ROY X CONE contest, 1.1.11 - 2.1.12

[robbie]

My Roys and I have been busy.

Sunday (5/30) we left Nebraska and drove toTulsa, Oklahoma. We'll be spending June and July there taking care of my nieces and nephews. When we arrived my nephew had created some art work to greet us :

He's a crazy crazy kid, looking forward to many adventures with him.

Tuesday we drove down to my home town of Oklahoma City. Along the way we stopped along Route 66 in Arcadia at a 'Soda Ranch' called Pops. At any given time they have about 300 sodas in glass cold and another 100-150 warm. They didn't have any Double Cola (wtf)

It was difficult to get a clear picture, but they have a wall o soda thats a good 12 feet long. You can see the fat dude down at the end trying to decide which shitty canned soda to buy.

sippin on some sodas

There is a really cool sort of stained glass effect when the sun hits these bottles just right.

more soda geekery

*edit

I forgot I had a Cheese Theta (Burger) at one of my favorite places 'Johnnies Charcoal Broiler' with a buddy of mine.

So, the reason we drove to OKC is to meet up with my parents. We're headed to Canada this week. We drove a shit ton today and now the Roys,the wife, and I are in Watertown,SD.

Ohh, monday night I soaked my jeans. I think that makes 4, or 3 I dunno they smelled like a farm animal.

Pics from Canada soon.

[grooveholmes]

must spread, robbie. excellent choice in drink-- NC's very own cheerwine!

[lostinthesupermarket]

Damn robbie, those jeans are starting to look really good.

Mike's too.

[riff]

Damn robbie, those jeans are starting to look really good.

Mike's too.

Totally agreed! Can't wait til the first wash, but I'm hoping that's a way off still...

[ThisSunday]

A few pics for the holiday weekend

Cell phone pics at Coney Island

NY Aquarium

[ThisSunday]

1 more from the Aquarium

Fleet Week pics on Memorial Day

The Intrepid Museum

Me in front of a NY classic (tourist trap)

Coast Guard scaring a tour boat

USS Iwo Jima

Lastly, something for the sailors

[smittybat]

Tuesday we drove down to my home town of Oklahoma City. Along the way we stopped along Route 66 in Arcadia at a 'Soda Ranch' called Pops. At any given time they have about 300 sodas in glass cold and another 100-150 warm. They didn't have any Double Cola (wtf)

I stopped into Pops last November. It's a pretty awesome place. Got to try some Hosmer Mountain Birch that I used to be able to get in CT. The Roy's are also looking pretty awesome too.

[eltopo]

Looking good Riff! Sansome love that dirty denim! Sunday looks like a fun day!

Totally agreed! Can't wait til the first wash, but I'm hoping that's a way off still...

[dkatz]

Need to get them hairs cut.

Not a bad view from the training venue:

[Dr_Heech]

Dkatz, those Roys are a great fit on you, whats the washing/soaking history?

Riff Putting us all to shame with those great shots!

ThisSunday

Visited the Intrepid waay back in 1984, things have certainly improved.

Great posts from everyone.

I know this has been asked before, but has anyone heard from Fardin? Or Dr. House for that matter?

.

[zissou]

Daniel! That belt! You've inspired me to leave mine in the sun for a few days to catch up since it's been such a cloudy, cold spring here.

[tg76]

went on a shopping mission this morning, got real grumpy then drove to the coast to buy some neoprene from a wet suit maker, stopped for fish n chips wiped hands on jeans. six months time for a wash. in the boiling hot bath they are now.

[mikecch]

Please excuse the lack of updates - been out in rural Australia, learning about the rural medical system.

The region I'm visiting has been affected by bush fire, draught and floods in the past decade.

[mikecch]

The township was quite rich during the gold rush era, and some very nice buildings still stand:

Some great shops for vintage bits and pieces:

Local medical clinic has some old medicines on display:

[mikecch]

And the jeans of course:

[Dr_Heech]

Awesome fades Mike! Where abouts were you in the bush?

.

[mikecch]

^ Thanks mate!

It's a little town called Alexandra, I still have a couple of weeks left.

[dkatz]

Dkatz, those Roys are a great fit on you, whats the washing/soaking history?

Thanks! I still maintain they are two sizes too big, and wish I could go back in time and measure above my hips, where these actually sit, rather than around the top of my hips. I do enjoy the comfort of the loose fit, but I'm a slim guy and just look better in slim fits. Having said that, I'm enjoying the sartorially expansive experience of these jeans!

They've been hot soaked with agitation thrice, but not yet washed. I'm hoping to hold out for another five weeks or so, but they are pretty disgustingly stiff at present.

Daniel! That belt! You've inspired me to leave mine in the sun for a few days to catch up since it's been such a cloudy, cold spring here.

It is looking quite nice, eh? It's a wonder what the equatorial sun can do I'll have to take some proper pics for you soon.

A year ago or so I had the idea of getting a strap for my watch made in natural leather as well, but couldn't figure out how to swing it without mailing my belt to someone (which I ain't gonna do from here). Still wish I had managed to get that done - it would be beautiful by now!

went on a shopping mission this morning, got real grumpy then drove to the coast to buy some neoprene from a wet suit maker, stopped for fish n chips wiped hands on jeans. six months time for a wash. in the boiling hot bath they are now.

Mmmm... fish&chips jeans. Sorry about the grumps, but can't wait to see the post-wash pics!

Sounds like an interesting experience, Mike. I love this photo - it's surreal.

