Well, I call it Southern Illinois even though some of this stuff is technically Central Illinois.  That’s just how my atlas splits the state (half and half) so I’m going with it.

Anyhow.  What a day!  Absolutely perfect weather (sunny but much cooler), well-behaved “children” (for the most part), and tons of great photos.  It was hard to choose which ones to use for here and Flickr.  I should definitely be able to wrap up the Illinois stuff and move on to Indiana tomorrow.  Hopefully, it’ll be just as nice and productive then/there.  Only two more days to shoot — panic mode!

On with the show since it’s late and I have so much to post.  The day started out in West Frankfort.  I’d made note to shoot this cute cottage gas station first thing before I left town.  Only to discover this Vess soda machine next to it.  I was still too bleary (lack of sleep) and delighted (never seen a Vess machine before) to check to see whether it was still operational.  50 cents seems cheap for a canned drink — but maybe.

From Johnston City.  Uh-oh, I’m not liking the look of that crumbling base:

I went to Harrisburg to shoot two signs.  Turned out, they were both gone.  No good signs left there now.  At least this is firmly in place so it won’t be sold off or destroyed.  Let’s hope it’s landmarked in some way:

I believe this sign is modern — and part of a chain — but still fun.  Even by day, the neon was on:  barrel outlined in green, text in red:

In DuQuoin, I was humored by this bit of politically incorrect stereotyping:

Only to find out as I got further into town that this Indian is actually the symbol/mascot of the local high school.  Wow, kind of shocking, no?

Another Indian in DuQuoin at Atkins Custom Floors.  A different style since he’s the advertising icon for Mohawk Carpets:

One more place in DuQuoin.  I asked the guy working inside about these red ballies.  He had no idea.  Said the building was a Ford dealership a long, long time ago.  Is it possible that these were globes?  No sign of such detail though.

From Ashley:

This Arch tribute / camping sign is in Mount Vernon.  About an hour and a half from St. Louis but a straight shot:

This is what my rear view mirror view is at least half the day:

At the Restwell Motel in Salem, there were two of these neat neon marker signs.  I’ve not seen these before:

Lots of fun stuff from Centralia (my first time there):

at the Sports Bar & Golf Gallery:

Truth in advertising (still):

One more from Centralia:

And lastly, from Shelbyville.  A gorgeous showroom at Leach Wilson Chevrolet (poke at Flickr if you’re interested) and behind it, three of these nice OK signs (Chevy’s used car seal-of-approval):