150!!! wacky tacky - We Dig GIVEAWAYS!!!

Can you believe it?  We are now up to 150 followers!  It is hard to imagine, given the ubiquity of self-published stream of consciousness on the internet, that anyone would have found, followed, or "friend-ed" us.  We are grateful for the friendships we have forged here and for all of the funny, kind, inspiring, and thoughtful comments you have shared over the past 183 entries into our wacky tacky journal.

Yes, for your friendship and patronage we are truly grateful.  To commemorate the auspiciousness of the occasion we have, in one fell swoop, both a thrilling announcement and an exciting giveaway (you must watch the video first).

  

Presenting the official wacky tacky t-shirt!  Destined to be the first in a long series of wacky tacky apparel, the wacky tacky t-shirt is designed and printed in the good ol' US of A by Tugboat Studios (the only resource for all of your design and screen printing needs).

"WACKY TACKY, WE DIG OLD STUFF"
Available in sizes Child's XL - Adult XXL

Just in time for the holidays, the official wacky tacky t-shirt, makes the perfect gift.  Aunts and uncles, dads and grads, any shape, any size, there is wacky tacky t-shirt for everyone on your holiday list - even yourself!

See, there is a t-shirt for anyone and everyone.
Yes, this is Mr. Tiny's actual family not a group of highly-trained, professional models.

wacky tacky pride

One of these t-shirts, plus our set of four collectible pinbacks, can be yours by simply entering our 150-Follower Giveaway!!!

Our first giveaway essentially had no rules at all except "follower" status because, as a rule, I hate rules!!!  The truth is, we would love to earn a larger following so we can spread the wacky tacky gospel to a broader congregation.  So, this time around there will be a few rules only so that we can get more people to join in on the fun.

RULES FOR ENTRY:

1. All entrants must be official followers of wacky tacky (new followers are definitely welcomed and encouraged).
2. All entrants must leave a comment in the comments section of this post (it can be about anything - food, your pet, news of the day - preferably something you love about Mr. Tiny's bowtie collection).
3. To earn a double entry, you must show a link, in the text of your comment, where you have shared the giveaway on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter account (sorry for my neediness).
4. All entrants must have a valid mailing address to which I can ship your prize (foreign or domestic).
5. All entrants must have a deep and abiding love of wacky tacky, Mr. Tiny, and accordion music (honor system, not necessarily in that order).
6. All entries must be received by Friday, November 30, 2012

There you have it.  It's as easy as one, two, three.  Follow wacky tacky, tell your friends about wacky tacky, and leave a comment about wacky tacky.  The winner will be chosen at random at an arbitrary time (7:03pm PST) after an arbitrary period of entry (one week) and will be announced in an upcoming blog post.  Odds of winning are entirely dependent on the number of entries.  The giveaway is open to wacky tacky followers anywhere in the world as long as they have an address recognized by the USPS.

If you don't happen to be the lucky winner, but you can't wait to get your hands on one of these beauties, fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of adequate joy; the official wacky tacky t-shirt is available for purchase at Mr. Tiny's South Side Market on etsy right now!!!

You'd better enter or I'll sick these toughs on you!
The little one's the meanest!!!

Thanks again for your support and friendship.  We hope that you've enjoyed the blog and will continue to share in the love of all things wacky tacky!


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Desert Oases: THANKFUL for Vintage Roadside

At this point, you are probably giving thanks that this is to be the last post from our whirlwind, desert, birthday extravaganza!  I, however, am somewhat wistful that it is all over.  Nevertheless, on this the official day of gratitude and giving thanks, I am reminded that the whole trip was joyful and, in the immortal words of Irving Berlin via Bing Crosby, "I've got plenty to be thankful for."

"I've Got Plenty to be Thankful for"

***SIDE NOTE***

Speaking of Bing, for whatever reason, our latest post about Bing Crosby's Blue Skies Trailer Village posted out of order.  If you haven't had a chance to read it, just follow the link.

I really do have plenty to be thankful for.  As my natural tendency is towards being a complete and utter ingrate, I must remind myself daily to count my many blessings.  I feel another song coming on.

"Count Your Blessings"

Hmmm, that Irving Berlin was an unnaturally grateful fellow.  Taking a note from him, I will share with you what fills our wacky tacky hearts with gratitude, at this time of year or any - VINTAGE ROADSIDE!!!  I won't go into detail on every attraction as the pictures are pretty self-explanatory.  I will say that we visited all of these spots in a 24-hour period and we are so grateful that sights like these are in relative abundance within a short distance of our home.  Furthermore, we are grateful for the creative minds that gave us these unnatural wonders of the world.  Further still, we are grateful for the nostalgic hearts that maintain these structures so we can continue in our pursuit of all things wacky tacky.

