Friday, February 20, 2009

Photo #20

Time to wrap up this little mini-series. I've done a terribly poor job of portraying the Midwest, so for all you west coast readers, you'll just have to come visit and see for yourself.

Today's photos will need some explaining. But without further ado...

Pretty

Culver's is home to some of the most amazing food on the planet. (For those of you who have eaten there, you now know that I maintain the culinary standards of a fifth grader.) Basically, you can get burgers, fries, and the most deliciously creamy custard at gems like this along the highway, all the way through Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnisota. I'm fairly certain that Culver's can only be found in the Midwest (anyone know otherwise?).

And come on. Where else can you find a fast food restaurant that serves fresh Walleye sandwiches?

Pretty Ugly

Pictured above is a toll plaza, commonly found throughout the state of Illinois.

*Caution. Rant ahead.*

Ahh. Open Road Tolling. Can you believe it? Now, Illinois residents no longer have to wait in lines to pay ridiculous amounts of money to a tollway company that isn't even owned by the state of Illinois. No, no, none of that silly line-waiting business for us. Instead, our ex-governor erected costly overpasses that allow you to drive through unhindered, while your money is effortlessly and painlessly extracted from your bank account. It's like you're practically not even paying a toll anymore. Almost.

Oh, but wait. It gets better. See the blue sign in the picture? Yeah. That place where it says, "South Beloit Plaza"? Hmm. It used to read, "Governor Rod Blagojevich." Until he got himself impeached last month.

I've never seen tollway signs changed overnight. Guess there's a first time for everything...

3 comments:

Erin_Speziale said...

LOL! I definitely get this series. Except I think you can get Culver's pretty much all over now.

HAHA! I'm actually a huge fan of open road tolling, the ONE good thing Blago did. I mean, they're going to take our money away anyways, now they just made it faster and more convenient. ;)

Ohhh Blago, we're so proud.
P.S. I think Chicago, the murder capitol of the country, is a shoo-in for the 2016 Olympics. ;)

Rochelle said...

I LOVEEEEE this series and sure hope you aren't giving it up for good.

You've officially made me hungry for Culvers today, thanks. ;)

I have to say, open-road tolling has improved my life immensely. I agree with Erin, the one thing Blago did right!

Sparks Photography said...

We lived near St. Louis for a while and were introduced to the wonderfulness of Culvers. They do have them other places but they're not too common outside the Midwest. There is one in San Antonio, TX for instance. (We lived there for a couple years too)