Open Bar

In the French countryside, I believe it was in the town of Dinan, we happened on this restaurant. The restaurant advertised an “Open Bar.” This one was lost in translation. The bar is open is very different than an open bar.

To bad it wasn’t an open bar! :)

Travelers Not Welcome

I love the United States of America. And I like being from the USA. But there are times that I’m embarrassed to be from the US. At Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport, I had one of those experiences.

For many years, citizens of major Western European countries haven’t needed a visa to travel to the USA (and we don’t need a visa to travel there). But the geniuses at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have come up with the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). The other name for the ESTA is “Visitors Not Welcome in the USA.”

As someone who lived through the terrorist attacks in New York, I believe in strong immigration policy, but this is insane. Instead of targeting groups that are known to be terrorists for additional security screening, we are targeting all good and decent tourists and making it a huge hassle for them to visit the U.S. and spend their money.

Signs like this one might as well read: “Visitors Not Welcome in the USA.”

Europe’s H1N1 Panic

We were in France earlier this year and they were in a total panic about H1N1 swine flu. They had these signs up in the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. This sign is in the middle of the airport. Notice their suggestion for avoiding H1N1 – Avoid Public Places. Ironic.

US 101

US 101 runs the length of California and is one of those great road trips. It’s a legend! I snagged this shot in San Diego recently. It’s a great iconic sign.

No Radiation CT

I found this sign in La Jolla, California. The Thermo Body Scan Clinics offer no radiation body scans to check out your body. What is funny is that the scan is located on level CT. Of course, CT scans are done with radiation. I thought it was ironic.

Proactiv Everywhere

OK, I hate the Proactiv Solution. It’s in kiosks at the mall. It’s sold by mail order from TV. It’s magazine ads. It’s Sean Combs (a.k.a. Puff Daddy, a.k.a. The Puffy) talking about “smoothing his sexy” and “moisturizing his situation.”

And now…it’s sold in vending machines. So you can grab your Coke. You can get your Trojan condoms. And now you can get your Proactiv solutions. All from a vending machine.

I found this vending machine at a mall in San Diego. Technically, not a sign, but still interesting.

Redundancy

“Sheer” and “cliff” – talk about redundancy. But I love this sign. It reminds me of the signs at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.

I found this sign at the La Jolla Cove in San Diego.