Florida Roadside Fantasy, 1964

A blissful couple stops to smell the flowers on a beautiful oceanside drive in Timewarp, Florida. What's missing from this Florida Attractions Association tri-fold brochure? Condos, hotels, parking garages and T-shirt shops that block the entire view of the water... but hey, it's PROMOTION.

Actually, there are world-class beaches in Florida, you just have to poke around (don't look at me — I ain't tellin'). This scene must be south of the Sarasota-Daytona frostline, because of the healthy colonnade of Royal palms lining the drive (smooth green trunks at top). Just look out for those 20 ft.-wide Detroit-Iron cruisers on the strip. Seriously, those kids in the back of that Griswold-mobile have more room than I did in my first apartment. American excess and roadside attractions together always make for a good promotional piece.

Detail of the interior of the car pictured above. (Actually, this is "borrowed" from a Bruce McCall book titled Zany Afternoons. I fell in love with his "Nostalgia for a Future That Never Existed" illustrations from National Lampoon magazines in the 70s. He currently illustrates for the New Yorker and is still publishing books. Very similar in style to the above work - gouache and hyperbole.

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