Sven ball in the side pocket: The Viking-themed billiard mural of Riverhead, New York

If you look at a map, the eastern end of Long Island, New York looks like a fish tail, with beautiful Orient Point on the northeastern tip and tony Montauk on the southeastern tip. In between the two by land lies the working class town of Riverhead, with its cool, revitalized old downtown and hardscrabble outer regions. We recently delighted upon an eccentric sight next door to our humble motor lodgings: a mural combining the unlikely duo of Vikings and billiards, painted on the back exterior wall of Billiard World, a pool table sales and service company. It is executed with wit and craft, depicting Norsemen with pool cues and darts, and a mermaid or two also thrown in for good measure. Why this unlikely combination? Could the owners be of Scandinavian heritage? Vem vet? (That's "who knows?" to you non-Swedish speakers). We just know that, as with ABBA, Ingmar Bergman movies and Volvos, it's Scandanavian, we like it and we don't know why.

Duck the halls

Here's hoping your holidays are all they're quacked up to be, from our eccentric roadside to yours.

Snow place like home for the holidays: Mr. Millenium of Southampton, New York

We're poaching on our road-blogging pal Fuzzy Galore's turf with this entry about a cheery character on Long Island. Mr. Millenium, a 20-foot global warming-proof snowman, was erected by the spelling-challenged Flying Monkey Productions, next to North Sea Auto Radiator on Sandy Hollow Road, in, one assumes, the year 2000 (the last two digits are missing from his plaque). An internet search yields very little information about him or Flying Monkey Productions, but he gives off a great vibe while tooling down the eccentric highway, especially in the non-winter months like May when were we there. We give extra points for the fact that he has that inevitable-dirty-snow-from-road-salt-after-the-pretty-white-snow-has-faded look about him. Which makes him snow big deal in our book.

Modern love: Some Modern places seen along the way

I love the irony of the word modern. It's an old-fashioned word (first recorded in 1585!) used to describe something new, futuristic and fresh. I also love seeing the word in a business's name that's obviously been around a long, long time. Here are a few examples we've spotted:

 This is the headquarters of Modern Design and Construction of Providence, Rhode Island, a commercial and residential design and construction company that's been around since 1932. They've done a great job of keeping up the original 1930s signage and logo on their building, which is nothing short of awesome and that makes me smile every time I pass it on my way to work. 

 Here it is back in the day.

The Modern Diner of Pawtucket, Rhode Island dates back to 1940 and holds the distinction of being the first diner in the country to be accepted by the National Register of Historic Places...

 ...and it's also a retro-tastic place to get some ham and eggs and a cup o' joe.

 New Haven, Connecticut is famous for its pizza and one of the very best pizzerias is Modern Apizza (pronounced "Modern ah-beetz" by the natives). Thank you Joe Shlabotnik for this photo. 

 They've been around since 1934 (photo from tommy: eats)...

 ...and you don't have to take my word for how good it is. Just ask Steven Spielberg.

We passed the Modern Snack Bar of Aquebogue, New York on a recent trip to Long Island and fell in love with their sign. They've been around since 1950 and want you to know they're much more than just a snack bar. 

We didn't have time to sample their fine eats, but the sauerbraten sounds intriguing and their famous mashed turnips are available by the pint or quart. 

We're not exactly sure what business this beauty was promoting, but it was especially poignant in its decaying state in the Las Vegas Boneyard. They preserve vintage Las Vegas signs there, which is, well, a modern miracle.

Long shots: Around and about on Long Island, New York

 With a name of Doofpot, it must be good.

 Turnips to go, anyone?

 A Muffler man of a different sort.

 This wonderful nostalgia gift shop in Montauk is called Whoa Nellie...

 ...and it's got Mod Betty written all over it.

Gunnar's the name, bad self-portraits are my game.

Our adopted home state of Rhode Island is so puny, when you say that's where you're from in other regions of the USA, a lot of people will say, "I thought that was called Long Island". We had the pleasure of spending a few days in the real Long Island recently, and, Long story short, it left us Longing to come back another time so here's the Long and short of it.

All it's quacked up to be: The Big Duck of Flanders, New York

The "D.A."

Volunteer Janice fills us in on the history of The Duck

Lots of duckabilia inside...

Kia and Pouran Eshghi generously donated The Duck to Suffolk County, New York back in 1987.

They've got some ducky souvenirs...

...and original artwork, too.

These buildings, part of the original duck farm, are also on the property.

  

As an eccentric roadside attraction, The Big Duck really fits the bill.

One of the all-time great eccentric roadside attractions resides on Route 24 in the town of Flanders in Suffolk County on Long Island in New York State. There you'll find a 15-foot wide, 30-foot long and 20-foot tall white concrete duck that dates back to 1931. It's such a beloved figure that it is on the National Register of Historic Places, and rightly so, for it is a marvel to behold. Eight-one years ago, Martin and Jeule Maurer were raising Peking ducks and wanted to bring attention to their Riverhead, New York duck farm and business. Inspired by a building shaped like a giant coffee pot they had visited out west, they decided to put up a duck-shaped dwelling to get the attention of West Main Street motorists. The Maurers collaborated with a carpenter and two stage show designers to create a giant wooden duck frame that was covered in wire mesh and then cement. The structure was painted a pleasing bright white, with orange for the bill and Model-T taillights for the eyes. The building was so striking, the Maurers renamed their shop and business The Big Duck Ranch. They relocated their business and the Duck to the nearby town of Flanders in 1936 where it roosted until 1987. No longer using the structure, the Duck's then-owners, Kia and Pouran Eshghi, donated the lame Duck to Suffolk County, who moved it to another location on Route 24, and then back to its original Flanders spot in 2007 where it sits today as a gift shop and good will ambassaduck. The Duck is such a perfect example of a building in the shape of the product sold within that the term "duck" is now used by roadside architecture buffs to describe just such a structure. Buildings that functioned as colossal 3D representational advertisements were once common along pre-Interstate highways but are rare commodities today, so the Big Duck is a big treat, indeed. Let's hope they protect and cherish it for another 81 years...I'd be down with that.