Meteor Crater in Arizona

                 On our journey back to California we decided to take the opportunity to drive and visit parts of this great country. I've always wanted to travel on Route 66 so we took advantage of the situation and decided that was the way to go. What a cool way to move back to California, I thought. Along the way we visited some pretty amazing places, some restaurants, motels, stores which had been there since the beginning and saw a little history that is barely intact. Pretty incredible places filled with spirit and history. The meteor crater in Arizona is one of those places and when we were planning our stops along the way, I was hoping this would stay on our list. Lucky for me, everyone agreed and in the back of my mind I knew I would get one pretty cool T-shirt. Right?! Anyway…

                 The meteor crater, in a nutshell, is the world's best preserved meteorite impact site and it's here in the United States. It's a result of an astroid collision in outer space which happened 50,000 years ago. The crater is 2.4 miles in circumference and more than 550 feet deep. Plus, it was about 30 miles off Route 66, hardly a diversion.

                 When we got there we learned that if you wanted to walk along the rim and do the rim trail tour you had to be wearing sneakers, so we all changed from our flip-flops to our sneakers. In the end we didn't take the rim trail tour but we were happy to be wearing our comfortable shoes. Once walking into the building there are some pretty amazing artifacts on display. Plus they go into the history of space, asteroids, meteorites all cool things to know about especially for me, my wife and our two boys. We waited for the 30 minute movie to end so we could get some good seats and see it from the beginning. A cool movie about meteor collisions and space. Next, it was time to go and actually see this meteor crater. It was an amazing site to see, incredible. The rocks around the rim which looked tiny in comparison were apparently 3X bigger than a house. It was a jaw dropping experience and I suggest everyone should take the time to visit a The Meteor Crater Site in Arizona.

                 Here is the T-shirt I bought at the visitors center. I ended up getting my shirt but unfortunately it wasn't the one I really wanted. They had this one design on display that was really great. It had a close up of the impact in a great effect and showed the collision above the site effect. Some great text and overall, a really great design. Yet, they didn't have any. I was initially bummed. It was one of those times when the shirt you really want is out of stock. Which ended up being the only negative part of the trip and for that matter not a big deal. I always think of my great visit and have fond memories whenever I wear my meteor crater T-shirt.

If you want to learn more about The Meteor Crater in Arizona and how to get there here is a link to the site. I was hoping to include a link to purchase some of their shirts but they don't have any in their online store. Pretty strange if you ask me. Anyway, here is the link. Enjoy!

http://www.meteorcrater.com

Philip McCobb

Graphic Artist

http://www.flipnflop.com

Fox's Donut Den

Another great T-shirt. This Tee is from a donut shop in Nashville, Tennessee. They were having financial troubles but the community rallied and helped them stay in business. They've been serving donuts for more than 30 years and some traditions never die. Which I think is a good thing. Anyway,  their donuts are the best in the area and I love the the design. This shirt was a gift from my sister in-law who lives close to Fox's Donut Den and thought of me and my collection when she was helping them stay in the neighborhood.

I love donuts and I am a big fan of Fox's Donut Den. Here is a link to the store to get their address. If you are ever in Nashville, Tennessee you definitely need to stop by.

http://www.foxsdonutden.com/

Japan Pavilion in Epcot - Orlando, FL

Our trip to Disney World was met with some of the best memories you can take from a vacation. We went there for Thanksgiving in 2007 and we had the best time ever. Yes, we are Disney fans but we always say that this was our best vacation.

The Highlights:

• We went for 5 days and went to three of the Disney World Parks.

• We had an amazing Thanksgiving dinner at The Grand Floridian. A couple next to us even complimented our two boys on their manners, which as a Parent is always special.

• My Parents joined us for a day and visited Epcot and Disney Animal King Park.

• After Thanksgiving dinner and ready for bed we all got a second-wind at 10:00 pm and went on more rides.

• Saw the Electric Light Parade and fireworks every night. Awesome!

I found my Tee souvenir at The Mitsukoshi Department Store in the Japan Pavilion in Epcot. My Dad remembered this store in Tokyo. We anticipated the prices to be high but found that not to be true. I love this Tee and am so happy to have found it. I spent 4 years in Japan as a boy and they still resonate strongly in my lifestyle. The tattooed surfer/wave drummer shows the spirtual side of Japanese culture and folklore. I always wear it with pride and am proud to feel connected to its image. As an artist and lover of Tee shirts, this is one of my favorites.

A great buy. 

I Survived Rome, Italy

This is the Tee that started it all. I didn't realize it at the time. But whenever I look back at my collection I always feel like this was my first. Mainly because I didn't really have the same passion as I do now for some time. I think my collection really took off when I began designing them and operating my own silkscreen shop I found my appreciation for the art.

I can't really go on about Rome, Italy as the place I visted for this Tee design because at the time, I was living there. It was 1977, (as it is stated in the license plate in the design). I was 9 years old and my oldest sister bought this for me from the store at the high school she went to. The same school I eventually went to as a high schooler. The shirt was huge when she handed it to me. It hung below my knees. Needless to say, I grew into it. Even though it is filled with holes and big holes under the arms, I still wear it. Just kidding, it sits in my closet as a memento.

In terms of design. This one color imprint isn't that sophisticated. Of course it is from 1977 and the font, at least  is something besides Cooper Black. Rememeber that lovely font overused in the 70's? No, but really, I loved this Tee and it served me very well for many many years. Even though I cannot wear it any longer I still love this Tee.

Come back next week. I will be visiting a new and exciting place. You may have already been there your self and can also share your experiences, pictures and tees.

A perfect gift.

Hello and Welcome!

Thank you for visiting My New Tee Blog. I am a designer, illustrator, traveller and I love T-shirts. A while back I started my own store on CafePress, creating and selling my own designs. It's doing pretty well. I have a lot of fun and plus I get to share my own concepts with other people who also like T-shirts. My design background is quite extensive. I've been in the industry for many years, since 1992 really. But this really isn't about my CafePress store or selling my designs. It may help my reputation or help establish myself as a knowledgable person of printed design on cotton… But more importantly I want to share with you the T-shirts in my dresser and how I got them. Which brings me to the other main aspect of my Blog, travel. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I like to travel. My wife also likes to travel and since we have the jobs that allow us to do so, we travel all the time. In my Blog we will go to Italy, Austin, New York City, Disney World and many other exciting places. I will not only share the T-shirts that I purchased but will share photos and highlights of our visit. So please come back when you have some down time and take this journey with me and my family.

I will post a new Tee shirt design every week. The post will always be on Wednesdays. My goal is to have contests of your Tees with fun prizes for our Monthly winner. I also hope that you will send in photos of your travels showing us your favorite T-shirts as well. These are just some of the ideas I have for this Blog.

My first Post is of a Tee which started it all. It was when I was living in Italy. Actually, it was the first year we moved there.

Can't wait to have you a part of this ride.

See you next Wednesday!