The forecast was for rain all day — so I thought I would probably bail at some point and just head for Iowa.  But the prediction was wrong and the weather got better as the day went.  So in Chicago I stayed.  Couldn’t help myself.  I could stop every 10 minutes but had to steel myself and stick mostly to my list.  I must have at last 200 photos just from today.  A nice chunk uploaded to Flickr just now and a similar sized stack ready to go here. 

Sparkle’s been purring along without a hitch.  I’m now way behind schedule.  Lolly-gagging in Chicago plus the mechanical fiasco.  I have a bit more Chicago stuff that I’d like to do — and some other “important” Illinois stuff.  So, if you don’t hear from me tomorrow night — don’t worry — I’m banging out interstate miles en route to Iowa and too beat to crop photos & write something.   I’ll at least drop a hello before I pass out.  Or maybe I’ll come up with another plan.  If the weather’s crummy, I might just high tail it out of here and get where I’m supposed to be.

Let’s get on with the photos then.   Oh yes, the dogs are fine — really hot & humid for all of us and so the runs were fairly short.  I still managed to find huge abandoned lots for them in the heart of the city — even incredibly nicely mowed grass with no sign of ownership.  Tomorrow morning, I’ll give them a very special treat — one of our favorite places:  Montrose Beach.

This inexplicable clown in front of Classic Auto Insurance in Gary, IN:

More from Gary:  a massive and mysterious sign.  Most recently “The Cave” but before that… don’t know:

The “Char-El” must’ve been some other entity originally.  I’m guessing a motel — and probably neon on the metal piece; and a larger metal piece where that hideously boring plastic box is.  Glad they didn’t mess with the ballies:

From Crete, IL — I haven’t seen a Speed Queen sign before though obviously these must have been mass-produced:

An awesomely wonderful, politically incorrect sign from South Chicago Heights:

In Blue Island, IL — Burr-Oak TV has signs in front and on the side of their building.  Lots o’ color here — as a TV shop should have I guess:

Also Blue Island — love the drippie rust and rusty pole:

I know I’ve included Chicago area rock-i-tecture in a post last year — but I can’t help myself — here’s some more:

Chicago — how do I love thee, let me count just some of the ways… Signs everywhere.  Hands-down more vintage signs per square mile than anywhere on the face of the earth.  And maybe 50 of them suspended from these rooftop structures.  I have never been able to determine a more precise name — so I just call them “hangers”.

More rooftop action – lots of wires & chains involved with signs in Chicago/Chicagoland.  Very little of this stuff in any other city.  Love the duplicative effort here:

Even the plastic signs need a little help with chains. Maybe it’s because Chicago’s the “Windy City”?

Just about every corner in Chicago is a visual festival.  Here’s a nice melange of religious art, Art Deco details, and modern signs.  Surely, that plastic sign was once steel and needed that hefty rooftop hanger:

Here are some more random details from various eras:

There’s a former Tastee-Freez entombed in this frenzy of color and signage.  You can just make out that tell-tale lip over the take-out window at the right.  If you don’t know what I mean by “lip”, here are some classic T-F buildings:
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/tastee.html

I’ve read that this place “Slow Down, Life’s Too Short” used to be a bar.  It’s been closed for several years now but the funky artwork still remains:

And to close out tonight’s marathon session — a sweet little sign from a motel still hanging on (by a thread I’m sure) on North Lincoln:

I’ll spare you a lot of details since I’ve complained enough over the past few days. But to sum up, for those that are interested in mechanical things, it seems the distributor was the culprit.  The mechanic explained the vibration of a slightly bent stem (or whatever it’s called) as being the speedo, whirring sound.  The bucking was most likely the cam sensor (replaced the day before). It took a couple hours for the distributor to arrive… and then another hour to install… And then the engine wouldn’t start. Say what? I never have starting problems. So the mechanic spent about 2 more hours checking everything, de-corroding connections, replacing wires… and then I was off. With fingers and toes crossed.