Riverside County Date Festival Fairgrounds

82-503 Hwy 111

Indio, CA

Pioneertown, CA
53688 Pioneertown Rd.
Pioneertown, CA

Beautiful!!
Pioneertown was once a western lot used to film scenes for movies and TV.
Roy Rogers broke ground for Pioneertown in 1946 with the help of
The Sons of the Pioneers, from which the town takes its name.

"Wagon Wheels"

I'm pretty sure this is what Heaven sounds like.

One of you will have to drop me a line and let me 

know as it is unlikely that I will find out firsthand.

Rustlin' some steer.

We would have died within five minutes of being on the trail.

That's one crazy totem pole!

I couldn't stop her...

You don't get like this by sucking lemons!

My new album cover

Boot Hill
So long, ol' friend.

The restrooms at Pappy & Harriet's in Pioneertown

"Studs" & "Fillies"

Interior of  the Bottle Wall at Pappy & Harriet's

Exterior of the Bottle Wall

Cabazon Dinosaurs
50770 Seminole Dr.
Cabazon, CA

True, the Cabazon Dinosaurs are iconic and
probably deserve an entire post of their own.
What can I say that hasn't already been said?
They are fundamental to the cause of wacky tacky.

If you've never had a chance to be inside a brontosaurus,
this is what it looks like.

Snake charmer

Tell me that you don't find this absolutely breathtaking.

Giant Gumby & Pokey - Norco, CA
4175 California St.
Norco, CA

The best part about Gumby and Pokey?  They aren't a marketing gimmick; 

they are just lawn art in someone's front yard.

Hahaha...he's doing what I'm doing.

Thank you, dear readers, for indulging me in my inherent neediness, childish behavior, and wacky tacky antics; Thank you for following along on our (mis)adventures and sharing your comments.  Lately life has been a bit crazy but with a brother-in-law deployed in the army and some health issues in the family and of my own, it is nice to put things in perspective and examine all that for which I should be thankful.  I have a healthy, beautiful nephew, an amazing family, and the support of friends; I count myself as very blessed and grateful!  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Signs of the Times: A Road Trip Retrospective

The American landscape is both beautiful and unpredictable.  My sister, my 13-month-old nephew and I found this out after we planned a two-week adventure across country to visit my brother-in-law; he is engaged in Military Police training before his unit is deployed to Guantanamo Bay.  We set out just as Missouri, our ultimate destination, was being ravaged by tornadoes.  Moreover, our itinerary had us driving directly through the threatened areas of Oklahoma. 

Astute problem solvers that we are, we decided not to continue the trip as planned, but instead explore the American Southwest - namely Arizona and New Mexico. 

We had already decided to travel along as much of the old Route 66 as was practical.  Our adventure along Route 66 began in the Barstow area and I immediately began snapping photos of the cool wacky tacky signs that had starting cropping up along the roadside.  The major stops along our route included Oatman, Kingman, Seligman, Williams, The Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Sedona, Holbrook, The Painted Desert/Petrified Forest, Tucson, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Quartzite (all in AZ) and Gallup, Albuquerque, Truth or Consequences and Las Cruces (NM).

The Painted Desert

Sedona, AZ

The Grand Canyon

Instead of boring you with an endless travelogue or  countless photos of geological formations, I thought I'd share a compilation of the Southwest's best roadside signs and dinosaurs (that we encountered).  Forgive my proto-novice camera abilities; it may seem impossible to take a bad picture of The Grand Canyon, but I managed...

Wigwam Motel #6 - Holbrook, AZ

Juan "El Payaso"

"Dead Chicken" is actually the best item on the menu.

Burma-Shave signs are alive and well along Route 66. 

I captured Fred at The Flinstone Campground - just barely...

A taste of the Southwest.

I'm pretty sure this dinosaur is on the cover of a vintage roadside book that I have

Dinosaurs were EVERYWHERE!!

Who knew the Indians were so kinky?

The El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, NM was built by D.W. Griffith's brother
and hosted just about every Hollywood star of the 1930's and 40's. 

A cigar store-style Indian covered in turquoise.

Is that a skateboarding, pink dinosaur in a helmet?

Hotel Congress was built in 1919 in the "Pueblo Deco" style and was the
last hideout for John Dillinger and his gang before they were captured.

Easter Island in the middle of Tucson

This camel was a wheeler-dealer

Thanks, Petula.

The biggest surprise of the trip - the Southwest is more than giant, metal-lizard wall art, retirees and turquoise jewelry; active Route 66, unfortunately, is trading on little more than life-size cut outs of Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Elvis and Betty Boop...

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny