about the history or the stats/dimensions. I was just enjoying the sheer creativity of the pieces. The saturation of color. The variety and amount of fun stuff squeezed into this building.

Really. How can you not smile seeing all these treasured bits of Americana lovingly housed and maintained under one roof for people like me to admire?

Some of you won’t get it. But that’s okay. I do.

Rather than overwhelm you with words, I’m just going to share some pics.

Okay, maybe a lot of pics. But I couldn’t help myself.

Genie (the soldier was on a different float)

To give you a better idea as to the large size of these displays, not ’cause it’s a great picture.

Some pieces are less-attractive than others.

Don’t you just LOVE the matriarch’s dress?

Even pelicans need pretty background singers.

What tickled me even more than all of the complete floats were the miscellaneous items tucked into nooks and crannies. Like any collector, this guy has pieces you just know he loves so much that they have to be displayed somewhere. Anywhere.

The guy must really like frogs. 🙂

A skinny Bob’s Big Boy in an Uncle Sam costume?

I’m pretty sure these came from a Broadway marquee.

This last one reminded me first of the Josie West doll I had as a kid. Second, I swear it’s my cousin, Shannon, immortalized as a parade participant.

So there you have it. Wasn’t that fun?

Remember the giant frog? He’s at a completely separate building, The Yellow Barn, which I’ll share pics from in my next post.

August 7, 2014August 7, 2014

Breakfast and Then Some

The other morning, I had some time on my hands. The weather outlook for the day was decent, so I decided to go for a ride.

It was about 6:30 when that decision was made. Naturally, breakfast was on my mind. And since I really, really like Hardee’s breakfast biscuits, but there are no Hardee’s in the immediate vicinity, I googled Hardee’s locations near me. I opted for the one in Luray, Virginia. It’s not the closest, but it was opposite the direction I’d traveled on a couple recent rides.

Now, I admit, 43.6 miles would be too far to go for a simple, fast-food breakfast if I was in a hurry and/or had to turn around and come right back. But it makes a perfect pit-stop for a loop ride. In my opinion.

Which meant I had to define the rest of the loop.

I’m a map person. I love reading maps and plotting routes. Google makes it so easy, too, telling you how far you’ll be traveling and how much time your route may require.

Here’s a link to the actual Google map of the route I ended up plotting.

At some point, I started wondering if there was anything interesting in that area to see. That’s when I remembered “the parade thing” at Shenandoah Caverns. I’d read about it years before, but had never managed to visit. Hubby isn’t quite as interested in roadside oddities as I am. And some of the stuff I consider to be fun, he just thinks is dumb.

“Why would anyone collect old parade stuff?” he said when I got home and told him what I’d seen.

As it turns out, there’s a good reason. The guy who owns Shenandoah Caverns, Earl Hargrove, also owns a company (Hargrove, Inc.) that has been making parade floats for many years. He’s purchased quite a few floats from famous parades, too. And he thought it would be cool to share his collection.

But I’m getting ahead of myself…

After I got dressed, I walked into Hubby’s office. He looked at me and said, “Are you going for a ride?”

Wonder what gave him that idea? I was wearing my black, Under Armour, capri-length pants, black over-the-calf socks, and my lucky t-shirt.

It was a gift from my mother-in-law. She prays a lot, so I figure the shirt must be lucky, right?

Plus, it’s covered in toads.

I didn’t mention that the route took me across US-211 and Thornton Gap. That’s a road I’ve mentioned here before.

Usually, it’s clogged with cars and other vehicles. That day, I didn’t encounter one pokey vehicle until I’d reached the top. At a point where I had plenty of room to pass.

How awesome is it that we live so close to Shenandoah National Park?

I did get stuck behind a roll-back tow truck on the way down, which was carrying a full-size, smashed-up pick-up truck and pulling a van. It was CREEPING down the mountain. Luckily I was able to pass him, too.

Soon after that, I was at Hardee’s.

After enjoying a leisurely breakfast, I was on my way.

Since I was still headed west on US-211, I got to cross the New Market Gap, too. It’s not as nice or as long as Thornton Gap, but does have some good curves, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

My next stop was only about 20 miles from Hardee’s, so I got there in no time.

You’ll never guess what I saw when I arrived…

I almost didn’t believe it myself. And, yes, I did squeal loudly with delight after laying eyes upon this adorable behemoth.

giant frog2 — It doesn’t get much cooler than that.

The big green guy isn’t actually at the parade place — American Celebration on Parade. It’s across the road at another part of the caverns complex.

Just seeing the giant frog would have made the whole trip worthwhile. Really.

frog_selfie — ToadMama and Frog Together

But there was so much more to see. I decided to keep my helmet on and re-visit Mr. Frog more closely after viewing the parade exhibits.

I do have more images to share, but I’ll save them for the next post.

