99¢ ONLY STORES:

A newly opened 99¢ Only Stores location at San Carlos and Brooklyn Sts. in San Jose on January 20, 2010.


A 99¢ Only Stores semi truck on Main St. in Ventura on June 17, 2013. Six photos added 10/28/13.

ALTERED STATE TRUCK:


This truck makes an annual pilgrimage to Burning Man. Seen at my friends' shop on November 28, 2009.

MY BICYCLES:

I owned a nice red coaster brake bike bought in 1982 from TG&Y Family Center. Here it reposes at a dorm I lived in at college.

BIRDS:

A dead pigeon on a downtown San Jose sidewalk on July 31, 2006.


A flock of seagulls flying over Blossom Hill Road in south San Jose (near Almaden Plaza Shopping Center) on March 4, 2009.

CAPITOL RECORDS:

The Capitol Records building at Vine St. and Hollywood Blvd. on February 24, 2004.

The Capitol Records building on February 20, 2007. One photo added 04/19/19.

The Capitol Records building as seen from the Ventura Freeway (US 101) on June 12, 2011. One photo added 06/13/11.

CART:


My friend Julius constructed this cart for carrying stereo equipment or coolers using a NordicTrac frame and generator wheels. Here are some pictures taken September 2, 2011. Seven photos added 09/03/11.

A DISTURBING FACE:

Taken with my camera phone, here is Julius' nephew Chris wearing a strange looking Halloween mask in Walgreens. Chris is a more handsome young gentleman than this mask depicts.

E-BIKE:

Julius' E-Bike in June 1999.

GULL WINGS CHILDREN'S MUSEUM:

Gull Wings Children's Museum is located on 4th Street in downtown Oxnard. This fun place features hands-on activities involving the Wild West, medicine, fast food, and space travel. Gull Wings offers the use of facilities for birthday parties at a very low price. This "on-the-go" trailer was parked in front of the museum on March 1, 2006.

HP PAVILION:

HP Pavilion in downtown San Jose on the night of October 19, 2009.

HUMDINGER TOY SHOW:

Humdinger Toy Show was held annually at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose during the summers. Here's a picture of a clown statue that stood outside the entrance to the show; I took it in 1998. One photo added 01/05/10.

JOHN INMAN:

British television star John Inman visited Valley Fair Mall in August 1997 for a book signing ("Are You Being Served?"). One photo added 03/01/11.

ST. JULIUS OF MICHAUX:

"I do and I do and I do, and how many of them really appreciate what I do?"

KMART:

A classic Kmart sign on Victoria Avenue in Ventura on September 18, 2004. The store to which this belonged closed on January 9, 2007.

MQ POWER WHISPERWATT GENERATOR:

I saw this model DCA125USI MQ Power WhisperWatt Ultra-Silent generator parked on a downtown San Jose street on July 31, 2006. These things sell for $43,000 each including trailer. This one happens to be owned by Hertz Equipment Rental.

NEIGHBORHOOD VIDEO:

Neighborhood Video was a small business in Sunnyvale, originally located at the former Mary Manor shopping center at Washington St. and Mary Ave., later moving to El Camino Real and Grape Ave. The store closed down effective March 31, 2011; this picture taken March 26th shows the closing signs. My friends rented many DVDs here. One photo added 03/29/11.

NO ED CROSSING:

How come they won't let Ed cross the street here? And does that mean it's okay for the rest of us to cross here? El Camino Real and Quarry Rd. at Stanford Shopping Center, September 15, 2009. One photo added 04/10/11.

NO TRESPASSING:

It's so not worth throwing oneself in front of a train. It's also a good idea to stay off railroad tracks and rights-of-way. The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board has these signs mounted at the southernmost edge of the Santa Clara Caltrain Station platform, as seen on October 1, 2012. One photo added 10/15/12.

PAK'N SAVE FOODS:

The former Pak'n Save Foods store in Sunnyvale was closed January 2010 so owner Safeway could rebuild as a conventional store. I took these pictures on the evening of January 30, 2010.


Interior, doors, and former signage.

Julius posing with the closed Pak'n Save store; he worked here 1988-1998.


Two shopping carts with variations in name. One has plain letters, the other has a Pak'n Save Foods logo. Also, a shopping cart labeled Lucky on the side but with Safeway advertising cards on the front and back sides of the card holder.

My Oldsmobile Ciera parked in front of the store.

SCHWINN TRICYCLE:


This 1958 Schwinn trike was at the shop on June 18-19, 2004 for some maintenance: new tires, 3-speed shifter, and new paint.

STAIRCASES:

The spiraling staircase of a Mountain View parking garage, photographed August 5, 2011. One photo added 01/07/14.

STEPHENS MEAT PARKING LOT:


On the site of the former Stephen's Meat Products plant rose the Stephens Meat Parking Lot, a public facility with ticket vending machine (which does not include the apostrophe in the name as does the neon sign) maintained by Standard Parking. Montgomery and San Fernando Sts. in San Jose on October 12, 2008.

TEDDY BEAR STORY TIME:

Ritz Camera once offered Russ teddy bears as a premium to its customers. On April 3, 2004 I gathered a number of the stuffed animals at the store and pretended to read to them from a Ritz catalog.

TOM'S TOYS:

Tom's Toys is a southern California chain of stores that offers a higher end selection of playthings and collectibles. Here is the San Luis Obispo store on June 10, 2011. Two photos added 04/13/12.

Tom's Toys in Town Center Mall in Santa Maria on June 15, 2011. One photo added 04/13/12.

TOYS-R-US:



The chain announced closing of selected stores in late 2017 and full chain in early 2018. Here is the Sunnyvale, CA store with closing banners and a shopping cart on May 1, 2018. Twelve photos added 05/20/18.


The Redwood City Toys-R-Us and Babies-R-Us on May 5, 2018. Small sculptures of children and toys are present in front of both buildings. Nine photos added 05/20/18.

TRUEBLOOD:

Trueblood was a store located on Main St. in downtown Ventura that offered a variety of toy collectibles, magazines, housewares, tools, and other castoffs. Owners Johnny and Kitty Trueblood closed it down June 5, 2005 due to escalating rents. This is my photo of Trueblood on September 19, 2004. Also pictured is a patch for Dixieland Tours of New Orleans I bought from Trueblood. Two photos added 02/15/11 and 05/20/18.