No more whirring or humming or bucking. But. The acceleration still sounds a little different to me. Kind of higher pitched. Which concerns me and which I mentioned to the mechanic after the repairs. He couldn’t hear it. I also have a squeaking sound from the front panels not being put back just-so. He took it out for a test drive to fix and banged on them to fix. Of course, that “fix” didn’t last an hour. I’ve been banging on them myself to no avail. Maybe I’ll get used to it. Four more weeks of it though just might drive me crazy. City driving in Chicago tomorrow should be a real test!

So, we didn’t get moving until early afternoon.  I decided to stick close to Fort Wayne for awhile in case I needed to go back to the shop. But after 5 hours or so of uneventful driving, it’s full speed ahead.  The dogs are happy to get back to a) barking at motorcycles and b) sleeping. Two of their favorite activities in life.

Let’s move on to the photos. I’m sure you’ve missed them!  These first few photos were from before all hell broke loose and I got stranded.

I’d been worried that this one in Lafayette might be gone since I last saw it maybe six years ago.  But the  place is now a thrift shop or something and the sign’s been left to linger.  Sorry about the white background — truly crappy rainy weather that morning:

This building in West Lafayette, now a Chase Bank, was designed by Louis Sullivan.  Pretty small scale compared to the other buildings I’ve seen of his:

Glazed terracotta details:

A nice two-fer from Akron:  a payphone and a vitrolite-fronted drug store:

This photo was taken en route to the mechanics in Fort Wayne — glorious blue skies torturing me since I’d be sitting all day, nearly two days there.

This one from Fort Wayne was taken on a test drive that didn’t go so well… had to go back for another day because the whirring sound came back.  This sign is most likely modern in entirety — but still a fun name and bubbles: 

A couple fun yet sad banks — must’ve been part of the same chain — both abandoned now — both in Fort Wayne:

Kitty corner from the first bank was this sign I’d been wanting to see.  Oddly enough, there’s only a boarded up old baby box 1920s-ish gas station on the lot.  Must’ve been a tiny drive-in with lots of room for the cars.  I assume there was a Humpty Dumpty figure on top of the sign originally:

Still on pins & needles in Fort Wayne… I think this is finally the first Azar’s Big Boy I’ve seen.  This Wikipedia site covers the Big Boy variations & history far better than I ever could:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Boy_(restaurant)

Finally moving on with some optimism — from Syracuse:

Also from Syracuse — but alas, this place is no more.  Just concrete slabs where the greens used to be.

Stuck at a long light somewhere, forced to stare at this ahead of me (hence the bug-smeared windshield quality).  I’m sure the owners of this truck find this artwork awesome.  But it looks awfully 8th grade to me.  Those eyes are haunting, aren’t they?

And last one for the day — making progress through Indiana at a rapid clip — the Pang Ford Motel (Google says it’s two words) in Mishawaka.  What an odd assortment of elements:

So — I hope you’re ready for us Chicago!  I’ll see what we can bang through tomorrow.  Technically, I should really be starting Day 1 or Iowa tomorrow.  But I’m going to allow myself one day in the Big City before hitting the interstate.  Maybe a few choice, not-to-be-missed-this-time stops in Illinois on Wednesday.  And then it’ll be time to focus on the big three for this trip:  IA, KS & MO.  If we fall behind, it’ll just be tough for the other states planned for the way home.

I can’t begin to describe how frustrated, angry, and miserable I am. No photos today since I spent the entire day, nearly pacing, at the repair shop. When I finally got handed the keys, it was 3:30 and they closed at 4. Sure enough, I got about 5 miles away, and “the sound” returned. I called them immediately and the desk woman said she’d have the mechanic wait for me (I was 5 minutes away). But he left, dinner reservations. And I’m stuck waiting until tomorrow morning. Sucks, sucks, sucks.

