South of the Border, South Carolina

I had a heck of a time trying to describe South of the Border so I am going to let the all "knowing" Wikipedia describe it for me:

South of the Border is a rest stop and roadside attraction on Interstate 95 and U.S. Highway 301/501 between Dillon, South Carolina and Rowland, North Carolina. It is named "south of the border" being south of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The rest area features not only restaurants, gas stations and a motel, but also a small amusement park, shopping (including, formerly, adult entertainment at the "Dirty Old Man Shop"), and, famously, fireworks. Its mascot is Pedro, an extravagantly stereotypical Mexican bandido. It is advertised by hundreds of billboards along surrounding highways, starting 175 miles away. Well-known landmarks in the area, the irreverent signs feature Pedro, wearing an oversized sombrero and poncho, counting down the number of miles to, and promoting, South of the Border.

This is my current collection of South of the Border postcards. Clicking on the images will lead you back to my flick account with descriptions of each image.

Motel Monday: The Orange Roof

This weeks Motel Monday theme is all about Howard Johnson's Motor Lodges. Howard Johnson's was originally a restaurant and then expanded successfully (until the late 1970s) into the Motel Business. They are still a chain of hotels all of the globe but these postcards are dedicated to their motel past and their signature orange A-framed roof. See all 12 images after the jump.

Here's a little history (from Wikipedia):

By 1954, there were 400 Howard Johnson's restaurants in 32 states. About 10% were company-owned turnpike restaurants that were extremely profitable. The rest were franchises.

Also that year, the company decided to open the first Howard Johnson's motor lodge in Savannah, Georgia. The company employed architects Rufus Nims and Karl Koch to oversee the design of the rooms and gate lodge. Nims had previously worked with the company to design Howard Johnson's restaurants. The restaurant's trademark simple Simon and Pieman was now joined by a lamplighter character in the firm's marketing of its motels. According to cultural historians, the chain became synonymous with travel among American motorists and vacationers in part because of Johnson's ubiquitous outdoor advertising displays.

In 1959, Howard Deering Johnson, who had founded and managed the company since 1925, turned the reins over to his son, then 26-year-old Howard Brennan Johnson. Howard Deering Johnson would observe his son's control of the company until his death in 1972. He died at the age of 76.

By 1961, the year the Howard Johnson's Company went public, there were 605 restaurants, 265 of them company owned and 340 franchised, as well as 88 franchised Howard Johnson's motor lodges in 32 states and the Bahamas.

In 1961, Johnson hired famed New York chefs Pierre Franey and Jacques Pépin to oversee food development at the company's main commissary in Brockton, Massachusetts. Franey and Pépin developed recipes for the company's signature dishes that could be flash frozen and delivered across the country, guaranteeing a consistent product.

Haverhill, Massachusetts

Ithaca, New York