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In Poplar Bluff I stayed at a Super 8 just across the street from a Huddle
House. I do not know what territory is covered by this chain but it
doesn't include Ohio. I hadn't eaten at a Huddle House for years so I
grabbed this obvious opportunity. A Huddle House is similar to a Waffle
House. Both have grills directly behind the counter just like a
"real" diner. Plus, this year is Huddle House's 40th. Glad I
got to help celebrate.
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Much of the morning was over divided four lane and some of it was almost
boring. But it was back to two lanes when it reached those glorious
bridges at Cairo. First the Mississippi then the Ohio. The two middle
pictures were taken from nearly the same spot on the point of Illinois
land between the bridges. The first crosses the Mississippi into Missouri
and the other leads to Kentucky over the Ohio.
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The Wickliffe Mounds are just a couple of miles from the bridges. Some of
the original excavations are covered by buildings and are visible to
visitors. The skeletons shown here are reproductions. Although actual
skeletons found in the mounds were once displayed here, those have since
been re-interred and replaced by these imitations. The Ceremonial Mound
has not been excavated. The wooden frame at its top is of approximately
the same size as the building that originally stood here.
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If anything can be considered a discovery on this trip, it has to be the
town of Marion and this restaurant. The counter is original and over 100
years old. The wall cabinets are even older. Rows of drawers have ceramic
knobs with names of medications from when this was a drug store. The Sweet
Shop serves food along with hand dipped ice cream goodies and fountain
drinks. The brass register is not the original one but it sure fits in and
it is what rings up those floats and malts.
At the edge of Marion, I found the first "tourotel" that I've
seen. An internet search on the word turned up a few sites in German. The
place looked too empty to be open but too neat to be closed. I should have
researched a bit more.
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The rest of the drive was pleasant but little jumped out at me. I did have
plenty of time to take pictures of a traffic delay in Owensboro and found
some nice views of the Ohio River at Cloverport. At Fort Knox, Route 60
joins up with US-31 and the Dixie Highway. There is some decent scenery at
first, particularly as the road passes West Point, before the road passes
through a truly eclectic series of neighborhoods. There is a section of
adult book stores and strip bars. Then a group of rather seedy looking
restaurants and bars followed by some that are a bit classier. The road
even goes through a reasonably nice residential section before heading
into downtown Louisville. Not too far from downtown, it passes by the
headquarters of the Outlaws of Louisville motorcycle club.
I somewhat surprised myself by sticking with US-60 all the way to downtown
Louisville then picked up I-71 and headed north. A pleasant nighttime
drive until just south of Cincinnati. Construction narrows things to two
and then one lane. I inched my way through the heavy traffic until I could
exit at US-25. Then it was through Covington, over the river, and back to
I-71 and home.
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