Sluggy's Road Trip Part 10......To Indiana & Beyond

So I left around 10am from Princeton IL to start the 2-day journey home.  I had a long day of traveling this day.

About an hour in I hit something in the road going 60mph on the interstate.  I slowed down a bit and aimed the car so my wheels didn't go over it.  That's the best I could do since the other lane beside me was occupied.
A panel on the lower left dashboard popped off with the impact but after pulling over on the shoulder once I was clear of traffic I saw no damage to the car.
But after that there was a rattling noise when the car was in motion.  Something must have been jarred loose but I was nowhere near any place to have it looked at.  This might have to wait until I got home as it didn't appear to be serious.....yet.
* Once home I found out that a bolt had come loose and that was what was making the noise.  I got it taken care of. 8-)

At lunchtime I was in Champaign IL so I got lunch and ate in the car.   I didn't want to take time to stop at this point in the day.

Since I hadn't have a "Concrete" at Culver's in Wisconsin I stopped for a sandwich and a concrete here in Illinois.

The weather was crappy.  I kept driving in and out of rain.
blech.

I took a pit stop once I hit the Indiana border......omg! is that the sun trying to come out?!?

 

Another 1.5 hours and I was in the Indianapolis area.  I made a stop north of Indianapolis in a town called Carmel.
They had a World Market store there.
I experienced the weirdest traffic circle in Carmel.  It was more like an oval connected to a trapezoid! lol
At any rate, this town is too congested to have traffic circles dangit!
Put in some traffic lights stat!!!
That circle was worse than any traffic I saw this trip, outside of the Chicago Skyway.  I about had a nervous breakdown trying to navigate around that thing.
8-P

I finally get to World Market thankfully and was able to stretch my legs and walk around the store a bit.

Great cocktail napkins........

Lots of cosmo mix.....

I didn't find any interesting beers here but I did find Abita Root Beer.  Abita is a Louisiana brewery and they make a nice non-alcoholic root beer too.
I spent some time back in April in LA looking for that Abita Root Beer to no avail.
Figures I'd have to go to Indiana to find it! lolz

After a half hour or so I got back into the car and made my way to Fortville, Indiana.
That's where I found my new drinking buddy......

Standing outside of a small liquor store on a street on the seedy side of town.  I had to park in the Dairy Queen lot next door and stand out in the road to get this shot.   A pick-up truck full of Latino men in the back of the truck yelled and made suggestive comments as they drove by.
Oh, the things I do for a good photo......

They say he is the pink martini drinking elephant but I like to think that's a Cosmo in that thar glass!

The weather was getting rainier again and the skies were darkening  so I hightailed it out of there so I could get to my motel for the evening before nightfall.

I stopped in Richmond IN, right off I-70, on the OH line. 
What an adventure getting into my room here.

I checked in and then drove to the door nearest my room, parked and schlepped in with a big load of stuff.  Set it all down and tried the room key(one of those cards you slide).
Nothing.
No green or even a red light.
I tried 8 more times and still nothing.
So I have to leave my stuff! and walk a long hallway to the front desk.
She rekeys my card.
I walk back and try it again.
Nothing.
Another 10 or so time, still nothing.
So I am getting a bit angry(and tired of this)at this point and go walk back to the front desk.

I guess my tone was not very nice at this point, so the lady rekeys the card(just give me a new card that actually works already! I am thinking), and walks all the way with it to my room, swipes it one time and the door opens.
Then she gives me that look that says, "What? Are you an idiot?!
Bitch.
Maybe the key would have worked for me if you had rekeyed correctly the first time.

I say thanks and then tell the gal, "I sure hope it works again because I still have to go back to the car for something, otherwise you'll be seeing me again(bitch)".

Luckily I had no more issues with the room key.
No issues with that but then my issue turned into sucky WIFI issues.

I tried for HOURS to get online and post something to no avail. I got on FB briefly and called it a night.
I gave up and watched some tv and there was no TLC channel.  So I missed that night's "Who Do You Think You Are?" episode.
Oh, my night was getting better and better.

There was some advertising literature in the room too.....

Dick's Last Resort
"The Shame O' Indy".
And they had hats Sonya Ann!
Now we know where to go to if we want to put on hats since the Tea Room closed up.....remember this photo from earlier in the trip in IL.......

I got to the free breakfast in the lobby early before all the grub was gone.
It was pretty good for a free breakfast and not the worse one I endured this trip.

When I checked out the front desk clerk asked me how my stay was and I mentioned the FREE WIFI that was MIA.  I didn't make any other comments on it, it was what it was.

The clerk took $25 off my bill for the inconvenience.
I can live with that.  8-)
Then I hit the road for another long day of driving.

I made a few stops along the way in Ohio, just to look for craft beers we don't get in PA and to wander around a Walmart.

I found these Wine Slurpees at a gas station convenience store in a little town outside of Dayton......

The Merlot one was quite good!

I hit the PA line on I-80 midafternoon and made my way to the Outlets in Grove City.
I did quite the damage at the Vera Bradley Outlet.......2 bags worth......Uh Oh!!

