Photos

We got up extra early yesterday in order to check out a bakery about 50 miles from our house in Edwardsville, Illinois. Yeah, I know, we are nuts, but my wife had been wanting to try one of the cinnamon rolls they make for a long time, and I wanted to try out my freshly cleaned and dusted sensor, so with a shared sense of adventure we headed over there to experience the coffee and rolls. We took the super highways there, but I stayed on small, back roads on the way home.

I'm convinced that one could make a living just driving the back roads of Southern Illinois and shooting the interesting scenes along the way. I have to take a couple days to do a travelogue this summer.

Southern Illinois is one of America's best kept secrets - it's home to some of the most honest and hard working people who are incredibly proud of their heritage, farms, stores, towns and (for the most part) show them off like you wouldn't believe. I heard Sir Paul McCartney spent a couple days on old Route 66 in Illinois last summer and that he had a grand time. The key to this is that Paul was by himself, driving his own car. He felt safe enough to actually get out and meet people in this part of the country. I don't know if anyone else thinks that's special, but I sure do. Especially after growing up with the Beatles and seeing movies like Help! and A Hard Day's Night. Could you imagine all those babes chasing Paul nowadays? It's almost comical to envision Paul McCartney running through the streets of Edwardsville, or Benld, or Normal, Illinois being chased by 60 year old women! I imagine he'd have a few younger ones after him too, wondering what all the ruckus is about, but it's still funny to consider.

Dang, there I go again, expounding totally off topic. Sorry, again, to those of you waiting for me to get to the freakin' point here...

This old, boarded up brick house was actually about three blocks from the bakery, right in the middle of a neighborhood of regular, well kept homes. From the looks of things, it appears to have been boarded up for some time. You see stuff like this in Southern Illinois, sometimes right on main street. This is an incongruousness that is somehow not out of the ordinary and perhaps even expected when traveling through these towns.

I thought the weathered green paint on the boards was a great contrast to the weathered old brick. Note there is no front stoop, either, no stairs to get to the front door. I had to move a large fallen tree branch out of the way to get this shot. The surrounding homes were very nice, with well kept yards. I guess I could have shown that contrast, too, but only just now considered it.

Well, I got some interesting stuff yesterday. I'll be posting some more this week, after Blue Monday. I don't have too many more decent shots of the Blues, so that can't last a lot longer, either, unless I meet some more old bluesmen...

Have a great Sunday and I'll see you tomorrow!