Wednesday, July 21, 2004

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"Spindle"

Chicago, or at least the 'burbs, did merit one stop. We went this morning to Berwyn, Illinois, home of the infamous "Spindle," a/k/a eight cars impaled on a 40-foot spike, a sculpture some may remember from the movie "Wayne's World," located in Berwyn's Cermak Plaza Shopping Center. As it turns out, this aging strip mall is home to a number of weird and occasionally wonderful sculptures. Second best is "Pinto Pelt."

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"Pinto Pelt"

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"The Helicopter"

La Porte, Indiana, Tom's boyhood home. Tom showed me the town, including two houses he grew up in. One of the houses has a very effeminate paint job, a girlish purple with pink trim. I'm amused that he and his four brothers used to live there, but he swears it wasn't always those colors!

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Tom's former home

We rented a room for the next three nights at the Lake Breeze Hotel Best Value Inn in Fair Plain, outside of St. Joseph, Michigan. It's nice not having to pack up each morning finally. We had a huge room, and there's an indoor pool, jacuzzi, and sauna. We grabbed some Wendy's then went hot tubbing. 270 miles today. Yes, I know: I'm obsessed with the mileage.

Continue to Day 6

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