Hook's Drug Store Museum & Soda Fountain- Indianapolis, IN

While we were at the State Fairgrounds for the fair, we popped into the Hook's Museum and were reminded of what a cute place it is. The soda fountain was bustling so we didn't get a chance to enjoy that, but it is always fun to browse at the antique drugstore items along with the new candies and trinkets that you can buy. Their website says that they are open on "selected weekends" so, if you missed them at fair time, you might want to give them a call to see when you can visit.

Yikes- Goblin soap!

Scenes from US 40 (Brazil to Terre Haute)

On a recent trip to Terre Haute, we decided to take US 40 instead of I-70 to see if there were any cute cities or signs along the way. The best luck that we had in finding things that we like was in the stretch between Brazil and Terre Haute.

The Clabber Girl billboard greets you as you reach Terre Haute:

We were hoping for more vintage motel signs along US40 but this one in Terre Haute was one of the few that we spotted:

We thought Kleptz restaurant/bar was cute:

Awesome sign in Seelyville:
Lynn's Pharmacy (with a soda fountain!) in Brazil:

We just liked the lettering on this Brazil telephone building:

The Clay County Courthouse:

We liked the atomic looking sculpture outside of The Freeze restaurant/ice cream shop:

Magic Wand- Churubusco, IN

Since 1964- you've got to love that kind of staying power. You've also got to love their cute sign. We headed to Magic Wand for breakfast on Sunday just to snap a photo of their sign. We had a good breakfast and greatly enjoyed the atmosphere. We loved the display tower of doughnuts on their counter. A couple of words of warning if you are heading there though. First, if you suffer from coulrophobia (fear of clowns) you should know that the interior is completely decorated in a clown theme. Secondly, evidently they still allow smoking in Churubusco restaurants. Still, it is darn cute if you are ever that way.

click photos for larger images

602 South Main St.

Churubusco, IN

260-693-3518

Whippy Dip- Monroeville, In

As summer draws to a close, we end the 2008 ice cream shop series in Monroeville at the Whippy Dip. With a name like that, we just couldn't resist heading north to try the place. You can drive thru or go inside to order. There are picnic tables outside to eat and a few tables inside too. A group of us ordered the banana split, small Hot Fudge Sundae, and a small blueberry cheesecake frozen yogurt. There were high marks all around with enthusiastic agreement that this is a very worthy stop for those needing a tasty ice cream fix. We especially appreciated that they offered frozen yogurt (and we almost wonder if we can find away to get here again before they close in September for the Butter Pecan yogurt). They have other foods too ranging from Coney Dogs to Breaded Tenderloins (click menu for larger image). They are open 11A-9P Mon-Thurs, 11A-10P Fri and Sat, and 3P-9P on Sunday.

209 E. South St.

Monroeville, IN 46773

Cow Palace in Shelbyville, IN

We gladly continued our ice cream shoppe series on a 90 degree day at Cow Palace. They do more than ice cream here so you can actually have a sit down meal but we just sampled the Turtle Sundae. When you first walk in, they have the ice cream area with a few tables and chairs so that you can enjoy it there without delving deeper into the restaurant. The Turtle Sundae was vanilla ice cream with caramel syrup and hot fudge topped with pecans, whipped cream, and a cherry. It was just as delicious as it sounds. The restaurant was hopping when we were there as was the ice cream bar. You can get cones, malts, shakes and sundaes. They even have a freezer full of ice cream from Compton's Dairy that you can get to take home. The Cow Palace looks like a big brown barn and, coming from I-74, it is before the downtown area so be sure to stop before you stroll Public Square or on your way out of town.

318 N. Harrison Shelbyville, IN

By the way, little Lebanon also has Ice Cream Paradise. We didn't have room left to give them a try but we snapped pictures so that you could check them out too. They have walk up windows and a drive-thru. There must be a lot of ice cream fans in Lebanon.

1416 W. South St Lebanon, IN

The Milky Way in Lebanon, IN

Oh, we really liked The Milky Way. We can be suckers for atmosphere and this place has it. They had us at the little tile floor at the entrance. Once inside, we marveled at how lost in time it seemed to be. There's a great picture of the place in the 1950s on the wall but there's a bit of 70s mixed in the vibe too. Check out the picture of the fried chicken- that screams 70s to us and they had several of them around along with more retro looking pictures (but retro in that really-been-here-for-forever kind of way; not in the forced trying-to-look-like-we've-been-here-forever kind of way). We went with the brownie sundae which, obviously, was wonderful. It's vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, a brownie, whipped cream and nuts with a cherry on top- what could be better? We don't know how often they offer it, but there were signs that cake batter was the ice cream flavor of the week which sounds quite intriguing. They have a drive-thru or you can walk in and enjoy your treat there. We also want to give credit to the teenagers working there. Kudos to teens working summer jobs and sacrificing precious summer days of their youth. They're friendly and sweet and we just love them for it.

836 Indianapolis Ave. Lebanon, IN

Frosty Boy- New Palestine, IN

The ice cream shoppe series continues, this time in New Palestine at Frosty Boy. We'd heard about this place for awhile but had never been there until this past weekend. In our imaginations, it had an awesome sign with this Big Boy-esque guy with swirled ice cream for hair but, alas, that was not the case. It is a cute little place though with walk-up windows and a drive-thru. There are quite a few picnic tables under a canopy in front if you want to eat there and be in the shade. We tried the coney with cheese and a large chocolate malt. Be warned, the large is 44 oz. which is a lot of malt. We were very impressed with the malt quality and were surprised to see on their menu afterwards that they even offer extra malt for .40. What a nice option if you really want a strong malty flavor. There are lots of food and ice cream options as the above pictures of their menu shows (click pictures to enlarge). Yet another great option for that nostalgic ice cream fix.