I decided to leave at 4 AM or so but since I couldn't sleep, we left town at 2:30 with the plan in mind to make a few stops in particular and see how far we could drive before we began to tire.
The planned first stop was a return to Jungle Jim's International Market, which I've written about in the past as a grocery store/market where one could spend multiple hours shopping, especially if you aren't a regular shopper at Jungle Jim's.
Jungle Jim's caters to not only the local area but also foods from around the world and has to be seen to be truly believed.
Cherie and I spent two hours there buying things for friends, hot sauces for me, and items for our hotel such as snacks and drinks with a special gift for Posey.
If you are ever in the Cincinnati area, check out one of their two locations!
We stopped at their suburban store in Fairfield because Cherie had discovered a toy store there a few months ago and it was only a few stoplights down the highway.
I had timed things so we wouldn't have to kill a lot of time when the Toy Dept. opened at eleven o'clock and things were on track but we had passed a Roosters restaurant after we got off at our exit.
I had raved to Cherie about Roosters since my last visit to Ohio and their delicious chicken, so we doubled back to beat the lunch rush and then travel to the Toy Dept.
Based mostly in Ohio and Kentucky (there is one store each in Indiana and West Virginia), Roosters allows you to pick two sauces to spin your chicken and my sandwich (Hot and Garlic sauce), and just as in my last visit, I was very pleased.
Cherie enjoyed hers as well and noted the picture by our table of one of her favorite TV shows "WKRP in Cincinnati!
We stopped by the Toy Dept. next and surprisingly I didn't buy anything!
The store was large and filled with items but only one figure (1980's Super Powers DeSaad) was needed for the collection and even though the price was fair, it wasn't a steal and I didn't want to start the trip tossing money around unless it was a bargain!
Our next stop was Knightstown, Indiana for an anticipated visit!
Hoosiers is one of my favorite films and might get the nod as my choice for best sports drama ever, so when I discovered that the home gym for the "Hickory Huskers" was open to the public, it was an easy choice for a visit.
Knightstown is a small town and Hoosiers Gym's architecture looks very regal and distinctive of its time (1921) and rolling through Knightstown gave the feel of "Norman Dale" heading into Hickory.
Walking into the building gave me the feel of stepping into the film and a very nice gentleman (I really wish I could remember his name) told me that the gym was closed after one of his high school years in 1966.
He asked if we would like a tour and we were happy to see the gym, locker room, and the famous door that Gene Hackman walked through before Hickory's first game and uttered "Welcome to Indiana basketball".
We were told several stories about the renovation of the gym, how often it is used (over 100 times per year), the tradition that sees teams that play on the floor leave a signed jersey, and how the team picture that ends the film was possessed by someone from the film for many years before the gym was asked if it would be interested in having it.
The tour was almost completed and another person came into the building, so we thanked our host and I decided to try to redeem myself for a lousy job of shooting at the Basketball Hall of Fame (I'm not sure I made a shot that wasn't a layup) with a better outing at the Hoosier Gym.
I was having a blast when I nailed my first shot, and almost hit my second before a bad miss on my third.
I started thinking about ending the day but instead, I hit my next two and started feeling a little rhythm going before Cherie signaled she needed a drink and it's always a good thing to finish on a made shot!
I'll take my three for five happily!
We stopped in the gift area before we left with Cherie getting a Hickory Husker T-shirt (I loved the design, too bad not in my size) and I bought a Hoosier Gym mini-basketball.
If you love the film or even just basketball, I highly recommend Hoosier Gym.
The plan was to drive as far as we could and stop when I was tired, we moved across Indiana and through Illinois and decided to try a Holiday Inn inside the Illinois-Iowa line.
The clerk was very kind in finding us a room that overlooked the Mississippi River, which Cherie adored looking at through the window, and it was very pleasant to watch the barges move down the river.
We both enjoyed the hotel so much that we remarked that if we ever made this trip again, we were hopeful that we could stay there again.
I'm going to try to tell the remainder of the story in installments when I can because this post took a decent amount of time to write but I'm looking forward to writing more about the road.
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