The Joy Motel is a joyous place indeed! I found it a few years ago when I was on a road trip specifically focused on finding cool roadside attractions – and thought I’d died and gone to heaven! Located in Eureka Springs, Arkansas – it still features 50′s and 60′s inspired rooms! It even has a vintage 1932 swimming pool! They claim to be the “original Motor Motel” of Eureka Springs since 1929! Wow! Kudos to these folks for keeping [...]

Well it’s finally happened! Another one of my favorite local landmarks, the giant ice cream cone at Meredith’s Bread on Route 28 between Woodstock and Kingston is gone. I’m disconsolate! I drive along this route about twice a day and seeing the giant cone always made me smile! I have wanted to paint the local icon for years – and now that it’s gone I’ve committed to making that one of my winter projects. The giant ice cream cone will [...]

As Hudson Valley residents, my husband and I are always on the lookout for great places to go for a romantic overnight that are fairly close to home. Over the years, we’ve gone as far afield as Lake George or the Berkshires (1-2 hour drives), we love The Mohonk Mountain House, which is always an amazing trip of historic significance considering when it was built and the magnificence of the hotel itself (a 1/2 hour drive). We love going into [...]

Today is the last day of my art show at Oriole 9 in Woodstock, New York – “Route 66 Revisited”! It’s been such fun to share some of my paintings from our trip last January in Arizona and California. That trip ignited a true passion for this treasured route and I have made a commitment to explore the entire road within the next few years. So, the new plan is to do the first leg of Route 66 from Chicago [...]

We recently returned from a fabulous road trip canvasing Arizona and Southern California, primarily focused on the legendary Route 66! I’ve devoted several blogs to our adventures on #66, and now I’d like to give you an update on the amazing work being done by a group called the Mesa Preservation Foundation. This group did not exist until a cherished animated neon sign at The Starlight Motel on Main Street (the old Apache Trail) smashed to the ground on October [...]

There are some roads that become a big part of your daily life, and for me that is Route 28 right here in Ulster County, New York State. My husband Richard and I have our gourmet take out store and cafe Bistro-to-Go on Route 28 in a fun and funky little strip mall that hosts many other stores with culinary delights. Our neighborhood is populated with a huge Harley Davidson dealership, a great wine store, a cheese store, a handmade [...]

The full name of this wonderful Ulster County Route 28 roadside treasure is “The Reservoir Delicatessen and Dairy”. How many times have I driven by this great sign and said to myself “I have to stop, get a picture and PAINT that sign”? Hundreds, I’m sure!! So one day last summer, I finally did it! Jumped out of the car, snapped a few pics and dashed inside, notebook in hand to find out a little more about the place. One [...]

Wherever I go on my travels, I’m always on the lookout for great remnants from our roadside past to paint – be they great old signs, businesses that have survived or been revitalized, and of course the wonder of old cars and trucks! A few years back, while visiting Richard’s family in Sun Valley, Idaho, I had the pleasure of meeting Chris Key and his 1960 Studebaker. Now that’s when cars and trucks had real personalities! I was smitten by [...]

We’ve owned a home in the Hudson Valley since 1985 (started out as weekenders from New York City) – and there’s almost no landmark as iconic to Kingston as the giant Skytop Steakhouse neon sign that beckons travelers as they’re approaching exit 19 on the New York State Thruway! For a number of years, part of the fun of the sign was that one or two letters would be dark – you were never quite sure what the sign would [...]

Wherever I go on my travels, I’m always on the lookout for great remnants from our roadside past to paint – be they great old signs, businesses that have survived or been revitalized, and of course the wonder of old cars and trucks! A few years back, while visiting Richard’s family in Sun Valley, Idaho, I had the pleasure of meeting Chris Key and his 1960 Studebaker. Now that’s when cars and trucks had real personalities! I was smitten by [...]