Castleman's River Bridge

On our way home from vacation we decided to take a more scenic route, traveling US Route 40 through several states.

This gave us the opportunity to view several historic sites and road markers.

We noticed a beautiful stone arch bridge in Maryland and stopped to stretch our legs and have a look.

According to the historic marker posted at the site, the Castleman's River Bridge "formerly 'Little Youghiogeny' was erected in 1813 by David Shriver Jr., the superintendent of the 'Cumberland Road' (National Road). This 80 foot span was the largest stone arch in America at the time. It was continuously used from 1813 to 1933."

The bridge was built to aid in the westward movement through the wilderness west of Cumberland and was declared a registered national historic landmark in 1963.

It is no longer used for traffic, but due to preservation efforts remains in good condition.

Castleman's (Casselman's) River Bridge

146-198 Casselman Road

Grantsville, MD 21536

Roadside America Inc.

On our recent vacation we realized we were driving right by Roadside America, Inc. in Pennsylvania, so we had to stop and visit. Dubbed the "World's Greatest Indoor Miniature Village", I wasn't sure quite what to expect.

After a visit to the restroom, outside of which stands a working player piano, we paid our admission of $6.75 and headed into the display room.

I was instantly taken by the tiny, intricate village complete with churches, homes, trains, a zoo and so much more. Perfect trees dot the lush landscape. Several of the displays incorporate motion, which you can activate by pressing a button in front of the glass half wall.

We were treated to a night pageant where the room lights are dimmed and patriotic music plays, allowing us to further appreciate the lights throughout the village, some even shining through tiny stained glass windows.

Established in 1935, Roadside America was later moved to it's current site.

This wonderful display is the result of years of work by two brothers who had an idea to make little models of houses as they appeared from the top of Mt. Penn so future generations could appreciate how they had looked. Larry Gieringer, the oldest, continued this work long after his brother Paul entered the priesthood.

Today these efforts are available for visitors to appreciate, maintained by the family of the original designer.

Roadside America, Inc.

Roadside Drive

Bernville, PA 19506

Moonshine Store

In 2003, near the start of our roadside attraction interest, we happened to catch a CBS Sunday Morning feature on the Moonshine Store in Martinsville, Illinois and were intrigued. This old store slings tons of hamburgers each day, has no traditional restaurant seating and the grill shuts down at 12:30 p.m. on the dot. We tried visiting the store shortly after seeing the TV segment, but it didn't work out then.

Heading out for a trip this spring we realized we would not be terribly far from the store (nothing is really "close"), so we added it to our itinerary.

The store was originally founded in 1889, but was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1912.

When we arrived, despite the rain we found a line of people hanging out on the front porch, which does provide some shelter.

The Moonshine Store, which their brochure says was named not for the booze but for the reflection of the moon in a puddle of water outside the store, serves as a gathering place for locals and tourists alike.

I overheard a lady on the porch say they have even had visitors from Hawaii.

In April 2009, a record was set for serving 1,119 sandwiches in one day. We noticed a hand written sign in the store displaying the new record for this year, some 1,900 sandwiches in a day.

It's really amazing when you see how small the area is, and how small the store is, but what they have going works.

Once inside the rustic store, complete with tin ceiling, we made our way through the grill smoke to the back counter to order and both placed orders for cheeseburgers.

The sandwiches were ready in almost record time. We stopped by the condiment table and loaded up our juicy burgers, made a pass by the soda cooler for drinks (I was glad to see Boylan's sodas and selected their ginger ale), then headed to the counter to pay.

They use between 480-720 pounds of hamburger and more than 100 packages of buns per week. We saw racks of buns lining the aisles of the store.

Benches can be found throughout the store where you can sit and enjoy your meal, however these were full during our visit. There are picnic tables outside, but with the steady rain we decided to eat our lunch in the car.

A black lab, who we were not sure whether belonged to the store or maybe just wandered onto the site every day around lunch time, stopped by our car to give us the puppy dog eyes as we enjoyed our burgers. My husband tossed him some chips, but he turned his nose up to that and went off in search of another sucker.

The Moonshine turned out to be the perfect kick off to our roadside adventures.

Moonshine Store

6017 East 300th Road

Martinsville, IL 62442

Fort Madison, IA

After a lunch at a small food counter/soda shop tucked away in Ford Hopkins Drug Store in Macomb, Illinois and a nice visit with family, we decided to see what Fort Madison, Iowa had to offer.

Ford Hopkins opened in 1937. Their food counter has a simple menu and makes a mean chocolate malt.

Coming across the bridge into Fort Madison, we soon came past the historic fort, which was the first permanent U.S. military fortification on the Upper Mississippi.

We also admired the architecture of the Iowa State Penitentiary, established in 1839, before Iowa had even become a state.

We drove around to get a feel for the town and saw many beautiful brick homes and buildings.