I wandered around the Outlets some more so I didn't get into my son's place until after they were home from work.
I sat at a rest stop along the way and closed my eyes for a bit and dozed off with the sun on my face.  It felt good after the previous day's rain.

I got into Pittsburgh a bit after 6 and my son was home from work.
We had to basically take everything out of the car to get to the beers I bought him on the trip, since they were all packed in the bottom of the trunk.
Fun times.
Ha!

Here's a shot of his beer fridge, now bursting full with new brewskis.....

His girlfriend made us dinner and we had a nice visit.
Then I curled up on the couch for bed, while their crazy cat bounced off the walls all night, before plopping down on me for the rest of the night.

My son had the morning off so we trotted over to a café for breakfast when his girlfriend left for work......
The Square Café in the east end neighborhood of Regent Square.
The menu is pricey but it's seasonal, local, vegan, gluten-free and all that crap.

Kind of early for a milkshake but hey!, there was bacon in that shake so it's all good......

The place was full of hipsters and hipster wannabes.  There was a young family behind us and I swear they sat down right after us and were still trying to order when we paid and left.  The wife had to know every single ingredient in every dish and I heard the words, "Is that organic?" pass her lips at least 2 dozen times to the waiter.  And then the 4 year old kept changing her mind.  She's 4.....give her a limited menu of choices for Pete's sake don't read her the entire menu!!
Just order already....jeez.....can you tell they were pissing me off?

Can you tell I have about had enough of traveling and want to be home?
lolz


Then when we left to walk to the car I saw this sign outside of the Chiropractor's office next door......

Dog & Cat Acupuncture?
No wonder some people are in debt up to their eyeballs....... ;-)

I hugged my son goodbye and made tracks for home.
This 5 hours of the trip was low stress and easy driving once I cleared Pittsburgh.
I was very glad to see my bed......oh, and my Hubs too.....lol

I hope you enjoyed the trip.
I certainly did and though glad to be home I was sad I had to leave each one of my friends I saw along the way.

Oh, and I wanted to show you some cool gifts I was given along the way.

Blanche up in Wisconsin gifted me with these 3 tea towels she did the needlework on......

And yes Blanche, I AM USING them!

And McVal's Mother in-law gave me this quilted wall hanging before I left their house in Iowa......

She let me know that she didn't make it(it had been a gift to her)and she didn't have anywhere to display it and I had been so nice to her family that she wanted me to have it.
Wasn't that nice of her?

And every time I take a trip I like to pick up a Christmas ornament as a reminder/souvenir of my adventures.
While Robin and Pam took me to the HL in IL I picked up this little critter......

I loved the colors(thought you can't see the iridescence in this photo)and if you recall back in Iowa when Leon was in the duck pen petting the ducks.......

 

There were bunches of peacock feathers  flanking the pen.  You can see a bit of them in that photo.
I guess I had peacocks on the brain by the time I hit IL again.
Besides that ornie was cheapish and one of the few that weren't breakable that I liked and had a chance of making it home intact.

When I hang it on our tree in a very short few weeks from now I'll think fondly of my trip and all the people and places along the way.

And congratulations!
You made it to the end of this saga.  8-)


Sluggy

 

Sluggy's Solo Road Trip Part 7......MO & Back to IL

So I hit the road on Sunday afternoon heading South out of Iowa.

I passed the "Barilla Castle" before I left Iowa.....

Ok it's not really a castle but a big white building Barilla built along the interstate in Iowa.
But Leon calls it a castle, so a castle it is. 8-)

And then I hit the Missouri line.  Sorry the photo is so blurry, my windshield was uber dirty......

After 3 hours of driving I got into Kansas City and checked into my motel for the night.
Then I went out to get some dinner and get some water and check out the beer selection at the Walmart down the road.

Back to the room and I ate and emptied my pockets before changing into my pjs.
Look at what I found in my pocket.......

 

A piece of candy I picked up along the parade route from Saturday in Polk Iowa.  I forgot I had that. lolz

I called an ex-blogger friend from the area and we arranged to meet up in the morning for a visit before heading to bed.

I had a lovely breakfast the next morning at the hotel(hot food!) and then I made up a plate to take with me on the road for either lunch or dinner that day.....yogurts, banana and makings for a PJB sandwich.  This helped me cut down on one meal's cost on the road.

If any of you remember reading Annie Jones' blog, here she is in all her glory in a selfie she took of us.  My photo didn't come out as my arms are too short to take a multiperson selfie. lolz

We had a nice 3 hour visit in the motel and then I checked out and we traipsed over to a local Mexican restaurant for lunch and more chatting.  Boy, I wish we lived closer as we'd probably hang out together a lot if we did.

I had a scare at the restaurant when I went to take out my camera to snap some photos and I couldn't find it.  I called the motel and found out I had left it in the room.
Duh.
Good thing we were just around the corner from the motel still so I drove over to get it before leaving town.

So after a nice lunch and saying our goodbyes, Annie and I parted and I hit the road north, back up to Iowa and then east to Illinois.
Another long boring day of driving ensued.