Today, the computer code came up with Sparkle needing a “cam sensor”. So the mechanic replaced that. Also, he discovered a loose rotor on the distributor which he believed was causing the dash noise. Latest theory, based on the desk woman’s call to the mechanic, is that the bearing on the distributor is bad. Tomorrow, he will replace the distributor first thing in the morning and I should be on my way. I’ll hit a few stops in Fort Wayne and do a little loop of other stops just in case I need to return. Ugh, sure hope not!

The dogs had a great day since there were two girls (the desk woman’s kids) stranded there as well for the day. The girls were all over the dogs all day: giving them Cheetos for tricks, taking them on walks around the building, etc. So the dogs didn’t get naps at all today and are even more exhausted than I am.

It feels like I’ve been stuck here for a week. It’s hard to even remember the fun things I’ve seen and places I’ve been. It’ll take me a few thousand miles to get my mind off the mechanical status of my van and back into the joy of this journey. Here’s hoping tomorrow night, I will have happier stories & interesting photos for you.

A video to cheer us all up. From a few days ago, at a pond in Lake Conneaut, PA, as promised, finally!

Before I get your hopes up, this will be a picture-less post.  I took a few photos today but then pretty much disaster struck.  Of a mechanical nature.  Me and the dogs are fine.  Just frustrated.  Lousy weather this morning:  grey and rain.  My little humming sound didn’t start until after about the first hour.  As I was heading for the next big city to have it checked out, the check engine light came on.  I’ve been told not to panic when it does — it’s usually just an electronic thing and as long as the car is acting normal, not overheating, oil pressure fine, then you shouldn’t worry. 

Found a Chevy dealership and was optimistic.  Although they were closing at noon (and it was 9:30am), they would get me fixed up.  They got me out at 1pm.  The “check engine” thing came up on the computer as an oxygen sensor.  So that’s what was replaced.  I was nervous when I saw the mechanic struggling to get the part out, flabbergasted with the instructions of how to install, etc.  As for the sound, I was told it was my “cluster” (speedometer, etc.) and that it would be $500 plus and that it wouldn’t hurt to leave it be — sometimes the sound just goes away on its own.  Ok.

So, $250 or so later, hit the road and eager to start taking photos, even though it was still pretty grey and miserable.  Then, the sound returned, getting louder and louder.  Like 3 million wasps in your lap.  Loud.  Scary loud.  I was trying to imagine dealing with Chicago chaos with that going on.  Not a good plan.  Considered buying ear plugs.  Even the dogs were annoyed I think.  Then, it went away.  Maybe the guy was right? 

About 20 minutes later, I feel this buck.  Like you hit something.  Dead roadkill or a rubber hose.  Soft buck but noticeable.  Then again.  And then every few miles.  A buck, a surge.  But no sounds, no lights and running perfectly fine otherwise.  Stress!!!  Should I stop, should I drive?  No repair shops open anywhere.  At noon, they all close in northern Indiana, so everyone said.  What could it be?  Must be fuel related?  Then, 20 miles from Fort Wayne, the “check engine” light comes on again.  So did they guy diagnose the problem wrong — or was the part installed wrong — or just some additional thing?  My theory is that this is all related to the teeny humming that I had back in Brooklyn.  Even the speedo sound.  But all this is to be determined.

I may be in Fort Wayne til Monday.  Or longer.  Unfortunately, in a dullsville part of town with only gas stations and fast food places so I can’t even document stuff for you.  Unless.  I found a Sears Auto Center online — it’s supposedly open tomorrow at 9am.  So I’ll limp down the road — just 2.5 miles and give that a shot.  Luckily, this Red Roof Inn is right next to a gigantic field so I can run the dogs if we’re stranded here for more than 24 hours.  Hope not.  I’ll keep you posted.  This is what roadtrips are really all about I guess.  The highs and lows, the unexpected.  A reflection of life in general.  The good thing is, I’m going to sleep a lot tonight.

Great distances today but still about a day’s worth of stuff to do in Indiana.  I could just cut and run and stay on schedule by heading for Chicago.  But I’m a finisher.  It just means Kentucky stops and maybe southern OH will have to wait til another time.

