Boyd's Motel

Located in Newport along Highway 61, Boyd's Motel is another place that has survived the ages. This was really a tough shot to take. Nothing was ideal. I wanted the faded sign with the hotel in the background, but that telephone pole was smack dab in the middle of any shot I wanted. The other side doesn't get any sunlight, thus it was not faded, but if I shot the sign on that side, the hotel was out of the photo completely. So this strangely arranged photo was the best I could come up with.

Newport Center

Along highway 61, in the city of Newport, this red, white, and blue Newport Center signage is hard to miss.

Theme Day: Empty

Today is the City Daily Photo's monthly theme day. This months theme is actually a challenging one. It was voted the photo theme was 'empty'. Creativity is a must with this theme. I've selected a photo I took last summer on a camping trip. The sun had set about 60 to 90 minutes at the time of this photo. All that was left was the empty sky and the moon's dancing light reflecting off of the waters for my camera to capture.

To see additional theme day photos around the world, stop by the portal page for a convenient thumbnail view of all participants. As the time zone changes each hour, more photos will be added.

Metro State University

High atop the bluffs of the East St Paul neighborhood, Metro State University. While the University was founded in 1971, this fabulous building was built about fifteen years ago from what I can recall. Since I've started this Twin Cities photo blog, I've always wanted to photograph this building because of the large pains of glass. Unfortunately, when I was there on the spot trying to find a great location to shoot from, all I could find was very large and established trees blocking my view. This was plan B and I'm quite pleased with the results except for cutting off the tops of the flags. However, if I stepped any further back, I would have been standing in the busy traffic.

Fritz Company Inc

Based in Newport, Minnesota, Fritz Company Inc which you've probably heard the phrase "Fritzie Fresh", yeah, that candy company. I've been googling on some facts about the company as I'm under the impression it has closed, or parts of it at least. I'm fairly sure they no longer manufacture candy from this facility, but what part of it is still open, that info I could not locate at this time.

Don't Even Think About Parking Here

I loved this hand written message to those dropping their vehicles off to be repaired. "If you parked in front of our door get back in your car and move it". On the other windows, the written note read "If you park here, your car may be hit or towed". Message noted.

Roadside Weed

I spotted these purple flowers. I'm not sure if these are flowers or if it's some kind of weed. It was growing wild along the roadway I was walking on and thriving very well. Notice all of the thorns on the stem? I didn't dare touch these. Perhaps they are a cross between a cactus and a long stemmed flower....

Into The Night

From an overpass from the EastSide neighborhood over Interstate 94. The sunset long gone. The State Capital building in the distance.

Garden Tour 2009

From my garden, to my camera, to the blog. Fresh flowers on the rise.

Keeping Dry

One thing I discovered while taking photos of lightning last Wednesday was be prepared for the rain. Thank goodness I was within 15 feet of my garage when the rain started falling from the sky or my camera would have gotten soaked. I'm making a mental note, if I'm out taking photos of lightning, have a plastic bag to throw over the camera handy to keep the rain drops out.

While I was watching the rain fall, I snapped a couple of photos between my vehicles parked in the driveway. I really like the effect the rain had on the street lights.

Ghost Ad Mystery Revealed

Following up on my June 15th post featuring a 'ghost ad' painted on a brick wall in St Paul....my dad had figured out that the beer brand on the sun faded advertisement was Milwaukee brewed, Blatz Beer. After doing some digging using Google, I found a key reference photo from a 1942 magazine article about Blatz Beer. The ad is about a pilsener beer flavor with the slogan 'For Good Taste' with a trapezoid shape around the word 'Blatz'. Looking at the additional photos I found, I can confirm the ghost ad is for Blatz beer. The trapezoid shape in the magazine ad matches the ghost ad, plus the word 'TASTE' is very clear to see from their slogan.

One More From The Lightning Storm

The forecast called for a second night of thunderstorms, but this event was a no-show. Or at least in my part of the woods. Today's photo is from Wednesday evening storm once again.

Lightning

We had a great thunderstorm roll through the Twin Cities last evening. I hadn't realized there was so much lightning that went along with this storm before the rain hit. I must have missed 20 minutes of photo taking before I started shooting. This one was the best of the crop with a couple of okay shots at the end of the text. Unfortunately, the shooting location was my driveway, but I wasn't sure how much time I had before the rain would start. So stayed where I was and made the best of it. After about 10-12 minutes, I had to retreat to my garage as the skies opened and I had to protect my camera.

 

What Is This Sticker?

I've seen this sticker, next to the '7th' in the highway sign, for the past couple of years. I've seen it in the strangest of places, including this sign, but mainly on cars. I for the life of me, do not know what it is a symbol for. For as many times as I've seen this symbol around town, it has to be very popular whatever it is and I'm not in the right age category to know why it is popular. Can you clear up the mystery on what it is?