Before leaving Iowa I made a stop around dinner time in Walcott, IA at the Largest Truck Stop in the USA.....Iowa 80.

Then I went across the street to here.......

Grandma's Kitchen.

And I ordered this item to go......

A pork tenderloin sandwich.
Mmmmmmm
You know you can't go to Iowa without eating one of these babies.....it's practically against the law!

Of course I still had a fair piece of driving to do until I got to my motel for the night so this sat next to me in the car and about drove me WILD with hunger from the smells.

Finally got to the motel about 8:30pm, schlepped up to the room with all my stuff, put the pork sandwich in the microwave and then wolfed it down.
Aaaaaahhh......

Then a phone call to the ladies I was here to visit with before I hit the bed and we arranged to meet in the am.

I got a call from the lobby around 9:30ish am and these smiling faces were soon in my room.
Say "Hi" to Robin and Pam!

We met on a beanie forum years ago but met in person only last August when we came through their part of IL to go to Hub's sister's wedding.

We sat and gabbed and tried to come up with a plan for our day together as there was no plan yet.
This booklet of things to do in this part of IL was in the room and between browsing through that and going online to Roadside America(which has a state by state list of weird and quirky sights to see), we hatched a plan.

The first stop was that covered bridge in the booklet.

It's called the Red Covered Bridge(duh)and was built in 1863.
I took my life in my hands posing for this photo since the bridge is still active and open to traffic.

The Big Bureau Creek that runs below the bridge.

Cool design inside the bridge.

 I attempt a selfie with the bridge(and Pam's back)in the background.  Note to self--remember to keep eyes OPEN when snapping a selfie.....lolz

Five Dollar Fine Sign over bridge entrance.
Don't even think about taking more than 12 animals or going faster than a "walk" across the bridge!

On the other side of the bridge was a nature park by the creek and we caught this flock of turkeys looking for lunch there.

A momma and baby turkeys.

Next it was over to the Owen Lovejoy Homestead.

Mr. Lovejoy was an early settler to these parts.
It is said his home was a stop on the Underground Railroad to Canada.
But the Homestead is only open on weekends so we didn't get to tour it.

The motel where I was staying had an Owen Lovejoy Suite down the hall from me.  Now I know why.....

Mr. Lovejoy was a big supporter of Abraham Lincoln but we won't hold that against him.

Also on the property was this one room brick schoolhouse.

This school, built in 1850 was in use until 1972.

 

 

It was locked up tight as well.

And even further behind these 2 buildings was a replica log cabin commemorating the 1st
"White Settlers" in the area, the Henry Thomas Family (1800-1848).
Also parents on the first "White Child" born in this county.
Yes the plaque said "white" but without the parentheses.

 

Then we drove to the downtown section of Princeton, IL.
But we stopped for a photo of this elaborate monument along the way.
No dates on it but plaques listing men who had fought in some war.
I am guessing it's War Between the States.
A quick look online tells me it's the Soldiers and Sailors War Between the States Monument and was dedicated in 1913.
Pam took this shot.....

Looking at monuments makes me hungry so it was off to find something to eat.

We parked downtown and walked by this salon with a replica of a renaissance sculpture out font.

I wonder what is behind that grape leaf?

Oooo! He's nekkid under there!

 

Then we got to a building that smelled heavenly.....

 Myrtle's Pie Shop!  It's owned by a fellow who's grandmother was named Myrtle.  I guess she baked really awesome pies in her day.

Myrtle's photo on the door.....stupid glare......

Though it was lunch time we were just there for the pie.
And there were soooo many choices.
Obviously Pam is working hard studying the menu.
But she ended up getting the same pie she always gets. lolz

Here's my selection--a banana and chocolate concoction that tasted divine.

On the way out of town after waddling back to the car, I saw this signpost.
Ronnie was from Dixon IL.  We had too much to do and too much mayhem to reek so there was no time to wander the Reagan Trail.


We drove past the giant coffee pot sign in Peru.....

Then we went off in search of the giant carved Vulcan Hand also in Peru.....

It says "Live Long & Proper" on the arm part.....

That's Pam giving her version of the Vulcan salute next to the statue.

All I could think about was someone taking a chainsaw to 3 of those fingers on the carving and you'd have a very different "salute". hehehe

And if you didn't know where you were, here's a reminder......

 

While hunting for the Giant Vulcan hand we also came across this strange sight in that town......

Blues Brothers full sized statues on the balcony of someone's home.

You just never know what you will see when you poke around a small town.

We took this road trying to get out of town and it led us here......

Really?
Did they actually need to put a stop sign up at the end of this dead end road?? lolz

It was getting pretty hot by now so we swung into a convenience store for some drinks.

What a find!
Frozen bait AND Live bait!!

A truly one stop shop.....get your gas, cigarettes, munchies, drinks and night crawlers.

Well it does make sense as we were very close to this......

I'll stop this here and pick up next time on the rest of our day out since there are tons of photos left.

Sluggy