Drive-By Photos 16
This is one of the nicest independent gas stations I saw in the country. It looks almost brand-new.
There seems to be an abundance of gas stations and banks in the middle of nowhere here.
There was a lookout point at the edge of a cliff. It has a really nice view.
I think this was Spanish colonial, dating back to the 1700's.
This house was having a second floor built onto it, which is fairly common practice down here. Not all the windows were installed yet, giving these pit bulls access to a porch. They followed and barked at me as I walked by. It is really unusual to see an identifiable breed of dog down here, especially in a relatively poor town.
I was told this was about a hundred years old. They have kept it somewhat modern inside. The chapel off to the side looks brand-new, and the main church has a 70's vibe to it.
As the lake level rises, parts of this town are flooding. It's interesting what they did with the pavers taken out of the road here.
Various stores. The one in the middle looks like it was about to add a second floor.
That was probably a restaurant at one point.
Gas Station, San Pedro, GT
This gas station doesn't have a name, but the stripes look like a Pacific Pride station. It would make sense, as a lot of those have de-branded recently.
This church appears to have gone through several incarnations. I think the facade in front dates back to Spanish Colonial times. The rest of it was likely destroyed in an earthquake. The portion to the left was added on sometime in the 1900's, and the larger facade in back appears to still be under construction.
Another example of a place expanding upwards. This town seems to be one of the richest non-tourist towns on Lake Atitlan.
I would guess this is only about 10 years old. Stuff wears fast down here. Behind it is what will be by Guatemalan standards a mansion by the time they're done.
Another knock-off, but at least they tried this time. They changed the name a bit. The sign up top roughly translates to "The history of rock in Guatemala lives here"
This is pretty much urban Guatemala summed up in one picture. Again, I can't stress this enough: this is amazing chicken. I would say better than KFC.
...such a lovely place, such a lovely face...
I'm pretty sure this is yet another copyright violation. Surprisingly, it is pretty nice. Their website provides a nice view of the interior. As nice as it is, I don't think I would like a place where "you could check out any time you like, but you can never leave"
I'm not sure if this is one business or two... In my time here, I unfortunately did not get the opportunity to try tacos. I did order nachos at a couple of places, but they were a bit of a letdown. Cheez-Whiz on Tostitos. Some Tabasco on the side. Nicer restaurants had some with bean dip, but there was no meat in any of them.
A fairly large building supply store.
Mall, Santa Elena, GT
This really makes that last shopping center look small. Even though the enclosed shopping mall is falling out of fashion in the States, it appears that they are gaining popularity down here. This must have opened less than a year ago. I have another picture of the Pizza Hut here, but that's for another time.
The straw roofs were put up to protect ancient sculptures that were found.
Apparently these were originally much smaller. Every couple years, the Mayans would add another layer to the pyramids until they got to this stature.
These were rebuilt for the most part in the 1950's. Before rebuilding, they looked just like a pointy hill; there wasn't much original stuff left. Any surviving original detail was preserved and kept on the structure. These aren't as old as people think they are, but they were rebuilt the same way they would have been 2000 years ago.
Tikal, GT
This picture was taken at sunrise when there were less clouds out. You can see a pyramid in the background.
Almost everything here is made out of cinder block and concrete, so it is really strange to see a wood frame addition being made. This is a more modern area, so chances are this has had some northern influence. You will see more of that in the next picture.
Ghost Town?, Guatemala
It's unusual to see roads set up in blocks like this with nothing on them. There are utilities running across the area and a couple older buildings. What's really weird is that everything looks well-maintained.
Sorry I didn't get to upload on Sunday. I was pretty busy. I am beginning to add some new albums organizing these places by town.
This house was built in 1962 and last occupied in 2004. In 2012, work began remodeling this place. It came out nice, but it killed a lot of the mid-century modernness. Judge for yourself here.
The rear of the house. Behind me is a large swimming pool. This is a wealthy neighborhood, so I would assume this was built as someone's dream house.
Volcan Arenal, Costa Rica
Today we will take a quick look at our 2011 vacation to Costa Rica. At the time, I had a very small memory card and didn't take too many pictures, so this is all you're getting. :P
The sign on Rt. 100 still shows the ServiStar logo.
This was built in the late 90's as a more upscale grocer, similar to FoodSource. In the mid-2000's, the right hand portion of the store was given to the PLCB store behind it.
This is not related to Whole Foods in any way. The store seen here is their main location, although there are a couple others in the area. They carry similar merchandise to Whole Foods.
I think this was originally an STS, which closed around 2002. Strangely enough, they returned about five years later to the same building.
This was built in the 1920's as Farmers & Mechanics National Bank (Lord, that's a mouthful!). Wachovia bought them out at some point. They were sold in turn to Wells Fargo in 2008.
This has to be one of the more diverse stores in the area. I have no clue what to classify this as. I think this was originally a Getty built in the 60's. Update: Originally a Flying A. Update II: Became Citgo for a brief period in the 2000's. Update III: Demolished mid-2018.
This opened around 2010. I'm 90% sure it replaced an older store in the shopping center next door.
This opened around 2005. In taking this picture, I missed my shot at getting the building behind it: a former ACME with the 70's façade still intact.
D'Lites/Taco Bell, Norristown, PA
This was probably built in the 70's or 80's. In 2013, the façade was repainted. Otherwise, it remains pretty much intact. Behind it, you can see a Bottom Dollar Food, which opened in 2010 and closed with the chain last January. Update: From l_dawg2000 "This certainly looks like it was a DeLite's Restaurant originally. DeLite's was a short-lived 1980's attempt at healthy fast food, with only about 100 locations at it's peak in the mid-80's (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D'Lites), making this a somewhat rare find! Memphis had at least one location, but the building is now a lighting showroom or some such, and is unrecognizable today as a DeLite's. Bradley Sappenfield photographed a DeLite's Taco Bell back in 2013 in his hometown of Marietta, GA, and the resemblance to your photo is unmistakable:
***EDIT: "D'Lites", not "DeLite's"***
***EDIT: "D'Lites", not "DeLite's"***
Blue Bell is also less commonly called Center Square. It looks like they tried to be fancy with the spelling of the name here. This looks like one of those old 1940's stainless steel diners with some horrible modifications done to it. It appears to have been closed for a while now.
Update: Demolished for new Fresh Market
This opened in the 60's, and had discontinued operation in 2012 or 2013.
Update: Has since reopened, and is now in the process of becoming a Gulf.
This was built in the early 90's. McDonald's was always here, although I'm pretty sure they were paired with a different gas station originally.
This store opened on the site of an old sign factory in 2013. Fun fact: I got stranded here while my brakes were being fixed for two hours.
This has been here as long as I can remember. It was redone in 2013, doing a huge favor for the building. It used to have an orange and pink striped plastic awning in front.
This was built in the 80's, but was heavily renovated in 2013. Is it just me, or do all fast food restaurants look the same now?
This was built in the mid-60's with Mobil's signature "mushroom canopies", which are still visible. It was converted to a Lukoil after their merger with Exxon.
Arco/Home Depot, KOP
This was built in the 70's as an Arco gas station. In the late 90's, Home Depot built a new store next door and repurposed this as their tool rental center. They relocated in 2008, leaving this abandoned. The rest of the Home Depot is now a Walmart.
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