roadmaven

First & foremost, My experiences from a scenery viewpoint are mainly from the midwest. However, we've got a lot of folks experienced in the northwest, some of who live out that way now. Oh Dave!

I wasn't sure where to post this. I could've put this under the Roadside Attractions topic or the Other Highways & Auto Trails topic, since the Indiana State Fairgrounds rest on the shoulders of an old alignment of US 36 or the auto trail before it, the Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Route. But I settled on the Dining topic since, let's face it, the fair is about food. So, I'll make sure we have camera in tow tonight so we can give you a visual on this year's deep fried thing on a stick. This year's entry is Deep Fried Pepsi. We'll have a full report with pics of my pending meals tonight this weekend. And Monday, I'll give a full report on the cardiac cath I'll have here at work.

I would bet the I-69 expansion as something to do with that. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that little connector from I-70 to US 41 what they'd use for I-69 if they choose to run it west on 70 to Terre Haute? Schoop's is big up in The Region. There used to be one at Eastgate Mall in Indy when I used to work in the food court out there 20 years ago. The one in Plymouth is on the old 31 alignment through town. It's north of downtown Plymouth on the east side of the street. A worthy stop, to say the least!

Nice find, Jim! I always like to check out these kind of web sites to see where new highway construction is heading. There's a similar one for the I-69 expansion to Evansville, but I won't give any interstate attention on this forum. Be sure to reward your trip with a burger at Schoop's in Plymouth! I wonder when the 31 project hits Kokomo if they'll call the new route the by-bypass. They built the current 31 bypass around Kokomo to get the traffic out of downtown and alleviate congestion. So what do they do? They allow developers to "crazy go nuts" on the bypass and now it takes forever to get through. Hopefully they'll be smart with the new bypass and refrain from building around it, kind of like is the case with IN-67 around Muncie.

Ahhh, heading right into the high property tax district. God be with you, my friend! When we moved into our house in '02, it was 48 years old, so I feel your pain. Within the first 2 years we had to replace the water heater and furnace. The A/C is going on 20 years old now, but she's still pumping it out. Give me a shout if you need a hand moving. You're packing up Labor Day weekend?

The story link in the above story is now dead, but the museum has it's own web site up: American Super Heroes Museum I'll be making a trek there soon and give a full report. Must be doing well, based on their hours of operation. Of course being in the center of downtown Indy where they do a ton of convention business, I suppose the owner's afforded that luxury. And with the Gen Con in town this weekend, he's probably got a full house.

Even though MW tried to stay on topic, I thought he was really out of his element and to that degree, it showed. It's probably the first time I've ever seen MW not being the one driving the bus, so to speak.

As a special treat for the legions of fans of this thread, I'm happy to report we've recruited Richard Moeur to the American Road forum! Hopefully within the next couple of days Richard will find his way to the thread and add to the discussion from an insider's perspective. So from all of us here at the AR Garage,

Well, in that case....go on the trip to celebrate your new home ownership! Might ye be heading out of Marion County?

C'mon, Jim....it's *only* a job!

Hey all....I got to thinking, we need to bookend another AR forum drive with the one we had in April. Since there'll already be strong forum representation at the Rt 66 Association of Missouri Motor Tour in September, how about riding its coat tails and making it part of an AR forum get-together? I'm pretty well sure I'm heading there, and I know fellow forum folks Bliss, Kip, and Fran will already be there. How about it? Anyone interested? Dates & times can be found on their website at: http://missouri66.org. Thoughts welcome!

Jim, I KNEW I liked you for some reason besides your road knowledge! Oops, I think politics is a Speed Limits No-No! This is me reprimanding myself:

Looks like Steak n Shake is going to try going less than 24 hours in a few of its restaurants. Get yer Steakburger w/cheese here!

Quite true. I had to make sure the place got cleaned up or else we would've lost our deposit.

Bob, We've got quite a group of midwesterners here on the group, so you should feel right at home. Ahh, how lucky you are to live in the same town as the Clabber Girl Bake Shop, Square Donut, and the National Road! Everyone, be sure to check out Bob's www.redhighways.com site. I perused it Thursday upon getting his request to join us. Good reads!

Just when you might've given up on future generations having a little civic pride, I give you Zach Razor. This young Speedway, Indiana resident just did a nice Eagle Scout project that you'll notice on your next Dixie Highway (west alignment) cruise through Speedway, IN. No mention of the DH in the story, but since Crawfordsville Road is the DH-west, I figure this applies. Good job, Zach!

