Day 1: June 16, 2012 To Zanesville

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One thing that makes this trip different from all the others is the fact that I'm driving a forty-nine year old car. This is the 1963 Plymouth Valiant that I bought over a year ago so it could age properly and be half as old as the Lincoln Highway when the Lincoln Highway turns 100. I've driven it around town and even to Greenville, Ohio, once, but I've never taken it on an overnighter. It gets noticed and even gets a few compliments when I drive it. It's a great "30 foot car". That's what car buffs call an older specimen that looks good from thirty foot away. As I left the condos this morning, I put the car in park, walked ten paces, turned, and fired.

This place is in Roachester, Ohio, just east of Morrow. Years ago this was Papa's Restaurant and was a popular late night eating spot. I think they also fed a lot of truckers back when US-22 had a lot of truckers. I've eaten breakfast there a few times since it's been the M & M Diner but don't believe I've taken any pictures. They have a breakfast buffet on weekends that I thought was worth the $6.99. I sat at the table with the fake jukebox controller specifically to get the picture then got a few chuckles out of the selections. I'd have happily dropped a quarter or two to hear Bobby Donut's hit You Leave Me Glazed or its flip side Dunk, Dunk, Dunk. There are lots of signs and such on the wall and there happened to be a 1940 Plymouth advertisement hanging above my table. "Thing I like about Plymouth is the way it stands up."

The entire first day was supposed to be on US-22 but there was a some construction just beyond the M & M. It was a short detour, though, and I was soon back on route.

Although it was westbound. I drove all of US-22 about six weeks ago so didn't feel a lot of tugs at the camera today. I shot the first picture several miles south of Zanesville to show some of the scenery I was passing through then pulled over a few miles later to study a mystery marker. It turns out the marker has a connection of sorts with highway history. The large monument was erected in 1931 to honor the year long perfect safety record of the Columbia Cement Division of Pittsburgh Plate Glass. It was awarded by the Portland Cement Association which was involved in an awful lot of pavement in the 1930s. Once wasn't enough for Columbia, however. They went on to win the award another eighteen times over the next forty-four years.

Here's something I didn't even pass six weeks ago although I've passed it on several other occasions. Twenty-Two uses two one-way streets in Zanesville and 6th Street, where the sculptures stand, is eastbound. In the past, I've snapped drive-by shots as I did for the first of these pictures, but today I also pulled over for a closer look. The sculptures are the work of Alan Cottrill and they are displayed outside his studio/gallery. I parked just beyond the gallery and headed directly back to the line of sheep. One of the first things I learned is that, in Alan Cottrill's world, even bronze sheep don't always follow along sheepishly. Not at all obvious in a drive-by are the skates worn by one of the flock. I studied and photographed the numerous statues along the sidewalk as I slowly made my way back to the entrance. This incredible display is simply sitting along a common street in a quiet midwest town with a population barely above 25,000.

A brochure calls the downstairs portion of the building part studio and part workshop. It also seems to be part gallery. Finished and unfinished pieces are everywhere. In the back is a wax and mold room where preparations are made for casting at a foundry, co-owned by Cottrill, a few miles away. The shop does work for many other artists, too. The last three pictures were taken upstairs in what that brochure actually calls a gallery. The whole place looks like an awesome gallery or killer museum to me.

On that last trip, I really did just pass through Zanesville, on US-22. This time, even though my basic route doesn't go over the Y-bridge, the route to Tom's Ice Cream Bowl does. One of today's seasonal flavors was Lime Sherbet. I may tape that picture to the dashboard to help me stay cool tomorrow.

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