DAY FIVE – FORT WAYNE, IN TO JOLIET, IL

Last night was spent at The Bradley designed by Barbara Bradley Baekgaard … pause and think of where you know that name from … co-founder of Vera Bradley. The Bradley feels like someone took Midwestern charm, shook off the dust, and gave it a modern glow‑up. It’s right in the middle of downtown, and the whole place is filled with local art and these bright, happy interiors that make you feel like Fort Wayne is trying to impress you a little. There’s even a rooftop bar that basically says, “See? We can be cool.”

And the best part? It’s not just hype. Condé Nast Traveler named it one of the Top 15 Hotels in the Midwest, and it’s sitting pretty at #1 in Fort Wayne on TripAdvisor. Honestly, once you walk in, you get why — it’s got that mix of polish and personality that makes you think, “Okay, Fort Wayne, I see you.” And we got a big room… a really big room… and after so many nights of tiny historic motor courts and charming‑but‑tight spaces, it felt so good to stretch out. Just breathe. Just exist in a room that didn’t require choreography.

This morning we did a quick run all over Fort Wayne… first to see the famous Johnny Appleseed statue… and then to find his gravesite, tucked into this wildly unmarked little park overlooking the Fort Wayne Coliseum. It’s completely bizarre… people go to a sporting event and have no idea that up on the hill behind them sits Johnny Appleseed’s grave… just quietly watching over everything.

Then a quick drive by Frank Lliyd Wright’s Haynes House… it is described as one of those Wright homes that quietly hides in plain sight — a late‑period Usonian gem tucked into a Fort Wayne neighborhood, only a few miles north of the Lincoln Highway. It’s small, precise, deeply geometric, and absolutely characteristic of Wright’s 1950s thinking.

The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo deserves its own moment. I think this is the best zoo I’ve ever been to… truly. I gave Hunter exactly one hour to do the entire zoo… and he did it in forty‑five minutes because we literally ran… but even running through it, it was breathtaking. So thoughtfully laid out… so intentional… so beautifully themed. Even the spaces between exhibits were designed with care. You didn’t just go from “this animal” to “that animal”… it wasn’t a conveyor belt… it was a journey. Every turn felt purposeful… every transition made sense… every area felt like stepping into a new little world. It is seriously… absolutely… the nicest zoo I’ve ever been to.

From there, we planned to start the day by photographing the only known statue of Abraham Lincoln as a young man with his dog…

And then… the craziness began when Hunter discovered a flat tire. but instead, we discovered a flat tire. After contacting Enterprise, they sent a tow truck to collect the vehicle. We left the car, transferred all our luggage into an Uber, and headed to another Enterprise location a couple of miles away. Once we unloaded, I spoke with the staff and learned that the only vehicle available was a Honda Odyssey. So suddenly I was right back where I’d started on the very first night… driving what felt like a boat.

After contacting Enterprise, they sent a tow truck to collect the vehicle. We left the car, transferred all our luggage into an Uber, and headed to another Enterprise location a couple of miles away. Once we unloaded, I spoke with the staff and learned that the only vehicle available was a Honda Odyssey. So suddenly I was right back where I’d started on the very first night… driving what felt like a boat.

The Beast of Churubusco refers to a legendary giant snapping turtle said to inhabit Fulk Lake near Churubusco, Indiana, with sightings reported in the late 1940s that drew national attention and weeks‑long attempts to capture it. Though the creature was never found, the story became a defining piece of local folklore, commemorated today by the town’s well‑known turtle sculpture and annual Turtle Days festival.

Goshen’s 1939 Police Booth is a tiny Art Deco traffic outpost built to deter gangsters traveling the transcontinental Lincoln Highway. Shaped like a miniature lighthouse for cars, its “bullet‑proof” windows and central placement made it one of Indiana’s most unusual roadside structures.

Just up the street, the Olympia Candy Kitchen has operated since 1912 as a classic diner and soda fountain, known for handmade chocolates, counter stools, and early‑20th‑century charm. It remains one of Goshen’s most enduring Main Street landmarks. A really kind woman even let me plug in my laptop so I could email myself the day’s turn‑by‑turn directions, which Hunter had accidentally left behind at the Enterprise office. We grabbed lunch at Olympia Candy Kitchen, which was delicious, before continuing west.

There was a sign that said No Public Bathrooms, but when I asked the waitress, she told me to go through the kitchen and that there were stairs in the floor. I just stared at her… what? I walked toward the kitchen, where a woman looked at me like I had absolutely no business being there, so I scurried back to my table and asked again. The waitress told me to ignore her, walk all the way through the kitchen, and that there really were stairs in the floor. And sure enough… there was an open trap door with stairs leading down to what I’m sure is a staff‑only bathroom. Thank you for letting me use it.

Not long after leaving Goshen, I realized there was another Enterprise right on the Lincoln Highway in Elkhart. I stopped in, and the employee there was incredibly helpful… but they only had cars, no mid‑size SUVs. He suggested trying another Enterprise just a mile or two farther down the road… and that stop saved the day. They had a Jeep Wrangler available. The only catch was that it had just been returned and needed to be cleaned before I could take it. I was more than happy to wait.

By the time we finally got back on the road, though, it was already four o’clock in the afternoon. At that point, the rest of the day became a straightforward drive along the official Lincoln Highway toward Joliet. Aside from the zoo, there just wasn’t enough time left for the stops we’d originally planned.

We did make a quick stop at the Indiana Dinosaur Museum… which was fine… nothing to really write home about. Better than that place in Moab last year, but still not a must‑see. Although Hunter did hold part of a Triceratops’ actual skull!

Teibel’s Family Restaurant became so famous among Lincoln Highway travelers that an unofficial rule emerged over the decades: if you’re driving the Lincoln Highway through northwest Indiana, you stop at Teibel’s for fried chicken.

Beginning as a 12‑seat highway diner in 1929, its Austrian fried‑chicken recipe and perch dinners built a reputation that spread from coast to coast. Motorists, truckers, and families following Route 30 treated Teibel’s as a rite of passage — a classic roadside tradition that lasted more than 90 years… but it was closed on Mondays!

Beside it stands the Ideal Section Monument, marking the Lincoln Highway Association’s famed 1921–23 “Ideal Section,” a 1.3‑mile model roadway built in Lake County, Indiana to demonstrate what a truly modern American highway should be. Engineered after surveying experts nationwide, the section featured a 100‑foot right‑of‑way, 40‑foot steel‑reinforced concrete pavement, underground drainage, landscaping, pedestrian paths, and full nighttime illumination — the first highway segment in the United States to include complete lighting.

Built across Dyer and Schererville, the Ideal Section became the most advanced demonstration stretch on the entire Lincoln Highway, intended as a national model for future road‑building standards. The stone arch monument commemorates the project, with bronze plaques noting both its original construction and later restoration.

Dixie Highway – Arche Memorial Fountain – erected in 1916 for LH travelers…it seemed to have been taken apart.
*On the Road to Greatness” bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln with two small girls, by Giovanni Bucci. Dedicated April 25, 2003. Located at the junction of the Lincoln Highway and the Dixie Highway.

And then we headed into downtown Joliet, where Hunter re‑created his photo from our origina; road trip … the perfect quiet ending to a day that absolutely refused to behave.