Yesterday I spent many hours snaking down Route 15 south--from the Finger Lakes region of New York, through western Pennsylvania, on my way back home to DC. The signage along the Susquehannah River was not like anything I had ever encountered. This is coming from a girl who has spent a lot of time in the deep South, which I had always thought had the monopoly on memorable signage. A few favorites:
-"Nipple Convalescent Home"
-"Green Shingle Inn" (not an inn at all, but a restaurant)
-"Chipmunk Pistol $139.95"
-The oddly poetic McDonald's sign asking:
Do not go ordinary--
Try our spicy chicken--
-"County Line Beverage" (points for honesty!)
Also, this friendly sea dragon. He lives next to the Burgundy Steakhouse--which is not, as far as I can tell, dragon-themed.
I have named him Lester.
This is a beautiful drive. I grew up in Rochester and earned my B.A. in Creative Writing at Susquehanna, so I made the drive up and down that section of 15 many times. There certainly is some beautiful country along that route. The Wegmans in Williamsburg is, for me (as a native Rochesterian) the last outpost of civilization. Hope you stopped there for a sub.
ReplyDeleteI just came across your blog, and was overjoyed to see not only a reference to the Susquehanna river (which I grew up an approximated ten minute walk away from), but also a reference to the beautifully bizarre nature of Pennsylvania namings.
ReplyDeleteThe Susquehanna itself was often a place of deep mystery for me, and other Harrisburgers, as a kid--from the strange art marking the urban trail along both sides to discovering bear traps we were assured were not for real bears (then what, I wondered, on earth were they really for?!), to the mysterious appearance of a miniature Lady Liberty, to being urged out onto the murky water on a barge but then urged "you don't want to put your feet in there."