Daruma's 2008 Research Road Trips - darumanyc

Sometimes You Don't See What You're Looking For
But you see all other sorts of cool things, especially in the early morning and at dusk. This was a scene on our way to the San Jose Airport, making even power generation seem mysterious and mystical.

A New Gastronomic Discovery
In Hawaii, chili is eaten on top of rice. In Cincinnati, on top of spaghetti. In Houston, on top of Fritos. Hey, don't knock it 'til you've tried it.

Doughnuts at Dawn: Diet Diversification
Thanks to the explosion of franchising, we can travel all over America and feel like we're in one giant, never-ending state. To break up the monotony, we pay attention to small local businesses that stick out in our country's homogeneous commercial landscape. In order to do so however, we often have to jettison nutritional discipline, as we did one morning in the wilds of Texas.

What Happened to Snap-on Red?
We know a thing or two about Snap-on, a portfolio holding, so we nearly fell out of our seats when we pulled up next to this truck and spotted a BLUE tool chest. The owner may have unorthodox tastes in tool chest colors, but an excellent palate. The pizza was fabulous.

How We Treat Our Guests in the Big Apple
New York was the host of Major League Baseball's All-Star Game. The city literally rolled out the red carpet in honor of the baseball greats. This is the view from our office balcony.

Season's Greetings
It's always interesting to see how everyone expresses their individuality in cubicle farms all over America, but corporate lobbies are also very revealing, from oil portraits of the company's forefathers to a bit of seasonal decoration hanging from the receptionist's desk.

You Don't See Trucks Like This Every Day
Who'd have thought Texas he-men drive trucks that are pink from grille to mud flap? We spotted this 100% pink and 100% unmarked beauty outside of Houston. With no logo we figured it was a woman's truck, but no, two burly guys were in the cab. Go figure. Maybe it was a Mary Kay or Pepto Bismol truck on its way to the sign guy.

It Ain't the Champs-Elysées
Stayed at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas for an industry conference. We were amazed that despite having spent millions on trying to conjure up the essence of France (or at least the most memorable, romantic, famous bits), management couldn't be bothered to hire a French proofreader to make sure all the French phrases sprinkled liberally throughout the hotel were grammatically correct, with authentic spelling.

How Many Companies Do You Know of Grow Their Own Lettuce?
Most corporate parks we visit feature landscaping of the shorn grass and clipped shrub variety. Organic vegetables and solar panels were a first for us this year, found in New Hampshire, where the growing season is short.

NASA or NSA?
Right next to a very large, very confusing complex of corporate buildings on the West Coast lurk a couple of large, very confusing radio telescopes, we think deployed for benign purposes, but we didn't stick around long enough to find out.

Stumbling Upon an Odd Duck
Getting lost is an occupational hazard on road trips, GPS devices notwithstanding. Note to Hertz: We hope you have finally told your NeverLost system that you no longer have a garage at Union Station in Washington DC. We found this fabulous, supersized sign on an involuntary detour in Los Angeles, however, so sometimes getting lost leads to a flock of marvelous discoveries.

It's All in the Merchandising
We found this color combination so pretty we couldn't resist taking a picture. Makes you want to channel Martha Stewart, doesn't it?

Sky Storage: How Many Clouds Fit in a Container?
Watching forklifts heave and stack containers around this storage container yard was amazing. The clouds populated the sky as densely as the storage units did yard.

The Sexiest McDonald's on the Planet?
We were in the Chicago area when we drove by this post-modern McDonald's plunked in the middle of corporate park city. We figured it was a prototype for the new "European" McDonald's (either that or a franchisee with an "Edifice" Complex).The interior was very sleek, with multiple flat-screen TVs and an espresso machine, but the Big Macs were still ... Big Macs.

Work in Progress
There was something oddly endearing about these cables swinging in the winter wind. They evoked promises as yet unfulfilled, or a yearning for completion. Either that, or a safety violation.