Views of the Neighborhood

~ John W. Howell

This week I thought it would be fun to take photos of those things around town that tourists take tend to take photos of too. I know, sounds a little nuts but bear with me. I also have to explain that there were no tourists in town yesterday so I couldn’t hoodwink a few into having a picture taken with their head inside these items. I would have put me in the photos, but since my producer is out of town for a week, there was no one to snap the photo. Sad right?

The first photo is a group cutout in front of Winton’s candy store. It has nothing to do with the beach or candy but does provide a pretty accurate depiction of a Port A Saturday night.

Photos to take in Port A

This next one is in front of Wintons as well. Clearly, this is a  Rattlesnake dressed as a cowperson shooting of guns while happy candy cane cactus stands by. Woo yeah.

Where to take photos in Port A

The next one is in front Stingrays Taphouse and Grill and is obviously a stingray dressed in a 40’s zoot suit playing a guitar. I would want this one on my holiday card

The next is an extra. We have a sand festival called SandFest, and this gold cart will be raffled off.

Now we are at The Gaff, and since there are pirates everywhere, it is no surprise that the cutouts are of pirates. Of course given some of the others and the fact that The Gaff is the Sandbelt racing capital of Texas one never knows.

For bad pirates, there is the stockade

Y’all have been here before but here is another shot of the Gaff sign. I didn’t stay for the races. There is only so much excitement an old guy can take in one day.

Here is an interesting tent. You can see this is a place that you can have photos converted to shirts, shoes and it appears by the photo blankets as well.

Here is another shot of the outside. I think I would love to have a poster that big. Maybe one of my books and it could fly from the porch.

Here is a shot inside the mysterious tent. The first thing you should notice there are no photographs allowed. (Oh sir, I didn’t see the sign or signs.) Notice also the parrots. They are live and were yelling “no photos,” as I was setting up the shot. The third thing to notice is the tourist (yes, there is one) dressed in the blue shirt with a depiction of cocktails on the back.  In case you miss the subtlety the word “cocktails” is stitched above them

Here is the granddaddy of all photo ops. Imagine yourself inside the shark’s mouth. Don’t forget to look horrified so that folks back home will be fooled into thinking you are in the mouth of a shark.

I love this little sidewalk painting. This shows you where to put your feet to get the best shot of……

These two old fisherman. I did stand where I was told by the street painting and by gumbo I got the best shot.

Thanks, for joining me on this little walk around the neighborhood.

62 thoughts on “Views of the Neighborhood”

  1. I always enjoy the morning chuckle, John. What would we do without Best Photo feet? Just curious, what are the words next to the feet…Dump no……? 🙂

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  6. Great photos, John. It’s good to see so much effort put in to helping people have silly fun. We need more of that in our lives. Do you know brand machine won the belt sander contest? I’ve always preferred Porter-Cable 😉

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    1. Ha ha ha. I’ll have to pay more attention. I saw a Craftsman sitting there but that was it. It would be a shame to see a Craftsman win. It would be like a Henry J taking the Monte Carlo. 😀

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  7. John, I always suspected you were a rebel, and now you’ve given proof — taking a photo where none were allowed. 😉 I think you secretly had fun playing tourist for a day.
    I agree about the huge picture of one’s book! Thanks for another happy stroll around the neighborhood. Have a sublime Sunday. Mega hugs.

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    1. I’ll be honest. I never saw the signs until I got home. I was so interested in the parrots and tourist I never even noticed. Thanks for doing me Teagan. Super Sunday to you.

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  9. Super collection, good sir. How about a big picture with you and the two dogs – that would be sweet! Run it up the flagpole and see who barks!

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  13. I am intrigued by this sandbelt racing thing. I belong to the school that says one never has enough horsepower where tools are concerned.

    Absolutely LOVE the pictures. Views of the neighborhood is always a favorite.

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  15. John, I’d have listened to the parrots, photo op or not. Then again, I’ve always felt birds belong outside, not in, and inside birds should be in a cage. What do I know?? Great views of the neighborhood today — are you going to try for the gold cart?!?

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