I love kitsch, and especially when it's alongside the highway as a tourist attraction. I suppose this stems from the summer vacations I took as a child with my mother and sister. We'd drive the highways across country from Ohio to Oregon, taking in the national parks, tourist traps and scenic highways. There were giant concrete dinosaurs, prairie dogs,
jackalopes and white rabbits. There were buildings shaped like tepees, Swiss cheese, coffee pots, etc. We stopped and paid admission to see prairie dog towns, local zoos, "mystery houses of gravity," and bought souvenirs at Wall Drug. Well, that American 'spirit of kitsch' is alive and thriving in the Adirondacks. The general store, above, is sided with birch bark and filled with souvenirs. I loved it. Alas, it also housed the first of several delis with no menu and no helpful employees, a trend which became a theme as I traveled and looked to buy lunch.
Bears and a giant eagle outside the general store.
This giant lumberjack stands tall in the town of
Tupper Lake, New York. Nearby, I saw a sign saying that
Tupper Lake was the proud home of Woodsmen's Field Days.
On Long Lake, one can travel via pontoon plane. The ticket booth is the small building above and that is the highway next to it.
This Adirondack Hotel in Long Lake doesn't really qualify as
kitsch, but I loved the look of it. I wish I could stay there some time, but will have to be satisfied with admiring its exterior.
Now this is a scene reminiscent of my childhood travels on Route 66. '
RJSTIC' FURNITURE alongside the highway with escaped garden lupines for decoration and a giant 'RJSTIC' chair to draw one's attention. I couldn't resist.
And
some one's mountain home near the Hudson River not far from where there are canoe liveries for whitewater
canoeing and rafting.
And in Lake George Village, I discovered this giant Uncle Sam and Santa Claus. It doesn't show well, but in the background between them, you may be able to see a giant lumberjack. What a trio! Add this kitsch to the magnificent Adirondack scenery and you've got yourself a vacation.
I love kitsch, and especially when it's alongside the highway as a tourist attraction. I suppose this stems from the summer vacations I took as a child with my mother and sister. We'd drive the highways across country from Ohio to Oregon, taking in the national parks, tourist traps and scenic highways. There were giant concrete dinosaurs, prairie dogs, jackalopes and white rabbits. There were buildings shaped like tepees, Swiss cheese, coffee pots, etc. We stopped and paid admission to see prairie dog towns, local zoos, "mystery houses of gravity," and bought souvenirs at Wall Drug. Well, that American 'spirit of kitsch' is alive and thriving in the Adirondacks. The general store, above, is sided with birch bark and filled with souvenirs. I loved it. Alas, it also housed the first of several delis with no menu and no helpful employees, a trend which became a theme as I traveled and looked to buy lunch.
Bears and a giant eagle outside the general store.
This giant lumberjack stands tall in the town of Tupper Lake, New York. Nearby, I saw a sign saying that Tupper Lake was the proud home of Woodsmen's Field Days.
On Long Lake, one can travel via pontoon plane. The ticket booth is the small building above and that is the highway next to it.
This Adirondack Hotel in Long Lake doesn't really qualify as kitsch, but I loved the look of it. I wish I could stay there some time, but will have to be satisfied with admiring its exterior.
Now this is a scene reminiscent of my childhood travels on Route 66. 'RJSTIC' FURNITURE alongside the highway with escaped garden lupines for decoration and a giant 'RJSTIC' chair to draw one's attention. I couldn't resist.
And some one's mountain home near the Hudson River not far from where there are canoe liveries for whitewater canoeing and rafting.
And in Lake George Village, I discovered this giant Uncle Sam and Santa Claus. It doesn't show well, but in the background between them, you may be able to see a giant lumberjack. What a trio! Add this kitsch to the magnificent Adirondack scenery and you've got yourself a vacation.
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