I’ve always liked maps. They tell you where you’ve been – or better yet, where you might go.
Before there was MapQuest or Google Maps there was the Thomas Guide, a hefty, seemingly indecipherable, yet indispensable tome of colorful road maps. Mine was gifted to me by my parents on my 16th birthday along with my first car, a 1972 Volkswagen Bug. Weighing in at three pounds and measuring over an inch thick mine only covered San Diego County, but in an era before cell phones it saved my rear more times than I like to admit. My Thomas Guide rode under the driver’s seat of that Bug and several others before it met its ultimate demise. I kept it far longer than it was useful. MapQuest’s printable turn-by-turn instructions knocked the books’ usefulness to its knees, Google Maps and the Apple iPhone severed its head altogether.
Although the Thomas Guide was practical I always preferred those with, well, a little more imagination. As a kid that meant the park maps handed out at Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, or Wild Rivers. I enjoyed plotting my adventures along the colorful pathways and trying to figure out what attractions changed since my last “adventure”.
During our last meeting, Kevin, the author I have been collaborating with, and I decided that our book needed a map. After sketching out a ( very ) rough draft with him I returned home and pondered what such a map should look like. I decided it needed to be practical, like a Thomas Brother’s Guide, but also fun like the park maps handed to me at amusement parks. This is what I came up with. If it makes you smile, I succeeded. If not, well, at least I tried!
Oh! Any my daughter, Ashley, helped me with the design and color for this one. I’ll make an artist out of her yet!
Take care. Stay healthy. Live life …
-Scott
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#Maps #MapLover #Atlas #DadsWritingBooks #DadsBookClub #BeCreative #Illustration #KidsBooks #KidsFantasyBooks #MythicalCreatures #BookLover #ILoveBooks #DrawnAndCoded
Drawn and Coded 
Certainly made me smile!! Can’t wait to read and share the story that goes with it!
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Great map, Scott! You throw a map, chart, or atlas in front of me, and I’m gone for hours. Just toss me some food and drink every now and again, I’ll be fine.
As a kid, I’d stay up late at night with a pad and pencil in my bed, and I’d draw topographic maps of imaginary places (my Boy Scout days). When I was in college, my favorite civil engineering classes were surveying and photogrammetry. My favorite job in the Navy was navigator.
Have you been to the Map and Atlas Museum in La Jolla? It’s a must-see for folks like us. I’m not sure what their current hours are (I know COVID changed them for a while), but worth the trip. Let me know when you’re going, and I’ll tag along. 🙂
Here’s a write up I did about it a while back:
https://exploresandiegoandbeyond.com/2016/03/23/map-atlas-museum-of-la-jolla/
Enjoy!
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Loved your view of the Thomas Maps. They were confusing! Took forever for me to figure them out! I always look forward to your drawing! Love this one too! You are so talented!
❤️Tia
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Love your map drawing! Too bad Thomas weren’t as well illustrated! I always look forward to your art work!
❤️Tia
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