The Florida “Sign of 4”
By Don Hobbs

The life of an Applications Specialist has some advantages. Take last week for example, while most of the nation was suffering from massive winter storms, I was sent to Destin, Florida to work. I secretly sneered behind the locals' backs when they complained about it being too cold for them. The temperatures reached the forties at night but was in the low seventies during the day. I really suffered sitting on the Emerald Coast eating lunch each day while working on my tan.

Friday afternoon, we wrapped everything up by 2:00 in the afternoon. My coworkers left me alone due to the fact they had Friday flights and mine was not until Saturday morning. I strolled down the beach before retiring to my room where a nap was in order. However, before I could snooze-out, I looked over the little, limited area map that comes with the rental car. I sat bolt upright in bed with any thought of a nap, long gone. According to the map, I was about 45 miles away from Florida State Highway 4!

I jumped out of bed and grabbed my trusty digital camera. I was downstairs and out of the parking lot in a flash. It took me just over an hour to get to Crestview, Florida where I turned east on U.S. Highway 90. Milligan, Florida was about 6 miles east and this is one termini of Florida State High 4. As soon as I had turned onto the road, I saw the first “Sign of 4” but what really caught my eye was the other sign. This one said Baker 4; Century 44. I knew at that moment that I was destined to go to Baker, Florida. Anyone who remembers The Great Whimsical Sherlockian Tour of Oklahoma and Texas will recall our decision not to drive to Baker, Oklahoma because of time constraints. Well, this time I was able to go.

I drove the obligatory 4 miles to Baker, Florida and took the picture that accompanies this article. Not only is it a “Sign of 4” but it is also a “Baker Street”!! I was so excited I called just about every Sherlockian I knew to tell the ironic and good news. In my exuberance, I forgot to take into consideration that I was in sunny Florida and those poor souls I was calling were those afore mentioned people that were being hammered by the winter storms. A little Sherlockian faux pas on my part but certainly nothing cruel was intended. I was quick to point out I would be working in frozen Illinois next week.

For some reason I had missed the Florida State Highway 4 during my initial research into states with route number 4. I feel now that more research is garnered because of this slip. I remember that Idaho 4 is not even listed as existing, but my photograph of it proves that wrong. It is reasons like this that I keep my digital camera charged and ready on every trip I take.

Sherlockians are always prepared.

Happy Collecting!!