MOTEL hopping: Madera, California

The Sandman Motel in Madera, California, once sat next to Highway 99. Next door was Farnesi's Restaurant. Well, things have changed a great deal since this card was printed.




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Farnesi's is still there, though has had a "makeover."

(SOURCE: Yelp)

Sadly, the wonderfully colorful Sandman Motel is gone. It's been replaced by a faux Spanish/New Mexico semi "hacienda" which now includes its own restaurant, thus apparently giving Farnesi's some competition.

(SOURCE: Days Inn)

I know nothing about any of these places. In fact, I have no idea where I got this card. I'm suspicious it was one my mother grabbed on my behalf. Yes, I trained her to also grab all the cards from the desk drawers at motels. Thus I now go through my chest of cards and have memory flashbacks that aren't mine.

MOTEL hopping: Crystal River, Florida

Let's hit the road folks and do some hopping around the country visiting motels.

This post card of the Crystal Lodge Motel in Crystal River, Florida, dates from the late-'60s to mid-70s. From what I can tell I don't think it exists anymore. It seems that there is now some sort of swim with the mantees dive center with the name Crystal Lodge. So don't unpack your bags, we won't be spending the night.




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DAVID BLOSSOM'S Louis L'Amour Cover

My father had a friend who was Cherokee. The man loved to read and watch Westerns; a passion they shared. After he passed, his widow called dad and asked if he'd like to have a box of Louis L'Amour paperbacks. Dad is never one to jump to a "yes", so I said it for him. He frowned at me, but enjoyed reading all of the books.

I'll be featuring some of the covers. They date mainly back to the 1970s.

This cover was done, I believe, by David J. Blossom (1927-1995), son of Earl Blossom (1891-1970).

He was born in Chicago, Illinois but lived most of his life on the east coast, growing up in Rye, New York and Weston, Connecticut. He lived in Westport and Southport, Connecticut until 1963, when he moved with his family to Weston, where he lived until his death in 1995. 



He worked at Young & Rubicam as an art director (for the Ford Motor Company and Pan American Airways accounts) until moving to Weston, CT when he became a freelance illustrator. (SOURCE: AskArt)

He was known for illustrating Romance and Western covers.



Click here and here to see examples of Romance book covers; specifically nurses. And click here to see other examples of this cover as movie tie-in paperbacks.