Vacation's All I Ever Wanted...

Hey readers, I actually took a week-long vacation where I had no access to the internet, Facebook or my cell phone. It actually felt great to have nothing to tie me down - just like the old days when we actually lived life without having to document it as it happens.

That being said, I'm back and I hope to fill these pages with more silly nonsense about the things I just can't get enough of. Thanks for hanging in there...and happy March!

No (Big) Post Today

Today I took "the day off" to go to Disneyland (a day after "Gay Days" ended). It was fun.

Every Trip's a Pleasure Trip!

While my family didn't go on many vacations (I think I can count them all on one hand) - we did manage a road trip to Walt Disney World in 1974. We travelled from New York to Orlando via Domenico bus (mostly because my dad didn't drive) with a bunch of strangers, who we never saw again. What I remember most about the bus trip is that the driver had a meltdown somewhere along the way, that we stayed at a motel called the 1776 Inn (because it cost only $17.76 a night) ...and that we stopped at a wonderful store called Stuckey's along the way! Stuckey's was a roadside souvenir shop that specialized in sweet, sticky pecan snacks and fun things kids could play with in the car. What I remember most about Stuckey's is that my family purchased four things there...

1) A monkey bank carved out of coconut

2) Issue #134 of The Amazing Spider-Man

3) A small bottle of Orange Blossom perfume (for my sister) that came attched to a seashell4) and a Yes & Know puzzle book with Invisible Ink pen!

So of course, upon the occasion of my recent road trip from California to Orlando, I needed to recreate as much of my 1974 experience as possible. This time we drove in a Hybrid (oddly enough, we came across only ONE other Hybrid during our entire two week trip - proving how out of step the rest of the states are with California). We searched high and low for a Stuckey's along the way, to no avail. It seemed like Cracker Barrel Country Store has taken over the roadside stop business and unfortunately the iPhone does not come with a "Stuckey's Finder" app (though the Starbucks Finder came in VERY handy).

Once in Florida, I was sure that we could find a Stuckey's, so I consulted the interweb and discovered there were actually THREE off Route 10 that we somehow missed. Damn! We'll just have to hit on them on the way back. While in Florida, I searched everywhere for Orange Blossom perfume, but the souvenir shops seemed more concerned with stocking alligator carcasses and aborted shark fetuses than perfume.

So after spending 8 days in Orlando, it was time to hit the road back to Burbank - and hopefully to Stuckey's! Finally, we found one - in Florida - but it was basically just an Exxon station that sold some wonderfully retro-packaged Stuckey's products.

I was disappointed, but did manage to buy some Peanut Brittle...

A Pecan Log Roll...

And a Yes & Know puzzle book!!! Complete with magic Invisible Ink pen!!! Hours and hours of "BY-YOURSELF ENJOYMENT" ® I was very happy, but hoped we'd have a more fulfilling Stuckey's experience. Oh well, there were TWO more Stuckey's on the way home. They've got to be better than this one. So we hit the next Stuckey's, also in Florida, but close to the Alabama border.

This one was even worse since they seemed to specialize in Confederate flag memorbilia and right-wing bumper stickers. Ugh. But they did have coconut monkey banks - but I was too disgusted to buy one.

The third and final Stuckey's was in the state of Texas and right out of THE TEXAS CHAINSHAW MASSACRE. On a dirt road with nothing else around. There was a little old lady behind the counter who we named "Maud Frickett" for some reason. There was also some provocative graphitti ("Show Your ____")  in the men's room accompanying a "glory hole" with eyelashes drawn around it. We suspect that Maud drilled the hole and dressed it up with the eyelashes to attract potential customers. I wish I took a photo of it, but this recreation will have to do.

I guess, as Stuckey's once proclaimed, "Every Trip's a Pleasure Trip!"

A not so "happy ending" to the Stuckey's saga, if you ask me.

Fat Tuesday & Other Missed Opportunities

Because I've been on a two-week road trip from LA to Orlando, Florida (and back) I've missed opportunities to blog about things such as Friday the 13th (the day, not the movie franchise), Valentine's Day, Abe Lincoln's big birthday and most recently Mardi Gras. Oh well, sometimes life happens and when your Disney hotel doesn't provide free wifi, it's just not worth the trouble of paying $9.99 a day for internet service.

So I apologize to my faithful readers and I assure you that once I am back in my home office I'll be back to my old blogging self with lots of new posts about bad movies, TV, pop culture and the part 2 of my tribute to the great African-American divas.

You Can Go Home Again

The Premio Dardos Awards

Last week, Dougsploitation was bestowed the prestigious Premio Dardos Award, and now it it my turn to dole out the honors to five of my favorite fellow bloggers. Of courses there are many other blogs that I enjoy on a regular basis, but these five are the ones that keep me coming back for more (for various reasons). So, with no futher ado, here are my picks (in alphabetical order):

COMICS AND THINGS - Tony Z's funny and informative look at what's hot and what's not in the world of comic books and collectibles. Also his GOLDEN AGE SUPERHEROES is a well-researched and fascinating look at many forgotten classic characters.DAVELAND BLOG - Dave's awesome collection of vintage Disneyland photos of memories is truly magical. Even if you've never been to Disneyland, this site stirs up memories of the child in us all. Dave's original artwork blog is also worth checking out.SHIRTLESS SUPERHEROES - What can I say? I'm a sucker for a half-naked super-hero. Who isn't? This site uncovers all the greats. You'll be amazed how many comic book characters spend as much time out of costume as they do in costume!THIS AND THAT - Not always safe for work, this blogger is self-described as "liberal, intelligent, passionate, sensitive, queer, activist-somewhat, music lover, dancer, frustrated, handsome, beautiful, sexy, libra, aggravated, aggravating, reactionary, reader, dreamer, perverted, witty..." What's not to love?
...and last, but certainly not least is the always safe for work VINTAGE DISNEYLAND TICKETS - more great Disneyland memories as seen thru and amazing collection of promotional materials and advertising. I'm constantly astounded by what I see here and inspired to make my blog as enjoyable.

from TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES to TEXAS

This morning I woke up a few miles east of a town called Truth or Consequences, New Mexico...

And for those of old enough to recall the great stunt-oriented game show classic, here's the fabulous theme song...

Speaking of daytime TV themes - I spent most of my day today driving through the state of Texas - a state so big that NBC once decided to rip-off CBS's prime-time hit DALLAS, by spinning off a few characters from ANOTHER WORLD by moving them to the Lone Star state. Too bad they didn't move Bay City cop Larry Ewing and his bimbo wife Clarice to Texas, because then there'd be two Ewing families in the six flag state.

...just passing though...

Who cannot drive through Phoenix, Arizona without thinking about Linda Lavin warbling the theme from ALICE? Well I certainly cannot! To celebrate my "just passing through" here's the song as featured in the rare pilot episode of the hit show (based on one of my favorite movies of all time, ALICE DOESN'T LOVE HERE ANYMORE).

Dougsploitation is Going on DougsploitVacation

I'll be blogging from the road as much as I can. Here's me in 1974...
 I'll be revisiting Walt Disney World - 35 years later.