Escape to Christmas

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate today.  And even if you don't celebrate, I think you'd still enjoy a visit to The Escape Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale for a Christmas dinner, circa 1950's. All for the paltry sum of $3.50. Bon Appetit!

It's a Jungle Out There

"Where Humans are Caged and MONKEYS RUN WILD!".  That sounds like an old Yakov Smirnoff line. "In Soviet Russia..."

Monkey Jungle is still around and thriving.  In 1933, Joseph Demond released 6 Java (Macaque) monkeys into the wild.  Probably not the smartest thing to do, but they survived and now number 80 (according to Monkey Jungle's website or 130 according to RoadsideAmerica. Who are you gonna believe?) along with 300 other various primates that roam the forest.

Leftovers Day 30 --Summer's Cooling Down

Since we're winding down summer this coming weekend, I thought we'd take a look at an icon of summer travels, the humble cooler.

Leftovers Day 21 -- Wallets over Mid-America

This wallet was somebody's souvenir from Six Flags Over Mid-America in Missouri.  It doesn't look like it got much use. The front features some of Six Flags' classic rides such as the Log Flume, the Moon Cars and the Mine Train.

Leftovers Day 20 -- Saludos Amigos!

Somebody chose to save this paper dinner place mat as a reminder of their stay at one of the Hacienda Motel or Hotels.  We'll never know which one. 

What to do in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in July of 1964

Who wants more vintage travel ephemera?! Well, too bad, you're getting it anyway. Today's offering is this oddly red-colored brochure for Gatlingurg, Tennessee from July, 1964.  Why they just didn't go with all black and white, I don't know. My wife and I tent-camped in Gatlinburg about 25 years ago. Wettest week of my life.

Meramec Caverns

If you've ever driven down the Interstate 44 corridor in Missouri between St. Louis and Springfield (don't do it now, it's flooded), you are bound to have noticed the abundance of billboards and barn roofs touting Meramec Caverns in Stanton.

Anti-Gravity House

While looking for a travel brochure requested by a reader (sorry, Greg, still haven't found it), I decided I needed to get a handle on my (frighteningly) vast collection of ephemera, so I gathered it all up and started categorizing and scanning them (look for some coming your way in the near future). While doing so, I came across this brochure for "Marine Life" in Gulfport, Mississippi.

New Moon

The 1953 MGM movie "The Long, Long Trailer" starring Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball has always been one of my favorites. It's the story of  newlyweds Nicky and Tacy Collini who strike out cross country pulling "forty feet of train" in the form of a New Moon Travel Trailer pulled by their 1953 Mercury Monterey convertible through busy city streets and up steep, winding mountain roads. The characters aren't a far stretch from their Ricky and Lucy roles, so it might well have been an "I Love Lucy" movie.  It's filled with plenty of Lucy zaniness and Ricky frustration.  At the time, the movie was the highest grossing MGM comedy to date and had a great economic impact on the Redman Homes, manufacturer of the New Moon, resulting in an increase in production from one or two trailers a day to hundreds.

This weekend, I was at a sale and found another stash of 35mm slides (I can't help it, I'm addicted).  A handful of the slides featured an older couple sitting in front of their own New Moon.

Hart's Buffeteria 1970

This 35mm slide was among a group of vacation slides from Estes Park, Colorado. It may be the only internet evidence of  Hart's Buffeteria (Parking in the Rear) and Cottage Inn.

The slide dates from around 1970 and looks down the road in dowtown Estes Park. The only other readable business is Log [something] Waffle Kitchen.

I'm trying to visualize what a mashup of a buffet (where you serve yourself) and cafeteria (where you are served from behind a counter) would look like. Maybe it was an early version of "all-you-can-eat" with service.  I'm also wondering how the photographer got this picture from above. It doesn't look like there are any buildings that tall in the area.  Possibly, he climbed up one of the hills that surrounds the town.

Clearwater Lake -- An Alien Getaway

This 1950's brochure for Clearwater Lake in Piedmont, Missouri brought back some memories of family trips in the '70's.

Oakhill Court

Today we visit another tourist destination via brochure.  This time it's Oakhill Court cabins and campground in Cassville, Missouri.  "Ideally located near Roaring River and Table Rock Lake".  I've never visited Oakhill, but Roaring River and Table Rock were both vacation destinations for my family when I was a kid.

Missouri - Family Vacation Land

One of my memories of family vacations back in the 1970's was of my father stopping at gas stations and getting a free map.  The station attendant would even highlight our route.

This map of Missouri dates from 1961 and touts the Show Me state as "Family Vacation Land".  It has some great graphics on it, plus a message from the governor.

Disneyworld 1978

My family just got back from a weeklong trip to Florida which included a visit to Disneyworld and The Magic Kingdom specifically.  It has changed since I visited in 1978 with my parents and sister. My dad worked for an asphalt manufacturer so he could only take vacations during the "off-season", so we went in February.  On the one hand, it was pretty empty, on the other, it was cold and rainy. Back then, "Disneyworld" and "Magic Kindgdom" were synonymous as that's all that was there. I remember being fairly disappointed. Cinderella's castle wasn't a castle at all, but simply a walk-through tunnel. You had to have tickets to ride the rides and each ticket booklet (a vague recollection places the price at $7) had a limited number of "E" tickets which were for the better rides along with the "A" through "D" tickets which didn't offer much of any interest to me. Plus, the one ride (besides "Haunted Mansion") I wanted to ride with my "E" ticket, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", broke down while I was in line. I was forced to use the ticket instead on "Space Mountain" which I was deathly afraid of.  Riding it on this visit, I realized how tame it is and how much of it is really an illusion of lights and sound.

I found this Guide to Walt Disney World from 1978 at a recent sale.  It shows what was offered to my 11-year-old self back then.

Oklahoma's Turner and Will Rogers Turnpikes

The Turner and Will Rogers turnpikes in Oklahoma are the states oldest, opening in 1953 and 1959 respectively.  This map from 1959 highlights some of the benefits, the main being getting through Oklahoma as fast as possible.

The Satellite Motel -- Oddly Shaped and Magically Fingered

This is the first of a group of post cards I found at a garage sale last weekend and features the Satellite Motel (Turn Left) of Omaha, Nebraska.

Western Motor Inn

Another brochure from my recent find.  This one is for the Western Motor Inn.  The fact that it boasts "color television in all rooms" lead me to believe it dates from late '60's to early '70's, however, $25.80 per night (noted in pen) seems a little high for that time.  That would be $161.86 today.

Flying W Ranch Chuckwagon Suppers

This ticket to admit one to the Flying W Ranch Chuckwagon Supper was among the brochures I found recently.

A View Askew

Slanted houses, Tilted houses, Gravity houses, Anti-gravity houses, Mystery Spots, they have many names. Up until a few years ago, I was only familiar with one in Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri called "Grandfather's Mansion".  My family went to Silver Dollar City yearly starting in 1974 and it was always one of my favorite attractions, especially since I was scared of the roller coaster there, "Fire in the Hole" (it's a really, really tame roller coaster.  Okay, I was a big chicken).

Among the brochures I found at a recent sale was this postcard from Silver Dollar City.

  Leanin' Lil's Broom at Slantin' Sam's Old Miners Shack (is that enough apostrophes or what???)

Take the Last Skylift to Clarksville

More from my big ephemera find of this past weekend.