Sunday, May 1, 2016

Seen Along the Way

We stopped for gas in Moss Landing and I spotted a large motorcycle sculpture. They used tractor wheels and tires on this one and formed the fenders from shovels.

It was large enough that it dwarfed the 4.3 liter V6 that the creator used for an engine.

I thought this one sculpture was all, but BJ had spotted a couple more on the far side of the building.

This one used a front end loader tire on the front, and a fertilizer spreading swamp buggy tire on the rear. The majority of the "sheet metal" was formed of used horseshoes.

This gives a sense of scale. It was big enough that it had three tractor seats - side by side for the riders.

The third bike was shaped with used license plates. Most of them were Texas or Mexican states, perhaps because of the coloring. The projects left me wondering where the artist managed to source the materials. Who has that many shovel heads or horseshoes or license plates?

At the north end of the Golden Gate bridge was a statue that I thought was both creative and moving. The Lone Sailor statue was apparently a copy of one in Washington D.C. and pays tribute to all of the Navy, Marine, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine that have headed to the Pacific from here.

I intentionally bypassed the "drive through" redwood tree. I find myself questioning side roads that aren't well marked. I did stop to get one representative redwood structure. Did you ever notice that nearly every souvenir store (aka tourist trap) in America sells moccasins?

I promised Kathy that I'd keep my eye open for some wood to build her canoe. This guy said he would deliver - she'll just have to rip it in itty-bitty strips.

Thanks to a Point of Interest file that I loaded to our Garmin, Kate squawks at me whenever we're within 2 miles of some roadside oddity. In this case, Charley Tuna who stands guard outside the Charleston Visitor Center. Of course, Charley's always ready while the Visitor Center doesn't open for business until May.

I'm a sucker for boats, especially working boats. We saw them in all sorts of condition from Bristol to well cared for like the Lady Helen,

to rusty but still working like the Ocean Faith,


to those that have hidden their name in shame. There was another boat in the same condition on the other side of this dock. Amazingly all three of these boats were tied up at the same dock!

As always, I find it fun to see what catches my eye as we wander the blue roads.

3 comments:

  1. Moccasins, yes!! And fudge. They often go hand and hand to guide the wayward tourist. Those motorcycles are incredible, but I want to know how you specifically identified the "fertilizer spreading swamp buggy tire." ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good catch on the fudge - you're right, they do seem to go hand in hand. As to the tire, this boy grew up in a farming community...

      Delete
  2. I love Moss Landing! Nice art! Travel safely!

    ReplyDelete