if you’ve ever lived or travelled on the east coast, you’re sure to have come across south of the border, or at least seen it’s wacky billboards on i-95 from florida to new jersey. it’s this strange bright tourist attraction on the border of north and south carolina that’s been open since 1949, predating disneyland by 6 years and disney world by 22 years. originally, south of border was just a bar which catered to the dry north carolina counties bordering to the north. over time it expanded into a thriving town full of hotels, roller coasters, and crazy tourist shops.

as a child growing up in virginia, south of the border was this sort of mini disney world our family stopped by on the way to visit relatives in florida. there were roller coasters, shops with game rooms and toys, and these bright concrete animals all over the place. what child wouldn’t have fun there? later in high school, i remember stopping there on numerous band trips. we would try and impress each other by drinking spicy blenheim ginger ale.

as campy and touristy as south of the border seems, it is still a unique and interesting part of american roadside history. the fact that it’s captivated children and travelers and stayed in business for over 60 years is quite impressive.

we like to tease gub’s mom because as a child she dreamed of having her honeymoon at south of the border! check out this link for some amazing vintage south of the border photos. you can picture how her honeymoon might have gone.

– ryan

ryan and i are beginning to plan our very first vegetable and herb garden. we’ve been composting for over a year and have planted a few vegetables here and there, but this summer we’ve got big plans. we carved out a sunny 16′ by 10′ spot in the middle of our backyard, found some helpful info on the uga center for urban agriculture website, and we’re off!

we need to do a bit more research, come up with a planting schedule, and finalize our vegetable and herb list based on our garden space; but here’s our wish list:

we took some before photos and will post updates as the summer progresses. the garden will be under the blue tarp you see in the photos.

– gub & ryan

a few weeks ago i mentioned that gub and i really enjoy paint by numbers, especially vintage ones. i gathered some of the paintings from our personal collection to display.

two of the paintings are cutouts in the shape of the usa, made by stephen & shauna from something’s hiding in here. they were on display in the hand.craft.it festival gub and i curated with our friend kristen. the exhibit featured 16 of these paintings in a grid, which looked really awesome. we ended up buying a couple of the paintings when the exhibit ended! be sure to check out their etsy store for great goodies!

– ryan

we had another snow day in atlanta! twice in a month is quite crazy for the south. gub and i tried to stay warm while enjoying the beautiful scenery. i ended up taking a ton of photos and filmed a time lapse of the snow storm.

– words & photos/video by ryan

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gubby and i were recently admiring a lebowski fest sticker with a silhouette of nixon bowling. it got us wondering about the nixon poster hanging in the dude’s apartment in the big lebowski. was it just a joke? did nixon really like to bowl?

after a little research, it turns out the white house has had a bowling alley since the truman era! the original two lane alley was a birthday gift for truman in 1947 and was located on the ground floor of the west wing. although truman did not like to bowl, his staff took full advantage and had a league. in 1955 the lanes were moved to the old executive office building. the space was needed for more important needs, like becoming a mimeograph room and later the situation room.

the current white house bowling alley is located in the basement under the north portico, which is the fancy front entrance to the white house. it was built in 1969 by president and mrs. nixon, who were both avid bowlers, hence the dude’s poster. the one lane alley was supposedly paid for by friends, but who knows with nixon. you can’t help but feel patriotic knowing the president has a private bowling alley!

check out a bunch of great photos of the white house bowling alley!

– ryan

gub and i have always had an appreciation for paint by numbers. we love the look and style of the paintings, especially the vintage ones in their original wooden frames. i have also always enjoyed working on paint by numbers. i find the process extremely fun and peaceful. i try to work on them when i have free time, although it’s been awhile since i finished one. i have a stack of half finished paintings waiting to be completed.

over the last couple of years i got into making what i call “partially painted” pieces. it’s basically painting only certain images on a paint by number so the lined background is still visible. when you fill up the entire canvas you lose the cool design element created by the lines and numbers.

be sure to check out this great history of paint by numbers!

– words & paintings by ryan

inspired by gob from arrested development, i got ryan a gift certificate to go on a segway tour of atlanta for valentines day in 2008. with the certificate expiring soon, we went ahead and booked our 10 am tour during the winter blast of 2010. we bundled ourselves up and headed out on a three hour tour…

after the initial awkwardness, the segways were pretty easy to operate and really fun! the smirk, smile or laugh on people’s faces as you whizzed by was pretty hilarious. we felt futuristic! although we wish it hadn’t been soooo cold, it was pretty fun to spend the morning exploring our own city on a weird motorized personal transporter.

– words by gub & photos by ryan

we recently discovered these beautiful old harness and shoe factory buildings in buford, ga. now known as tannery row, the buildings have been re-adapted and are currently home to many businesses and an artist colony.

– words by gub & photos by ryan

6 months from today i’ll be 30. that’s crazy! today also happens to be my sister amy’s birthday. when i called to wish her a happy birthday she reminded me it’s my half birthday and i’ll be 30 soon. when we were younger we realized the 6 month difference and milked it for extra gifts out of our parents.

-ryan

i’m a person who enjoys keeping lists, although i think i mostly like scratching items off my lists. generally they are for errands and what not, but i have an ongoing list i like to call “things i should know.” it’s basically a list of random things i feel like i should know by this point in my life. it covers basic trivia, for instance what is a harvest moon? or interesting facts i’ve learned and forgotten, i.e. what are the different types of clouds? or intriguing childhood stuff i want to read about as an adult, like what really went down at the bermuda triangle?

when i have free time i try to look up and research the various items on my list. in this new category of the blog i will write about the interesting things i learn.

– ryan

types of full moon:
what exactly is a harvest moon? and i’m not talking about the neil young record. a harvest moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, whether before or after. it normally happens in late september or early october. during this lunar period, the time between a sunset and moonrise is the shortest of the year. this short period of darkness allowed farmers to work late farming at the peak of harvest under an early bright moon, hence the name.

a hunter’s moon, or blood moon, is the first full moon after the harvest moon. it normally occurs in late october or early november. hunter’s used to take advantage of this early full moon to hunt late, especially migrating birds. they would stock up for the winter ahead. similar to the harvest moon, the hunter’s moon has a short time between sunset and moonrise.

you know the phrase, “once in a blue moon“? well, it actually gets its name from a lunar event that happens every 2 or 3 years. most lunar years have 12 full moons, which occur about once every month. the solar calendar has roughly 11 days more than the lunar year though. these days add up and every two or three years there is an extra full moon, or blue moon. the next blue moon is november 21, 2010. be sure to enjoy it, the next one won’t be for a couple of years.

for more reading on harvest, hunter’s, or blue moon:
harvest moon wiki page
hunter’s moon wiki page
blue moon wiki page