There were some truly fatigued moments today.   My usual gum, coffee, radio routine wasn’t helping.  But stopping to let the dogs run seems to always perk me up.  The adrenalin of worrying that one of them will disappear I suppose.  I’ve lost one leash, one collar, and one ball already and it’s not even a week on the road — but luckily haven’t lost any dogs!  Extra leashes and lots of toys so that’s no problem — but Grem will have to wear one of the other dog’s collars since she’s the most wayward of them all.

Sparkle’s been running great but in the last hour today, starting making a little noise.  Kind of a humming but then it goes away.  Running just fine otherwise.  Watching all the needles closely and obsessing about the sound.  I’m pretty stressed but I’ll just have to see how it goes in the morning.  I’ll be close to big cities for most of the day.  And if I break down on a Saturday, that’s better than trying to find a mechanic on a Sunday.  But hopefully, it won’t come to that.  But with four weeks to go, it must be something, right?

On with the show so I can hopefully get in bed by midnight.  That would be great.  But I’m in Lafayette and I can think of a few signs that I’d love to shoot at night.  Pictures or sleep — that’s a big dilemma. 

From Columbus:

Also from Columbus — which is big on mid-century buildings.  So much so, that many of their newer buildings are built in the same style.  Therefore, I’m not sure how old this fire station is. My guess is that it’s new — but it could be updated:

Hidden safely from the sun by trees — how does a sign like this get so cruddy looking?  From Greencastle:

Nary a palm tree in Indiana — except for maybe this one in Brazil:

In Terre Haute — this Phillips 66 sign hangs on despite the missing pumps and the conversion into a tire shop.  For now.  Seems the property is for sale and usually that means these signs don’t survive the makeover if things go upscale.

A typical doggie pit stop.  Road goes over bridge = dogs see water & go nuts.  Mom finds a quiet & safe spot.  10 minutes to get them wet, pee & poop, chase some toys and we’re back at  it.  This was in Paris  – the nicer beach is on the other side of the bridge.  But we were quite happy here.  Only one dead fish.

When I pulled into this lakefront spot, there was a rusty/crusty neon sign waiting for me.  I took it as a sign that this was a good spot to take a break.  Now how does a porcelain enamel sign get to this point?  Did someone throw acid on it?

This sign in Danville, IL is of a similar style & era and holding up just fine.  Yes, we scooted across the border for some Illinois towns that were right on the border:

The route took us right past Riggen’s Frostop (root beer stand) in Chrisman, IL which was recently pretty much destroyed by fire a month ago.  This charred root beer barrel is a heartbreaking sight.  However, they’re already rebuilding.

A shortie post tonight so I can get some snoozing in.  This last photo is from Danville, IL.  Pretty sign, pretty building, still in business:

Loads of great stuff today: glorious sun & clouds for the photos and lots of new discoveries.  I’ve got a ton of photos for you tonight.  And lots to talk about…  so go get another cup of coffee (I understand most of you read these posts in the morning).

I realized today that last night’s post didn’t even mention the dogs.  Yes, everybody’s fine.  They’re settling into a groove and I don’t even notice the barking anymore.  My favorite time of day though is after 5pm.  That’s the time that Grippie insists they eat.  And then they all just give up for the day and snooze.  Grem doesn’t even get up for motorcycles.  And I get three hours of peaceful shooting in.  I have a feeling I won’t get these videos edited and uploaded during this trip at all — unless I get a horrible rainy day where I have to pull over and park for a few hours.  I’ll probably just upload some bits and pieces here when I get home.  That final post is always from home anyway.  Here are a couple doggie shots from today to tide you over then.

