Sign Pics

I was going through some stuff recently and came across this Peanuts cartoon, saved from a calendar I had ages ago. I remember laughing when I saw it, because yes, I love taking pictures of signs.

Anyway, I'm just posting it here as an excuse to share some sign pics.

Most people who know me are used to my love of taking pictures of signs, but I'm not sure if I've ever explained how it started. It started in 1999, when I was in London for a semester and kept noticing pub signs. One of our tour guides for a day trip to Oxford told us the signs were so unique because back when the population was largely illiterate, they needed to be able to identify, say, the Eagle and Child.

Oxford, taken in 1999, scanned a few years ago.

 And, of course, I had to get a Mind the Gap sign pic.

For the next few years, I would take sign pics from time to time, but it wasn't until about 2004, when I was in England again, that it became more of an...obsession. Call it a hobby. I got some fantastic sign pics while living and teaching in England...

Dear Burnham...the rail station sign.

Windsor, near Windsor Castle

Somewhere in London, and one of my BEST sign pics ever.

Also in Windsor.

At King's Cross in London.

In my various travels, I've found other great signs. Sometimes a sign in the local language can be quite charming.

A lovely sign in Bayeux, Normandy.  (2005)

Well, of course I'm getting a Guiness sign when I visit
Ireland! (2005)

Rome, Italy (2003)

Vatican Museum (2003)

Bayeux (the green building on the left is the one where the "Welcome to
the War Veterans" sign is) 2005.

Cork, County Cork, Ireland (2005)

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (2006)

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (2006)

Over time, I realized I liked using sign pics to document special places.

My alma mater...

Best burger in Chico.

My hometown.

My home for a year in Washington State.

My home for three years.

I've also discovered a love of old neon signs. The crazier, the better!

Stockton, California

Along Interstate 80, between Davis and Vacaville, California

One of the Gold Country towns.

Auburn, California

Twin Falls, Idaho

Twin Falls, Idaho

Roseville, California--my parents' first apartment was near this auto
dealership. Mom used to wash dishes and watch this sign spin.

Oakland, California

Oakland, California

Oakland, again.

Sometimes a place I visit just has a great name.

Rough and Ready, California

Exactly where I want to get married.

Sometimes a street name catches my eye.

Don't want to live here...

But I could live here!

Then, of course, there are the more famous signs.

Taken from a moving bus. I have talent.

And signs that just make me smile and/or laugh. Or grimace.

King City, California...I laughed so hard at this one.

Only in Berkeley, California.

San Francisco...never change.

San Francisco. This was a "grimace" sign.

This pretty much sums up why I hate driving in San Francisco. Still,
I laughed.

If this teaching thing doesn't work out...

At the Charles Schulz Museum. So brilliant.

Every so often, I come across one of these types of sign.

Just south of Monterey, California.

First thing I saw getting off the train in Glasgow, Scotland (1999).

Davis, California

Santa Cruz, California

Nevada City, California

I have well over a thousand sign pictures, and my collection keeps growing. Now that I have an iPhone, it's easy to get them anytime, anywhere. I don't have any criteria for taking a sign picture, except that it somehow be interesting or meaningful to me.

My friends and family have even started helping me out.

A McDonald's in Asia, taken by Mom and Dad.

The famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore (Mom and Dad).

A Kentucky Fried Chicken in China (Mom and Dad).

It's all Greek to me (Mom and Dad).

A FANTASTIC sign pic from Mom and Dad (Greece or Turkey). They saw
it, laughed, and Mom said, "DOUG! Take a pic for Meg!!"

Pennsylvania (Mom and Dad).

Then there was that one time Richard, the drummer for Keane Tweeted,
"Sign pic for Meg" and made my day.

One from Maayani in New York.

One from Lindsay, who knows I sometimes use this expression. ; )

One from Sarah, who knows I love a good, funny
British sign.

I could post for days. I'll stop here. I've shared sign pics before, and no doubt I will again!