It was SUCH a fun place. 🙂

August 4, 2014August 4, 2014

I Like Turtles

Riding home from my Dad’s house the other day took me through downtown Westminster, Maryland. It was rush hour. Although Westminster isn’t big, it gets congested. So I sat in traffic on Main Street, inching along through about three cycles of the traffic signal. There was a pro-life rally setting up at the time. People lined both sides of the street, about 20 feet apart, each holding a 3-foot by 5-foot disturbingly graphic images of aborted babies.

I was amazed by the number of protesters. (I’d say there were about 40 in place with more on the way.) Taking pictures would have been a reward for them, so I abstained. But I couldn’t help gawking.

I wasn’t even going to mention it. Then a friend shared a link with me describing what I think is the best counter-protest ever. So I had to share.

One sign in particular made me giggle. It reminded me of my daughter, Shannon, who found this once-viral video absolutely hysterical…

And that’s all I’ve got to say about that.

July 31, 2014July 31, 2014

Birthday Lunch

Seventy-six years ago yesterday, my Dad was born. As luck would have it, I was able to finagle a day out of the office and ride to Pennsylvania for a lunch-time celebration.

I was tickled to be able to spend the day with him. For months, I’ve been wanting to go up for a visit. Timing just hadn’t worked out. What with all the stuff I’ve had going on lately — nothing bad, just busy — and his part-time work schedule.

It’s so nice visiting in his “new” home. He’s been there a little over a year now. He’d moved from Pennsylvania, his boyhood home, to Baltimore in 1969. After Mom’s passing in 2012, it seemed like getting him back to the country was the right thing to do. It took until June of 2013 to make that happen, but it was worth the wait.

His new home is in the perfect location, a mobile home park surrounded by farmland, minutes away from the area where he grew up.

Now, he can sit on his large front porch, enjoying the breeze, watching Amish buggies ride by. Pure bliss.

The frogs belonged to his home’s former occupants, but I think he keeps them around for me.

Two of his sisters, Pearl and Bertha, live in the same mobile home community. They joined us for a celebratory birthday lunch yesterday at Dad’s favorite restaurant, Gus’s Keystone Diner in Mount Joy.

L-R, Aunt Bertha, Aunt Pearl, Dad and Me

Gus’s doesn’t look like your typical diner, but, like most diners, it has an extensive menu and good, home-cooking-type food.

Pennsylvania Dutch-style home cooking that is. Note the “pig’s stomach” special. Ugh.

And that Chicken Pot Pie isn’t the stuff baked in crust that most of the world eats, it is boiled chicken pot pie. Essentially it’s very thick hand-cut noodles cooked in chicken broth with chunks of chicken and potatoes. Aunt Bertha asked Dad before he ordered whether he knew if Gus puts “carrots, peas, and that other crap” in his pot pie. She says they don’t belong in pot pie.

As much as I love peas and carrots, I have to agree. But Dad said it was good.

The aunts both got a ham steak.

Grilled Ham & Provolone on a Pretzel Roll

I had to chuckle when my sandwich arrived. It was heart-shaped. Can you see it?

I absolutely LOVE this red beet salad Gus’s serves. It is simply red beets, onion, and parsley in a sweetish red beet juice. YUM.

Lunch was delicious. The company was pretty good, too. Those three together are a hoot.

Dad took me on a little detour after lunch. The last couple times I went there, shortly after my arrival, he asked, “Did you see the tobacco?” Both times, my reply was, “I don’t know. I don’t know what tobacco looks like.”

Now I can say I know what tobacco looks like. I know where the field is, too, so I can be on the lookout on future trips. According to Dad and Aunt Bertha, those plants are ready to be harvested. Their parents farmed tobacco when Dad and Bertha were young.

I asked Aunt Bertha to take a picture of me near the cornfield so y’all could see how tall it is. The picture doesn’t do it justice, though. The scale is wrong. I bet that stuff is 12 feet tall!

Shortly after we got back to the house, I set off for home. On the way up, I took the fastest route. On the way home, since the weather was perfect, I took the scenic route.

On several occasions, I felt like I was riding through a corn tunnel.

My first stop was in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, the home of the Pickle Man Statue. He’s carved out of an old tree stump.

I sent Hubby a text while I was stopped. With the above selfie attached.

His reply cracked me up.

After that, I made my way home, meandering south and west along two-lane roads down through Pennsylvania, through Maryland, and finally into Virginia and then home.

I hope Dad enjoyed his birthday as much as I did. 🙂

July 28, 2014July 31, 2014

Blue Ridge Grocery Country Store

Several weeks ago, my friend, Dottie, and I rode our bikes out to Front Royal, Virginia for breakfast. (Here lately, I’ve decided if I don’t squeeze short rides in when I can, my poor bike will never get any exercise.)

We met at the Clevenger’s Corner Shell gas station about 10 minutes west of town. From there, Dottie led the way to the diner.

I generally tend to avoid Front Royal as traffic can get rather congested, but the diner is off of US-522, south and east of downtown.

4_diner_breakfast — A Light Breakfast… LOL

The food was good. We did NOT eat all of it, in case you were wondering.

