Cool Old Signs – Dr. Pepper, H & C Coffee, Little Chef

We knew we made the right decision to head into downtown Roanoke VA when we were greeted with these fabulous vintage signs lighting up the night sky. My photos aren't the best- but I think you'll agree that the signs themselves pretty fab.

Just off the 581 exit when we were heading towards the Texas Tavern, these two signs first appear to be right next to each other but are really on different buildings.

The H & C Coffee Sign is an animated sign, blinking on and off and giving the appearance that the coffee is pouring out of the tipped spout.

H & C Coffee is a Roanoke based coffee brand, started in 1927 by two brothers Harold and Clarence. You can see some other views of this sign here on Flickr, with this daylight view by Debbie at PhotoVirginia.com being one of my faves. According to her caption "A few years back a group of citizens got together and raised thousands of dollars to repair and keep this sign in Roanoke". Love!

The Doctor Pepper Sign right next door looks like a giant bottle cap. Again, Debbie at PhotoVirginia.com has done a wonderful job of capturing this sign in the daylight so you can really see the details.

I love how the internet can be a place where we all piece together our bits of information to build a quilt of knowledge that everyone can benefit from, as a comment on her photo explains the cryptic 10-2-4 numbers on the Dr. Pepper sign:

10, 2, and 4. Those are the times of the day (assuming you start work at 6 AM), that your body starts to lag. This is based on a study commissioned by 'Dr. Pepper' indicated that a 'pick me up' drink such as Dr. Pepper, would raise the blood sugar level and therefore your productivity.

And finally, it was only happenstance that we saw this last sign, as the location was on my map but it was too late to properly check out the restaurant. But as luck would have it  we got to see the sign as we were filling the RetroRoadmobile with gas before heading back onto the highway.

The Little Chef is a Roanoke landmark, in business since 1950, and someone referred to their biscuits as being as big as a cat's head, which I consider to be a perfect size for my fave carb treat! Here are some other photos of this sign and the building, ala Flickr

These unexpected roadside finds are another reason why it's good to get off the highway even on a long journey, you never know what you'll discover!