For those of you demanding more food and doggie shots — I hope this counts as a two-fer.  Fixie modeling a peanut butter & jelly donut from Marion:

Nik spends most of the day, by choice, back in his “cave” (behind the back seat).  Lots of blankies back there on top of the toy chests.  But occasionally, he pops up to survey the scene in front.  This was taken at probably 70 mph, with the camera over my shoulder.  Grip half asleep and soaking up the A/C.  Indiana farmland — lots of that today:

A former drug store in Montpelier — signs still clinging despite the changes in venue:

I’ve got a thing for signs with people — in case you hadn’t noticed.  From Marion — problematic sun here:

Much as I love mid-century modern screen-ery, this is just, well, a damned lousy job don’t you think?  I’m sure this entire building was once quite charming.

“The Elwood” motel (in Elwood) peeking out from the weeds:

I love this one from Anderson.  Usually chef signs, especially the plastic ones, use caricatures.  But Art went all out for this one and had his portrait done.  Wow!

This motel in Anderson, now the Executive Inn, must have been quite swanky in its day:

In Indianapolis — wonderful giant arrow plus itty bitty arrow.  The guys working here were mystified why I would want to photo such a thing.  But they did say that in the 1970s or so this was the Holly Oak, a bar.  And I’m betting another name and probably a restaurant or motel, before that:

This sign in Indianapolis had me wondering just what the tallest, skinniest vintage sign in the country might be.  Maybe this one is in the Top 10?

A working payphone in Indianapolis.  I checked & there was a dial tone.  25 cents seems awfully cheap to me.  Can I get bonus points for composition on this one?  OK, so it wasn’t all that planned.  The balancing red and white vehicles (Sparkle’s nose on the right) to match the pay phone.  And a scaffold sign in the distance (my Flickr friends know my fondness for them):

And followers of the blog know that I must include at least one parking sign per big trip.  This one in Indianapolis comes with a bonus neon & bulbs Subway sign.  I’ve never seen one like it before and assume it’s an adapted older sign:

A modern sign but still fun (Indianapolis):

I’m assuming this has nothing to do with the famous Waffle House chain.  The building looks nothing like their normal boxes either.  Makes me wonder how they got away with the name.  The detail on the waffle slice is worth clicking on the photo (by the way, you all do know you can view all my blog photos larger by clicking on ’em, right?):

From Whitestown.  I put the other Wrecks Inc. sign over at Flickr.  Here’s the one maybe 100 yards away which is also neat:

Let’s talk giant chickens, shall we?  I brought along the phone number for the Chicken Limo (photo posted at Flickr) so I could find out where it’s parked.  I have admired it from afar on-line for a few years and was determined to find it.  I spoke with the owner and he said it’s in a garage but that he was about to take it out for some “runs”.  I met up with him at a car wash.  He can’t take the limo actually through the car wash (too tall & not probably safe from the chicken) but he vacuums there, etc.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/4842291189/
And for comparison, here’s what a vintage rooster statue of this type looks like:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/4842880420/

I’ll be posting more info about the history of the Chicken Limo at my site eventually.  I also wanted to see the older chicken limo in Indy and had a vague address.  I stopped at a used car dealer and asked if they knew where it was.  Yes, but I was too late — there was a fire and it was destroyed.  I went to the antiques dealer where it was located for the full story.  While the car had been set on fire by an attention-seeking cop, the bird was fine.   A crazy story — here’s some of the news coverage:
http://blogs.indystar.com/crime/2010/06/excop_faces_cha.html
(naturally, the news got it wrong and called the old car the Chicken Limo — not the Indy Chicken)

Here’s the old Indy Chicken car now.  It was maybe the bird’s 3rd or 4th car actually:

The chicken was a bit sooty from the fire but has now been repainted.  And will soon be installed on a new limo.  So it sounds like he will be competing with the Chicken Limo.  Is there room for two of them in town?  I’m a little worried about the competition.  Anyhow, here’s the “Indy Chicken” in the back room.  He should be installed in a couple weeks on top of his new car.