One of the unique sites in the area, the Daniel McConn barn, a double-decker, Pennsylvania Dutch barn built in 1857, had a large colorful geometric symbol on the side of it. We soon noticed a couple more buildings in the area with similar symbols, so when we saw a gentleman out for a country afternoon stroll, my husband pulled up next to him and asked him about the symbols.

He informed us that the signs are barn quilts, colorful signs displaying quilt blocks, and have just started showing up in the Fort Madison area recently.

The timing of our visit was not perfect, as we found the majority of the downtown area closed at 2 p.m. on a Saturday, and the supper club we were thinking of trying out, The Palms, circa 1962, did not open until 5 p.m.

There were a few neat old signs remaining in the downtown area, including the Fox Theater.

We saw enough dining possibilities for us to make a mental note to come back to Fort Madison some time. We want to check out the interesting looking Parthenon Pizza & Steak House, which seemed to be quite popular during the off lunch hours, and The Fort Diner, a neat little building offering up "Wallyburgers".

The Palms also beckoned to me since we could not see inside, and I'll bet it could be an interesting spot for dinner.

Ford Hopkins Drug Store

118 North Lafayette Street

Macomb, IL 61455

Everyday adventures

This weekend we will again embark on another trip, taking in new sights and revisiting old ones.

The thing that motivated me to plan the trip, an excuse, perhaps, was Valentine's Day.

Which led me to reflect upon my husband. My partner in crime. My travel companion of the last decade.

I look forward to all of the adventures yet to come.

Springdale Cemetery Gatehouse

My first trip into Springdale Cemetery in Peoria, Illinois was some time in early 2000.

A friend of mine who was familiar with the layout showed me and a couple of other people around.

Since then, I've been on group hikes and hikes with my dad, enjoying all the beauty that can be found in the cemetery.

I have also followed the news stories about the impending fate of the gatehouse in the cemetery.

The gatehouse was built in 1900 in the craftsman bungalow style. Initially an office and residence, the building is located at the lower entrance to the cemetery.

In July 2008, the cemetery's management authority voted 4-3 to demolish the gatehouse as the cost to repair, $800,000 or more, is too great.

In March 2009, the Historic Preservation Commission voted 5-1 to endorse a controlled demolition of the building with the stones and roof tiles removed and stored. Plans would be to rebuild as originally constructed.

The gatehouse sits on the Rock Island Trail and could make a nice pit stop for travelers of the trail.

As of December 29, 2009, a sign posted on the fence reads: Please contribute to the restoration of this gate house. Please send your check to Carolyn Kraft, 9919 N. Jamaica Dr., Peoria IL 61615. Phone: (309) 691-5537.

I hope it will indeed be preserved and/or rebuilt using the salvaged materials so it can be enjoyed for another hundred years.

Springdale Cemetery

3014 N. Prospect Rd.

Peoria, IL 61603

Brown's Fine Food

Last weekend we set out for points west in Illinois to visit a restaurant my husband has been wanting to try for about a year.

Alas, our food choices were not to be had when we got there, so we hit the road again and kept our eyes peeled for another option.

We drove into Canton and soon a retro sign complete with arrow caught the attention of both of us at almost the same instant: Brown's Snappy Service.

I love spotting old signs, and it's even better when the business still exists and lives up to the legacy.

A lucky break! Brown's Fine Food was open so we walked in and found the place comfortably worn around the edges, with about a dozen stools mounted in front of the white, gold-flecked countertop.

Tables lined the wall behind, stretching back into a narrow back room.

We took seats at the counter to better check out the old equipment and decor, and looked over the menu while our server went to get us some iced teas.

Entrées were reasonable: chicken fried steak for $5.75, two smoked pork chops for $6.75, fried chicken for $6, all served with two sides plus bread a butter. Sandwiches started at $1.70 for the sandwich alone and $3.20 for a platter.

StfRon asked the gent serving us if the hamburgers were frozen, and he said no. Then he asked if they were thin patties, and found out they were. Our server added that they are very good, so that was enough for us.

I ordered a cheeseburger platter and StfRon ordered a bacon cheeseburger platter. Both came with fries and cole slaw.

Our food came out quickly, the burgers tasty as promised, complete with crispy edges, creamy cheese and soft buns.

The fries were a similar cut to McDonald's fries, but I enjoyed their crispness and taste much more than any Mickey D's fries I've had in the last decade.

The slaw was a creamy style, and the portion was pretty generous.

Brown's has been providing snappy service since 1937, and the original building is still intact. There have been some additions over the years, but I had taken notice of the ceiling over the grill area while waiting for my food before I knew about the add ons and you can still

imagine what the little place must have been like in its heyday.

Mounted to a post next to the old host stand area there is a neat photo of the original building.

I'm glad the sign caught our attention.

Brown's Fine Food

124 N Main Street

Canton, IL 61520