Day 1: May 30, 2022
To Missouri
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I began my journey on expressways but decided to drive a little National Road on the other side of Indianapolis.
Because it was a holiday, I called ahead to make sure the Oasis Diner would be open. When I got there, the outside deck looked inviting but I headed inside where I had the counter all to myself. I went with the Quaker Breakfast. The cheese grits were an elective with the other choices, mush and oatmeal, decidedly more Quakery.
I drove a couple of old bits of US-40, each with a bridge, that the current alignment has bypassed. The field of cressleaf groundsel (a.k.a., butterweed) was on US-40 between the two. There are many fields filled with the bright yellow plant this time of year.
I don't recall ever seeing Champ, the mascot of Great Dane trailer manufacturer, before. It was moved here from the corporate headquarters in Savannah, GA, about four years ago. I guess it's possible that I haven't been by here since then. I do recall seeing -- and photographing -- the Clabber Girl sign at Terre Haute many times.

Just beyond the big sign, I noticed something gleaming through the trees at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. This was the first time I've seen the shiny sculpture but that doesn't rule out it having been there for years.

My most recent visit to Casey, IL, was in October of 2019. There is online evidence that the giant bookworm appeared at the library well before that but I seem to have missed it. The rows of signs beyond the worm form a StoryWalk©. It is a fundraising project and one panel contains a QR code that links to here. The current story is ""A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee".

The World's Largest Teeter-Totter was definitely here in 2019. I even walked on it then, but it was locked in place and did not teeter. Today there was an attendant on duty and the place was rocking.

Presumedly for Memorial Day, Greenup had a big U.S. flag suspended over downtown. Just beyond town, a modern covered bridge crosses the Embarras River. The road was blocked a short distance beyond that. I took the hint and moved to the expressway.
I left expressways in Saint Louis for the sole purpose of reaching Ted Drewes for some frozen custard. I feared a ninety degree Memorial Day would result in a record breaking crowd but it was just the normal six-deep at every window crowd. The lines moved quickly and I soon found happiness in a coconut Concrete.
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