RoadDog's Drive-- Oldest Service Area-- What Will it Be?-- Walgreens Does a Diner-- It Helps to Know a Lincoln-- Beer Geeks OnDaRoad

Just some road-related items.

1. Oldest Service Area-- Pennsylvania Turnpike-- Glenn Wells reports that what is considered to be the "oldest" plaza on a limited access highway which offered a restaurant along with a gas station is South Midway on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

New York's Taconic State Parkway has an older one, but it just offered gas.

Now, Briarcliff Wells was opened a decade before Taconic Parkway.
http://westchestergov.com/wcarchives/PhotographicCollection/p1033fullimage.htm.

2. Walgreens Does Its Thang-- From Roadside Fans and article from the Phoenixville News 1-30-08, that the Vale Rio Diner will be closing because a Walgreens will be built on the site. It didn't say what state.

3. US-117/I-795-- In US Highways there was some discussion on US-117 which has been largely replaced by I-795 in part of North Carolina. It is thought that US-117 will revert back to its former alignment.

4. Lincoln Relatives Cemetery-- Kansas City-- An unknown cemetery with ties to Abraham Lincoln has been discovered at Glenn Herdren Drive. Plans to improve the intersection of I-35, US-69, and Mo-33 will be revised now that a cemetery that was not visibly marked and mapped has been found. Some of the occupants were cousins of Abraham Lincoln. I guess it pays to have important relatives.

5. Beer Geeks OnDaRoad-- Chris Nelson and Meridith Canham-Nelson of Carmel Valley, Ca., are planning to hit the road and do a beer thing in as many states as possible. They will spend a year doing this and chronicling it in a blog.

They plan on taking one beer trip a month. "While we do include visiting the sites and landmarks of places we visit, finding the next great beer experience is the real focus of our travels. Visiting pubs, breweries, microbreweries and brewpubs; this is the essence of being a beer traveler....We are not trying to tell you where to visit or what beers to drink; rather we hope to inspire you to look for your own beer adventures."

Jan. 18th-19th, they visited the Great Alaska Beer and Barley Wine Festival in Anchorage.

www.thebeergeek.com

Keep on Down that Two Lane Highway. --RoadDog