Our last stop before heading home, and the reason we went through Cincinatti in the first place, was a visit to the American Sign Museum. Marsha found out about while researching the trip and we almost went there first, but things worked much better to move it to the end.
Lucky for us as well, they were actually open on January 1. The museum is located just a few exits away, and there was no mistaking it when we arrived, due to all the signs, of course.
The museum is in all an average-sized industrial building. The guy who worked the check-in desk was also our tour guide, very knowledgable and very entertaining. The timed entry starts with a brief history of American signage and its various eras, from pre-1800 to neon and beyond.
Naturally, we spent most of this time talking about neon and argon (which is just like neon, but burns a different color), and all of their various applications over the last several decades. Several of the examples were quite fascinating, especially a church sign that had more intricate bends in the tubing than you've ever seen anywhere.
I was also fascinated to learn about sign salesmen. Two pieces he showed were actually tin carrying cases showing off the application of a single letter. That's something I'm going to have to research more.
The first major piece that he showed was a Frisch's Big Boy statue. Big Boy was franchised across the US under various chains and each Big Boy character was subtly different. For Marsha and I, growing up in NC and VA, it was Shoney's. Our Big Boy had brown hair and checkered overalls. Madison, of course, had no idea who Big Boy was.
The other rooms showcased the various eras. The earliest signs were shaped to denote the goods or services provided. For example, there was a large boot with light up letters for a shoe store, and a big pocket watch for a watch repair.
Two of our favorites were the giant neon Howard Johnson's and McDonalds signs. They were both on the Main Street section that had imitation store fronts to display all the various door and window signs you would see there.
Afterwards, we hit the road for our final leg home. The weather was perfect (if still cold out) and an easy drive across Kentucky (especially the horse farms in Lexington) before heading back into the mountains of West Virginia.
Our very last stop was dinner at the 1776 Log Cabin Restaurant in Wytheville. Marsha found it online and it was the perfect end to our trip. The food was delicious and just what we needed.
The building started as an actual log cabin in 1776, constructed by a man named Will who fought in the Revolution. It's clearly been added onto over the years, so the current building is a maze of rooms, gardens, patios, and more. There's something interesting at every turn and we managed to get lost a couple of times while exploring.
We finally made it home a few hours later, just in time to watch the new Sherlock movie. A fitting end after watching Mr. Holmes the night before.
