We're on our way to an 18th century stone fort when we find ourselves in Chester, Illinois. As soon as we cross the river bridge, the welcome sign declares "Home of Popeye", and there is a statue of the cartoon character at the welcome center. My wife and I remembered reading about the town's infatuation with the sailor man in one of the tourist magazines. It seems Popeyes creator, E. C. Segar, hailed from this small Illinois town, and Popeye provides a sense of unity to them. In addition to Popeye himself, 15 other characters from the original comic strip and Segar himself (dressed like Sherlock Holmes) are depicted in statue form around the town. This might just be my wife's favorite part of our vacation. This is where she gets to imagine she is a contestant on The Amazing Race. She wasn't going to stop until we drove to find every one of the sites on the map (Thankfully, we had a map.). If you ever find yourself in Chester, you have to stop at a place called Spinach Can Collectables. Here is a delightful shop with all kinds of Popeye kitsch. Along with collectables and some really creative t-shirt designs, display cases are filled to the brim with Popeye antiques and toys. Want some old comic books? Those are here, too. Our son loves Popeye, so while he was bored with French architecture, he perked up at this find. The lady in the shop was pretty thrilled that an 11-year-old liked the classic Popeye cartoons, appreciating the black-and-white offerings to the more recent reiterations. | |
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