As we ate, I told Dottie I’d spotted a cute little store on the way to the restaurant that I wanted to visit on our way home. She was game, so we stopped.

6_DSCN3211 — I’m a sucker for cute country stores.

It was hard to tell whether or not it was open, so we went ahead and parked. Judging by the hours listed on the door, I still don’t know.

10a_DSCN3224 — The hours of operation were a bit vague.

I’ve thought about this place a lot since then. I still don’t know if it’s a hobby store (as in we sell stuff and are open when we feel like being open) or just REALLY cool yard art.

I mean, how fun would it be to have a little model store like this solely as decoration?

I think I’ll submit it to the RoadsideAmerica.com folks so they can check it out. I think it deserves a listing, don’t you?

They even have a Oreo Pig for photo ops. Although, really, the whole thing is sort of a photo op.

Dottie couldn’t resist posing with the pig. I’m teaching her to appreciate roadside weirdness.

Isn’t it just the cutest little place?

We didn’t have long to linger. Plus, it was getting hot. So off we went.

11_DSCN3228 — Dottie and some pretty blue wildflowers on Ben Venue Road.

I couldn’t resist stopping for that flower shot.

So what do you think? Is it an operational store or yard art? Either way, I’m glad we happened upon the place.

July 27, 2014July 31, 2014

Mint-Green Monstrosity… Gone

I’ve had an ugly-ass pie safe sitting in my dining room for a while. I did a post about the pie safe shortly after I bought the piece.

I never did like the color. The more I looked at it, the more I hated it.

This is not a valuable antique. (My Dad thinks anything old is valuable.)

I probably paid too much for the thing. But that’s okay. I wanted it. It spoke to me. The piece had character. And that’s exactly what sucked me in.

The old, rusty, original, stamped tins. The knot-holes. The wonky doors.

It’s not a very-well-constructed item. In fact, I think either a kid built the thing or some poor pioneer/farmer.

Not only was it clumsily made, upon close inspection I realized it had been built of scrap wood.

It wasn’t exactly square. And the joinery was some of the more amateurish work I’ve seen.

Adding insult to injury, someone removed the original hinges and replaced them with very basic, brass, surface-mounted hinges. If you click on the image and zoom in, you’ll see what I mean about the hinges.

So why did I buy the thing? I knew I’d give it new life one day.

It sat in my dining room for a little more than two years. I wanted to paint it, really. But it’s a big piece — at least five feet tall and about three feet wide — and I knew it would take a decent chunk of time. Large, uninterrupted chunks of time are a rare commodity around here.

Still, I can’t believe I left that thing sitting there looking ugly for so long!

Finally, I decided to get that thing done. With Hubby’s help, of course.

Step one was to empty-out the piece.

Where to put all of the stuff that we’d crammed in there? On the dining room table, of course.

1_IMG_8213 — What a cluttered, claustrophobia-inducing mess!

Hubby and I carried the thing to the basement, where he removed and repaired the doors so he could install new, more-appropriate hinges. He actually had to cut a chunk of the old wood away and replace it with new wood to make the hinges work.

I painted the cabinet before he replaced the doors. Remember, I liked the character of the piece. I wasn’t trying to make it look new. Just better. So I covered that minty (or sea-foam green) green paint with a single, not-so-neatly-applied layer of Old Ochre chalk paint. In some places, I used two layers. But not many.

Once the entire piece was covered, I realized it needed something else. Some sort of oomph. Something to make it “pop.”

So I added some color to the interior.

There’s nothing symmetrical about this piece of furniture, so I applied the red (Primer Red) and blue (Napoleonic Blue) in an uneven pattern. I didn’t even use tape, I just eyeballed it. Tape would have made it too straight. Too perfect.

This is not a perfect-type piece.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to use dark wax on the piece, but that stuff really highlights imperfections. And since this pie safe is full of imperfections, I used both clear and dark wax.

I just love the way the dark wax settles into all the nooks and crannies.

Then it was time for Hubby to hang the repaired doors.

Here’s another clear wax-only vs clear and dark wax comparison.

6_IMG_8200 — The door on the left is Old Ochre with clear wax.

Some of you may hate this rustic look. I like it.

I decided to make the drawer face red.

One day, my kids will either be fighting over this piece or happily lugging it to the dump.

Sorry for the grainy pics. I used the phone camera.

I’m not crazy about those too-white knobs, so they’ll be replaced one day.

9_IMG_8212 — In place and ready to be loaded.

10_IMG_8221 — Old stuff (no priceless antiques here).

It’s great to have our dining room back.

11_IMG_8215 — You can see the table again!

Here’s a reminder of what it looked like before.

Mint-green cabinet, stuffy crystal chandelier, and unpainted chairs.

It’s SOOOO nice to have our dining room back. I am not a neat freak, but all of that clutter made us both feel as if the walls were closing in on us.

Not only does the pie safe look better, it actually matches the table and chairs.

So, do you hate the old, rustic look? If that’s just not your style, I hope you can at least appreciate the new life I have given these old pieces of junk. 🙂