For those of you that can’t get enough chickens & roosters, I’ve got a whole bunch of them over at my site — and more chicken cars at the bottom of this page:
http://www.agilitynut.com/critters/birds2.html

Moving on — at the end of the day, I was fueling up at a Marathon station and couldn’t help but notice this mini corn field growing in front of the office.  The guy working there said that the station is privately owned so the owner can do whatever he wants.  This was planted this past spring.  The corn was a little sickly.  The worker said not enough room for the roots.  But the cantaloupe (growing from the box onto the pavement) was doing great.  They tried one the other day and it was delicious.

More from Indiana tomorrow!  2am — ouch.

Finally, finally moved on to Indiana at around 6pm tonight.  The stack doesn’t look that bad for Northern Indiana though so maybe I will be able to catch up and bang out three days worth of stuff in two days.  However, I know Illinois looms and I’ve got another substantial Chicago batch in there.  I predict I’ll be two or three days behind by the time I reach Iowa.

OK – so I know you’ve all been holding your breath to find out what was so worth getting up at 4am and driving to Lima for.  A sign of course!  Now, most signs are lit at night and that’s not a problem.  But since this business opens at 5am and is closed by afternoon, the neon is only visible for early risers.  Since I’ve never seen a photo of this one (or two, technically there are two signs) and I was told by the owner last year that it’s lit in the morning, I decided to make the effort.  The history of these signs and day photos are at the bottom of this page:
http://agilitynut.com/sca/donuts.html

So, I was disappointed that a lot of the neon and most of the bulbs were not lit. But I was still glad for what there was.  I mentioned the missing lighting to the owner and she seemed genuinely surprised.  She comes in (“time to make the donuts”), flips on the switch, and never notices the signs.  The neon shop is just across the street and the repairs are under a contract.  So hopefully, everything will be in full working order one day soon — and somebody else will give up some sleep to get more photos then.  

In Jackson Center, I stumbled upon the Airstream factory.  They have a big repair operation there as well and they also give tours (no, I didn’t go on one):
http://www.airstream.com/company/factory/index.html

There were a number of vintage Airstreams in their huge parking lot:

And some newer models — Mercedes logos but I guess produced by Airstream?  I’ve been contemplating what I will do if and when Sparkle ever goes.  She just rolled over her 250,000th mile on this trip.  They don’t make Astro vans anymore and it would need to be something similar.  Mini vans are too low to the ground for me.  These Airstream-styled guys are ridiculously large though.  After all, I have to park on the street in NYC.  But what attracted me is what looks like a built-in satellite dish on the roof.  Ah, to watch TV in my van would be such a treat.  Or maybe those are for storm chasers? 

These pretty blue silos are fairly common across the country it seems.  I suppose you’ve noticed that they are faced with the same porcelain enamel steel used for making vintage neon signs?

An example from Dayton today:

The “Friendly Tavern” in St. Marys has a hand-painted wooden sign.  Modern but really nicely done:

The “Quilted Rock” is at Stoneco Inc. in Celina.  I assume that giant piece of machinery on the left is some sort of stone milling device or such.  The quilted pattern must have been created to alert truckers to “turn here”:

Botany quiz (no, I don’t know the answer) — what the heck is this flowering plant?  I expected it to be fragrant but it was only barely so:

Same plant closer up:

In Moraine, I’ve been meaning to stop and shoot these twin buildings for awhile now.  You can’t really tell from these photos but they’re faced with glazed brick and have a shimmery quality when the sun is on them.  I refer to this one as Pretty Blue:

and Pretty Green:

I stumbled upon a second Miller Milkhouse in Richmond.  This one is obviously closed though.  I hope someone saves this sign since the other one downtown has been replaced:
http://www.agilitynut.com/modarch/inretail.html

OK that’s a wrap.  12:30 and I’m off to catch up on a little sleep.  It’ll be nice to NOT get up at 4am again.

I succumbed to my inner child today and headed on over to Marblehead after I finished up my Cleveland stuff.  So that added a whole bunch of miles and boring, photo-less highway time.  But oh, so worth it.  I sort of reported already about Prehistoric Forest (the reason for my jaunt) — but basically, I have a good feeling that these dinosaur statues will survive after all.  Maybe some person will come along and reopen the place.

