Elvis | neondreamscapes

Once again, the intrepid traveler and neon explorer has loaded up the trusty Retromobile and set a southwesterly course through Kentucky and on to Tennessee before making my yearly pilgrimage to Princeton and Penningtonfest! As planned, it was a long drive, but one teeming with roadside treasures and surprises galore. My trusty and loyal crew and I were rewarded with new adventures and plenty of bizarre and interesting bits of vanishing small town Americana. …and, of course, plenty of neon, lost commercial ephemera from bygone eras and interesting architecture that the 21st Century has bid a not so fond farewell to in favor of a landscape of homogenized conformity.

What would a trip to Memphis be without a stop to Graceland. Sorry, no published pictures allowed! Elvis, Elvis!

Historic Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis- Beautiful!

Some cool neon in Memphis

I just LOVED this house- Was formerly a Doctor’s office, now up for sale, but too far from anything to make it practical

Old small town movie theaters

Several generations of wildly diverse roadside architecture in the South

Who knew that rural Tennessee was home to such great Deco design?

Since he was a young lad, my son Spencer has always delighted in his trips to the barber shop, not a stylist, not a designer salon, not the Hair Cuttery, but a real and true barber shop! Living in the Nation’s Capitol as we do, such a relic of bygone times has become harder and harder to find, especially if the head in question demands a haircut in a style of a decidedly bygone era. A few years ago, at a event known as Sledfest, we discovered the amazing husband/wife duo of Devon “Di-Di” Shilling, and her husband, Smiling John! They run a friendly, affordable and always welcoming shop in York, Pennsylvania. Although it is a bit of a haul from stuffy old D.C., it is always worth the roadtrip through the back roads of the Keystone State. Spencer gets a great haircut, we have a good time on the road, we get to share tales of razors, hot rods & Rockabilly, and of course, there always seems to be a diner of lunch counter somewhere along the way. It is, after all, the land of Texas Hot Weiners. In PA. Go figure!

The man, the legend, an artist with a straight razor- Smiling John Shilling

Nothing better than a hot towel & lots of lather

Always under the watchful eyes of THE KING

Going to DiDi & John’s is like a trip to the local art gallery- Body art, that is

Would YOU trust this man with a straight razor? You bet!

You can always count on a stylish look in York!