Please join us Thursday, August 9 @ 9pm ET for a special chat to celebrate the *new* American Road magazine forum's 1st birthday. Just click on the "Live Chat" link up in the top right corner and join the fun!

I'll be there with a cake from Long's Bakery.....since they did so well with the donuts for the Saturday garage meet. And yes, Long's is on the former DH and US 136, for those of you playing the American Road Home Game. I don't think I'll be anywhere else but inside Thursday night, as it'll be up in the upper 90's in the Circle City, so there won't be too much activity outdoors except escaping from it! Get yer hot do-nuts here!: http://tinyurl.com/23wwkd

As moderator of this forum, I want to just thank all of you publicly for the way you all handle yourselves here. Some of you who are members of a particular Route 66 forum know what I'm talking about. The differences in the attitudes are astounding, and I'm quite grateful to ALL of you who post here daily and do it with maturity and respect for your fellow members. Rest assured, you will NEVER see what is going on with that group happen here. I won't guarantee we won't get tested in that regard someday, but as long as we have members who are concerned with our purpose of discussing road issues and not insults, then we should be in good shape. And, I believe you all share the same goals as we do, so I like to think this sheriff has a few deputies to police things here as well. I'm sure I speak for Thomas & Becky Repp, and fellow forum administrators Denny Gibson and the lovely & talented Jennifer Bremer when I say "thank ya" and keep up the good work! Pat Bremer American Road Forum Administrator

Here are a few photos from Grubb's Diner from last Monday, July 23: Darren Grubb & daughter in front of the sign he designed in 1991. What a lonely image.... Where the stainless steel diner used to sit. The end....

Well, as you can see by the notes in this thread, it's been a while since anything's been posted on it. I made a bonsai 1700 mile round trip drive to Connecticut for my grandma-in-law's 100th birthday. Left Indy Friday night at 6 and just got back at 11:30 Monday night. I stayed in Scranton, PA Sunday night and thought I'd take the long way back so I could check on the status of Grubb's. There was some bittersweet luck in that decision, as when I arrived in Huntingdon, the stainless steel diner was gone and had been cut out of the remaining portion of the diner. The adjacent Days Inn, which the Grubbs also own, was noticibly closed and was in the process of being gutted as well. There is a retail plaza behind the motel that I drove around to get a better look at the diner situation. Surprise!! Behind the motel in the plaza's parking lot was the diner, cut in half and sitting on two flatbed trailers. There was some activity going on on the grounds of the diner, as the neon Grubb's sign was being hooked up to be loaded onto a flatbed tow truck. I inquired at the gas station across the street as to the status of Grubb's, and the gal said they weren't going to reopen it anywhere. A little discouraged, I drove into a parking lot next to the motel, and walked over to where the Grubb's sign was being hooked up to a boom. I talked with a now-former employee of the motel about things and she said today was the last day they had to have everything they wanted off the property. In the midst of our conversation in the gutted lobby of the Days Inn, I noticed Darren Grubb was one of the folks working on the sign, along with his dad Jerry. So I made my way out and reintroduced myself to Darren. We talked for a while about the events of the past 9 months. His dad Jerry, who owns Grubb's, wanted to retire and Rite-Aid came along with what he was looking for. So now Jerry's retiring and Darren's not sure what he's doing yet. The last day was July 9th. I asked about the status of the diner and the sign, and Darren couldn't really tell me what the plans were, as it sounded as if there was some sort of deal in the works that he couldn't share with me. However, he did say the diner won't be back as a working diner, but he did mention that they won't be destroyed and the sign and diner will be back together down the road. I don't know exactly what it will be, but after mentioning to him about the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, he kinda smiled and said something to the effect of Grubb's Diner future is not too far from what the sign museum does. So I get the feeling it'll be reconstructed somewhere (not in Huntingdon, as he said), but it won't be a business. Maybe a display of some sort? Hopefully we'll find out down the road. He's seemed really proud of that sign too, as I found out he designed it himself in 1991 when he was in his mid-20's. I asked Darren about his future and he didn't know yet. But he did say he didn't want to get back into a business like this. In a nutshell, he wants a job that's easier on him. He sounded as if it was tough on him always being there, always having to fill in when someone called in, etc. So he seemed relieved to a degree. There was a Family Dollar in the plaza behind the motel and diner. I picked up a $5 disposable Fuji camera and snapped several pics of the scene. Even got one of Darren & his daughter in front of their sign. I'll get those developed soon and scanned. So that's the scoop on Grubb's. A sad day indeed, after 52 years in business. I planned on stopping there for lunch today, but after I drove up, I lost my appetite.