You Deserve A Break Today, Just Not Here

I love me a good Egg McMuffin. And when you're on the road, McDonald's bathrooms are plentiful and cleaner than rest stops or gas stations, which can be scary places for those with an aversion to unfathomable filth. But you can get neither food nor relief at this McDonald's in City of Industry, CA, because it isn't real:

Just off the Pomona Freeway on Green Drive, surrounded by shipping and receiving warehouses, this is a freestanding set -- a completely fake Mickey D's -- where McDonald's shoots many of its TV commercials. The signs are adjustable to different heights and/or on wheels, and storage lockers nearby hold uniforms and furniture decor to simulate any McDonald's in the world.

That's me in front, pining for a McRib that I will never get.

New Things That Look Like Old Things

I like new things that look like old things. For example, this lamp was in our room on a recent trip:

The lamp, with its energy-efficient bulb, has been made to look like a candle. Because we always see old things straining to appear new (I'm talking to you, Lance "Freshness" logo), this steampunkian reverse chrono-clash delights me. It brings to mind giant feather quills tipped with ball-point pens, CD players set in old wooden phonograph casings, and iPod jackets designed to resemble brass clockwork devices.

Some people are just never happy in the time they're in, and that makes me happy.

Wither Wigwam?

No motel blog is complete without the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, AZ.
















Back in August, Alysia and I stopped at this famous bunk-down establishment for a nose around. Two things of interest I will mention here:

1) These are not actually "wigwams," but "tipis," and...

2) Though there are people at the front desk and cars in the parking lot, you can't stay here anymore. This is a motel-as-museum, an entire complex of buildings that are not being used, but will not be torn down either, as it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They are trapped in a kind of limbo, and that's neat.

Here is a nice catalog of all the Wigwam-inspired motels across the country. You would think that one Wigwam-inspired motel would be enough, but you would be wrong.

UPDATE: A website purporting to be for the WigWam Motel in Holbrook has links where you can make reservations to stay. I do not know what kind of chicanery this is, but I hope it's true chicanery!