Palm Springs or bust!

"Did we turn off the stove?" "Did you see if the coffee pot was turned off?" "I think I forgot socks." "Do I really need my wallet?" Those questions and numerous other variants can only mean one thing - Roadtrip!

In 2 weeks we'll be driving from Portland, Oregon down to Palm Springs, California for the 2009 California Preservation Conference. We'll be writing a nightly blog covering historic preservation projects, roadside architecture, preservation people, neon sign survivors, and possibly a malt or two. We'll also be sharing numerous photos along the way. The plan is to travel mainly along historic Highway 99.


The blog will be similar to the one we wrote last October as we meandered across Route 66. We hope you'll join us again! If you have any favorite places or things along Highway 99 we'd love to hear about them.

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside

Sneak peek at Vintage Roadside's new tiki t-shirt - The 7 Seas

Happy Friday everyone,

We're finishing off the week by sharing a look at the first of several vintage tiki designs we have coming out over the next few weeks.

We're thrilled with the results and hope you enjoy it, too! The 7 Seas was located in Santa Barbara, California and from the looks of the souvenir photo we have (taken in the 1940s) it looks like it was certainly the place to be.


Our 7 Seas shirt will be a three-color screen print on Charcoal for men and on Deep Heather for women -- available through the Vintage Roadside Gift Shop beginning March 31st.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside

A first look at the next Vintage Roadside t-shirt - Gwinn's of Pasadena

Hello gang,

In honor of our upcoming roadtrip to Palm Springs in April to attend the California Preservation Conference, we're releasing two new t-shirt designs. We wanted to give you a sneak peek at the first one which will be available on our website March 31st.

With it's striking mid-century design, Gwinn's Restaurant was a Pasadena landmark from 1949 - 1972. We'll have much more history and additional images on our website at the end of the month.


Our Gwinn's shirt will be available as a two color print on Cardinal for men and Red for women.

We'll have more news about the upcoming trip, the conference, and the daily blog posts from along Highway 99 as we get closer to the end of the month. We'll also have a look at the second design in a day or two featuring a late 1940s tiki lounge.

Happy Thursday,

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside

Vintage Roadside swings by the Country Ham Motel

We love vintage motel and motor court postcards and the one below is way up there on our all-time favorite list. This one can also be safely filed under "They don't make 'em like they used to".

Behold the one-of-a-kind Country Ham Motel - once located in Bowling Green Kentucky. You might be wondering what those objects are hanging in the large display window. Why, none other than the "Largest Country Ham Display in the U.S.A."

We'll probably never have the opportunity to visit a motel using cured meat as a draw (darn those pesky regulations!) but we know the Country Ham would have stopped up in our tracks.

It's places like the Country Ham Motel, with their imagination and spirit, that keep us creeping along the old highways and back roads.

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside

Looking for even more Vintage Roadside?

Happy Monday all,

We've set up a brand spankin' new Vintage Roadside page over on Facebook and we'd love to have you drop by. While the idea of becoming a "fan" still sounds odd to us we've yet to hear back from Facebook on changing that term to "really cool people we'd love to meet on a road trip."

We'll be using the status update as another way of letting you know what's in the works as far as upcoming t-shirt releases, where we are on a roadtrip, and whether or not the drive in we just ate at offered tater tots. We'd also love to have you share any photos from your roadtrips, favorite neon signs, or you wearing a Vintage Roadside t-shirt somewhere out there!

You can find our Facebook page here.

Hope everyone is enjoying that extra hour of daylight,

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside

Come see Vintage Roadside at the Portland Expo this weekend!

Hello all,

We'll be live and in-person at the Antique and Collectible Show this Friday - Sunday at the Portland Expo Center. Fingers crossed it won't be much longer before t-shirt weather arrives here in Oregon. Until then keep layering people!

The Palmer Wirfs shows are always a good time and with over 1000 booths you never know just what you'll find. We've seen everything from vintage airline mascots to 1940s travel trailer magazines. If you're out and about this weekend stop by and say hello.

• What: Vintage Roadside t-shirts, antiques, vintage treasures, and $6.00 hot dogs.
• When: Friday, March 6th through Sunday, March 8th.
• Where: Portland Expo Center. (Section D2, Booth 46 for Vintage Roadside)

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside

Vintage Roadside's Aquarama t-shirt featured on Pop Culture Tees!

Today's fun surprise was a great post by one of our favorite t-shirt sites, Pop Culture Tees.

Well-written and frequently updated, Pop Culture Tees is a terrific blog to browse for new t-shirt designs and industry news. We like the founder's style and can attest to losing a couple of hours earlier this week reading through approx. 30 pages of posts in one gulp. Must learn to pace.....



To read more of the history behind Aquarama or to purchase your very own Aquarama t-shirt you can visit the Vintage Roadside Gift Shop here.

Happy Tuesday all!

Jeff & Kelly
Vintage Roadside