Day 4: October 1, 2007
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Danville, IL Danville, IL Sunday night was spent at the Danville Inn & Convention Center where I had a very nice room for under $50. It rained during the night but all was dry and warm by the time I headed out. I backtracked just a bit to look for a couple of places advertised in the 1926 Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway Guide. The building that housed the Dixie Cafeteria might be under the modern trim but there are no hints of it. On the other hand, the building at 115 West North Street is still or again advertising storage and a ramp that could be used to drive autos to the second floor can be seen behind that garage door.
near Covington, IN near Covington, IN near Covington, IN near Covington, IN Just south of Covington, Indiana, the PP-OO and the Dixie Bee Line Highway shared a path for several miles. The first picture is of a gravel road that heads east from the intersection with 11th Street and it may or may not have been part of either highway. I couldn't find a date on the bridge but it looked old enough to have served some DBL or PP-OO travelers.

ADDENDUM: Oct 5, 2007 - The claim that this was the Dixie Bee Line Highway is almost certainly wrong. While I was planning this drive, someone suggested this was the DBL and I was the one who questioned it. Yet, when I was on the road I misremembered the whole thing and bought into the attractive idea that a road called Dixie Bee just had to be part of the Dixie Bee Line Highway. The truth is that this was part of the Dixie Highway (no Bee, no Line) and that the DH and the PP-OO piggybacked, not just for a few miles, but probably all the way the Crawfordsville. So, in a way, the truth is even better than my fiction.

Cemetery, Waynetown, IN Cemetery, Waynetown, IN I recall stopping at this Waynetown cemetery in 2003 but I had not even heard of the PP-OO back then. It seems that at least two members of the Corps of Discovery (William Bratton & Patrick Gass) are buried along the PP-OO.
Crawfordsville, IN Crawfordsville, IN Crawfordsville, IN Crawfordsville, IN Crawfordsville, IN In Crawfordsville, I was disappointed to see that just a single sign remains from the Magic Light Neon Sign Company. Rotten Robert has taken over the building and motorcycles have replaced the signs that were there in 2005. I resisted an urge to visit the Rotary Jail but couldn't resist another picture of the courthouse. I would have been willing to spend some time at the Lew Wallace museum but, although the grounds were open, the museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
near Westfield, IN I have no story at all to go with this display just west of Westfield but it's hard to beat the eye catching ability of a field filled with dinosaurs and tractors.
Anderson, IN Anderson, IN Anderson, IN Anderson, IN In Anderson, Indiana, I verified that my difficulty in getting routing programs to exactly follow the old route was due to blocked and one way streets. I came up empty in my hunt for PP-OO Guide advertisers but my disappointment was softened by finding this park and theater. That sign looked so cool that I really wanted to hang around for nightfall but knew I couldn't.

ADDENDUM: Oct 27, 2007 - I couldn't wait for dark on that first visit, but I could and did a few weeks later. The Paramount at night did not disappoint.

Anderson, IN Anderson, IN I had been debating whether to tend to my growing hunger or press on to my parents but that debate ended instantly when the Lemon Drop appeared. I hit the brakes for an onionburger and also picked up some history from Shari, my waitress. The place opened in 1954 and the name comes from a fellow named Lemon who operated it for many years. Onionburgers are prepared each morning by pressing the onions between two fresh beef patties. A three patty version is available.

Another surprise awaited just around the corner and up the road. Gene's sure looked inviting but not a stop for today. Anderson is quite a promising town. I shall return.

Hillgrove, OH This is in the town of Hillgrove, Ohio, where I lived as a child and I remember the pump from those days. An early memory is riding past the pump on a sled being pulled by my Dad as we headed to the only store in Hillgrove. The world was certainly a different place when town pumps at the side of ocean to ocean highways weren't all that uncommon.
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