And the jeans of course:

Gorgeous! The regularity and sharpness of the creases on the left leg are rad. Somehow, I only have one sharp crease on my left (and no equivalent on the right). Interesting!

[mikecch]

^ Cheers dkatz; I'm thinking it has to do with the RHT.

[Paul T]

We took off with friends for a few days to a field in somerset, staying in mongolian yurts and drinking while the kids spent their time jumping from the top of haystacks.

Every morning we would wake up to a view over the hills.

We rambled around the area, mostly in search of pubs, and down to an idyllic, quiet beach, surrounded by cow parsley and wild marguerites. The houses around here are often dropdead gorgeous, made of the local sandstone. I liked this garden, hidden behind the wall, but visible through this fretted gate.

I made one grievous mistake, which was not to get a pic of me in the denim apron while making devilled mackerel, an old victorian recipe, using fish caught just down the road.

FInal night culminated in a bonfire, of course, then we sent this burning lantern off into the distance.

We made a day of the drive back - dropped in on Glastonbury - we'd take the nipper to the festival there when he was little, so we revisited a couple of haunts. It's an ancient town, where Edmund Ironsides was crowned, and according to myth heavily involved with Joseph of Arimethea, King Arthur, and the Holy Grail - from the 1100s, it was reputed to be the site of the burial of King Arthur and Guinevere. The area is crossed through with ley lines, ancient stone barrows and burial sites, and it's also a prime hippie hangout - a few years ago, there was a bit of a media blitz when cannabis plants were discovered in the middle of the village's floral displays..

These door brackets, and the inn date from the 1400s or so…

there are ancient stone momuments all round, like this abandoned church up on a hill…

And most famously Glastonbury Tor… excavations have revealed neolithinc remains, plus roman artefacts.. it's been identified as both the site where the Holy Grail was once kept, as the centre of a neolithic sign of the Zodiac… and in the 1200s, the church was ruined by a major earthquake that reputedly was amplified by the shape of the mound.

[Paul T]

But hey, even that place is new-fangled compared to where we headed next.

First we drove over Salisbury Plain. This was once ancient woodland, home of many neollithic sites. But it's also a big military base, the place where all the 30s theories of modern mobile warfare were tested.

OUr destination: Stonehenge.

This place originates from aruond 3000BC, with the final, large stones haulted into place around 2500BC. No one knows quite how they did it, or even how they hauled in some of the stones, which come from hundreds of miles away.

When we first visited here, you could walk right up t some of the stones, and hug them, feeling their psychic power surge thru you (hey, it was the 90s! You know, the ecstasy years…)

Too many photos? Sorry… I just find this place is, literally, awesome. Some myths about it are false - there's a fallen stone, which was repiutedly a sacrifical alter, because in some lights it glowed blood red. However, the colour comes from the iron ore in the stone. All the same, recent excavations showed the skull of a 3-year old child, cloven in two with an axe, in what was almost certainly a ritual sacrifice.

According to myth, Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur is buried here. another myth says the these stones were once erected by giants in Ireland (the home of some amazing neolithic monuments) - but the wizard Merlin transported them here, in a display of his magical powers, for Uther.

Of course the nipper loves this. Unfortunately he is wearing flipflops, so will be making an appearance in worst waywt soon…

Now the hot weather's here I'm glad I picked up these 40s veldtschoen shoes… guaranteed waterproof, but cool in the heat. THey came with the origina laces, but I see that, 60 years on, I've knackered the laces in a weeks camping.

[ranonranonarat]

paul the stonehenge has never failed to fascinate me as i have read and heard a lot about it since i was as old as your nipper. i always wonder the history behind it and wonder what would we know if the stones could speak. it is certainly great to see about this here. is this a touristy kind of place? because i dont hear much about people from the UK going to visit. sounds like it is far off from the big cities. those laces go great with the veldtschoen's. looking forward to more soon!

[Paul T]

paul the stonehenge has never failed to fascinate me as i have read and heard a lot about it since i was as old as your nipper. i always wonder the history behind it and wonder what would we know if the stones could speak. it is certainly great to see about this here. is this a touristy kind of place? because i dont hear much about people from the UK going to visit. !

There are a good number of brits there... I think they're popular with locals, altho it's possible they suffer by association with all the hippie, druid and pagan cults around them.

I have to confess I started to enjoy all this stuff thanks to Julian Cope, who loves rabbiting on about stone circles and how the cross predates Christianity... there's a great album called Jehovakill which is all these theories set to a terrific neo-Krautrock jam.

kcsQSkT6a48

(Sadly the best tracks aren't on youtube, probably censored!)

[roy6]

Lovely shots Paul, especially of the fish on the barbeque.

Last night my Roys took in some art on Valencia Street:

[Shorty Long]

here are my ROYs one week in "on the job." I'm helping my dad build a cafeteria for a local school...this week we were prepping for the pouring of the concrete basement, which meant working with gravel...lost of it...160 tons to be exact...

[aho]

^Hard work...What these things were made for....

[roy6]

Nice, ShortyLong! A summer of poring concrete will be just the thing for the Roys.

Also, classy tomato cage.

[robbie]

Shorty those are looking great, I agree with Roy a summer of concrete is gonna really age your pair beautifully.

[tg76]

jeans are washed and dried, shrank to fit good, bath looked like i had boiled smurfs in it, but surprisingly little movement on the jeans, will take pics of them when the sun is out tomorrow, today me and my ROY boxers got crafty

testing glues on neoprene

then, what to do with stacks of old tees i cant be bothered selling

baby goth

[Max Power]

^must spread, but that Joy Division baby- thing is just awesome.