Sunday, October 21, 2007

formerly known as Stuckey's, pt. 2


As you can tell from the pictures, both the business and the building are now long gone.

But some years back there was a Stuckey's in Thornburg just off I-95.


My wife & I would often stop by either heading to or from southeastern Virginia.


The Shell sign doesn't quite cover the white paint that mostly covers the Stuckey's logo beneath it all.


Can't say if this fireworks sign came along after the Stuckey's was no more. I do recall some elaborate fireworks packages, one with a rebel theme.


But my wife liked to get a box of pralines for her dad.


I liked the milk shakes. And browsing the novelty baseball caps that bore expressions like: Beauty is just a light switch away.

It was a bit like stepping into a 90s Country Pop song. A song that played a million times but you never hear on the radio anymore.


Nearby is what seems to be a former Texaco station that I don't rightly recall. An older song maybe.


Previous links:
Formerly known as Stuckey's, pt. 1 (Toano VA, 2007).

Pictures of Stuckey's
(Toano VA, 1999).

Saturday, October 20, 2007

formerly known as Stuckey's, pt. 1


This former Stuckey's was the one I went by about 8 years ago.

After driving around Jamestown, I went in search of this Stuckey's and found it near I-64 in Toano VA (thanks to a fellow working at Musicland).


While the store had indeed seen better days, it was good at least to find the building still standing (more about that in pt. 2).


There's maybe one actual Stuckey's in Virginia now, on the Eastern Shore in Mappsville. Otherwise, it's just a few mini-marts that happen to stock Stuckey's items.


And thankfully, the unofficial fansite Stuck On Stuckey's is still online now archived , though it seems to be in transition.

[UPDATE Nov. 2008: SOS (and many other AOL-based sites) have gone offline. The dead link has been replaced with a link to a recent version archived at the Wayback Machine.]



















on & off the five mile loop

After riding north on the Jamestown Ferry, I drove the five mile loop on Jamestown Island.











Though hardly a naturalist, I'd never seen this plant before.



One common name for it is American Beautyberry. I'd later see it growing near the river at Chippokes Plantation.





An osprey's nest, I guess . . .





I'm a sucker for wooden causeways.



And the places they cross.



After the five mile loop, I rode along the Colonial Parkway and stopped off by the James River. (Click here for sounds of the James that day.)





A distant view of Hog Island:
















Friday, October 19, 2007

north on the Jamestown Ferry

Late September during an extended visit with family, I took the Jamestown Ferry just to cross the James River and feel the river breeze.

Here are some pictures while waiting at Scotland Wharf and riding north to Jamestown.





Below are a couple of the spare ferries, Surry and Virginia.



Virginia is one of those ferries I wish was running but rarely is when I ride. It has the open upper deck to take in a wide view of the river and feel the air. Great for a warm September day.






After boarding the ferry Williamsburg, here's a look back at Scotland Wharf from an upper deck window:



A heron on the pilings at Scotland Wharf:



Here we go . . .



Views of historic Jamestown:





Bridge on the scenic Colonial Parkway:



A whole other kind of bridge . . .



Abstracts of the deck's metal plating and painted markings:





The ships at Jamestown Festival Park: