No tickets and no lost or found dogs. Got Sparkle another oil change marking the 6,000 mile mark on this trip. And the rain stopped! A bit of fog in the morning, a few grey clouds here and there. But by noon, the clouds were breathtaking for the remainder of the day.
I don’t know how old this Maytag Man embossed plastic sign is. My guess would be 1960s or 1970s. FromKewanee:
Love this lumber mill sign in Peoria. Especially because the weathered paint reveals the wood underneath and matches the paint on the building to the right.
This scrap metal yard was impressive and depressing at the same time. There was a crane between the two piles keeping everything nice and tidy.
In Lexington, or just barely south of it, was this long gone drive-in restaurant. This is right on old Route 66. Anybody know what the name of this place was?
You may remember the Hen House restaurant sign photo that I posted a couple days ago. Well, here’s one that’s been unimaginatively repainted. They kept the old barn-like building as well. In Chenoa.
I’m having trouble finding in my notes where this Elks sign was. From the sequence of photos, it was somewhere between or in Streator or Ottawa. I can never get enough of this classic navy porcelain enamel. Or red. Or green. Or brown.
I hope my botany pals can help me out and identify / explain these purple flowers and beans. Never seen such a thing. In Ottawa.
Also in Ottawa. This sign must have revolved at one time. At least the neon still works on both sides.
More Ottawa goodies. Today, a double dose of Lincoln. Ottawa was evidently the site of another Lincoln vs. Douglas debate. Was Douglas really that short or was Lincoln just huge? No time for research right now.
And this nice wall mural just next door to the Washington Park fountain. I love Douglas’ smirky expression.
Just across the street from the mural, this nice old popcorn truck:
On the western edge of Ottawa was this unusual oval structure. I’ve never seen such a thing. Looks to be for grain storage but then with rooms on top. I’m sure you round barn fans out there must know what this is.
And to close out the day, a couple signs. This one from Seneca:
And this one from Peru. There are not enough of these names-as-jokes motels left:
RoadArch.com companion 
shots on Flickr are AMAZING!
Thanks! I just got this blog post up so I hope you like these photos as well. I’ve been so TIRED lately that I’ve had to push posting things into the morning. The sun stayed good enough for shooting today til nearly 8:30pm so I got even less time for my “homework” and sleeping.
Please take care of yourself!
Pouring rain in Chicago has put an early end to my day — so I should get some extra sleep tonight I hope.
tsk
The Open Arms Church on flickr was the old headquarters building for Sandys hamburgers
Really??? That’s very exciting! I can see the resemblance.
those alien purple / green vines are Hyacinth beans, easy to grow and very WEIRD, love them. Inedible, but who cares? Can be found on eBay, prefer full sun.
Wow — never heard of ’em. Thanks!
Yes, those are hyacinth beans, and they are spectacular if you have the sun to grow them. Another one that looks great on fences are sweet pea.
We had sweet peas in California where I grew up — but not these things. I think I would remember them.
They do tend to have that effect. I grew “heirloom burgundy beans” this year, same idea of weird purple structures and green plant. Those purple beans turn green in the pan when you cook them which is fun, and that’s good because they’re a mite poisonous if you don’t cook them…..