As much as I raced around (Cleveland, Columbus, Marblehead and points in all directions from there), I still have a decent sized chunk of OH to do tomorrow.  Despite the race against time, I gave the dogs a couple of nice long swims & runs.  A little Lake Erie romp at the harbor while I was in Marblehead — and then a stop at the Big Walnut dog park in Columbus which is one of our faves.  It was actually the first dog park of the trip.  The rest of the stops have all been “illegal” grab & gos at fields, rivers, etc. as they’ve been presented to us.  No doggie videos tonight that’s for sure — I’ll barely get three hours sleep tonight as it is.

This will be a quickie post since I have a 5am date tomorrow (oh, it’s 12:30, so I guess I mean in a few hours  — uh oh).  I’ll leave you in suspense until tomorrow night as to what this “date” is about.  I put a big batch of photos over at Flickr tonight so if you need a fix, head over there.

This place is in Lorain.  I’m always relieved to see they haven’t messed with the lettering & stripes:

Elliott’s hamburger stand is in Marion.  There’s a modern plastic sign by the main road at this place.  I assume this one was out there before & glad they moved it to the back of the parking lot.

And lastly (see, I told you this would be quick!), from West Jefferson.  I assume this building was all tediously organized stone at one time.  Now it’s sort of like a reptile shedding its skin:

Gotta go set that alarm now.  Some vacation, huh?

The weather gods were with us — mostly sun all day.  Warmer but not deadly like the past couple weeks.  Covered a lot of ground & hoping to finish up Ohio tomorrow.  Although, I’m considering breaking from my list and heading over to Marblehead for a quickie.  That’ll eat up some valuable time but the Prehistoric Forest (incredible, old dinosaur statues) is supposedly closing for good at the end of the year.  It would be nice to reshoot it.  Between sobs.

Thought I might finish up early tonight — but I had a lot of email to reply to and other odds and ends.  Now it’s after midnight once again.  Those doggie videos might have to wait til I get home at this rate.  All is well otherwise — settling into a groove.  Sparkle running like a champ.  No mysterious humming at all this morning.

Let’s get to it.  There are not enough theme car washes — or theme anything — these days.  Maybe it’s tacky, but I give them full credit for the effort.  This one was in Ashtabula.  I saw another location somewhere else in Ohio today:

We must assume this was the Lake Breeze Motel or Cottages originally.  I believe this was in Perry — right there at the Lake Erie shore.  Still there, still in business:

From Cleveland.  Are you all old enough to remember when gas stations actually did repairs?  And pre-Jiffy Lube, you could get your oil changed there, flats fixed, all that.  Even directions and maps!  Now you’re lucky if the folks that work there know where Main Street is. 

In Akron, an abandoned high school has been repurposed for Halloween (and other events I assume) as the “Haunted High School”.  I find these guys really scary.  I hope I don’t have nightmares tonight:

Here’s more info about the place:
http://www.hauntworld.com/featured_article/ohio_haunted_house_haunted_school_house_and_haunted_laboratory_akron

Also in Akron — time for a mid-afternoon snack!  The first ice cream of the trip.  Stricklands is a local chain famous for their frozen custard:

and, man, was it good!  I set it on the hood to take this photo and it nearly became a puddle as I focused.  This was one of the flavors of the day:  Black Raspberry.  I had them add a little chocolate syrup and nuts just to make it extra sensational.

I stumbled upon this event in Akron:  prep-ing for a soap box derby.  Now, I know nothing about this stuff — but the cars are beautiful and varied:

I wish I could have stuck around to see some practicing but way too many things to shoot and Missouri and Kansas beckon…  Anyway, this is the hill that they go down.  Someone told me they are going about 30mph at the bottom of the hill.

Let’s see — time for some mid-century concrete don’t you think?  How about this spiral-y parking garage.  A little different design from most:

And last one for today — gotta love human-styled food.  Or any humanified objects of any kind.  I believe this guy was in Bedford: