Sal Stops On The Way Home

On the way home from my 4th of July weekend adventure, the GPS took me along a bunch of back roads.  I drove past this intriguing roadside monument, and then decided to turn around and go back.  This kind of thing is one of the reasons I wanted to do Travels With Sal -- to get me to stop and look at interesting things I would ordinarily pass by.  I took a bunch of photos and felt great afterwards.  I've gotta do stuff like this more often.

As I drove by, this is what I saw.  Ordinarily, I wouldn't have given it a second thought, but Sal was with me!

There was so much to say that both sides of this sign were full. 

Sal lying on top of the display case.  There was so much dust and other stuff (leaves, spider webs, etc) that the items in the case could not be seen very well, but the haziness makes a pretty cool photo.

Many historical photos and the key to the original post office were hung all around the inside of the memorial.  I like how the rocks in the display case seem to be floating below Sal.

Farther along the road, I stopped at a rest area on I-71.  There was a lovely corn field behind the rest stop, which I thought would be a good backdrop for Sal.  I took some pictures, and then sat at a picnic table to play my car uke for a few minutes.   After I was finished, I began walking to my vehicle, and was stopped by a woman with a boy in tow.  She asked me if I would play something for her son.  I said I would and played a verse of Old McDonald for him.  His mom and I sang, but he was either shy or embarrassed, and just looked on.  Mom and I talked for a minute or two, then got in our cars and drove away.  At that point I thought that I should have asked them to pose for a Sal photo to post here, but I had been too tired to think of it in time.  About 70 miles down the road there was another rest stop, and I pulled in there.  As I was leaving the ladies room, who should be coming in but the same woman!  If her son had been nearby I would have asked them to pose for a Sal photo, but I didn't see him and thought it would seem very odd if I hung around the restroom waiting for her to come out and then made such a bizarre request.  If I hadn't been so exhausted from the long day of driving, I might have done it, but oh well...  It was a fun and happy pair of encounters that made the trip more bearable.

Sal on the fence by the cornfield.  This shot is unaltered.  Nothing has been done to it.  The sky is so light, though, that for the other picture, I used the antique effect in iPhoto to try to make it look good despite the washed out sky.

Sal and my "car uke" -- a banana-colored Flea -- on the picnic table where we played a few tunes.  The weather was extremely clement, so it was a very pleasant interlude.  (The Flea is a great uke to keep in the car.  It has stayed in mine through a very cold winter and some hot weather too, and it took it like a champ!)