It is in fact possible to observe "things" traveling faster then light (even in a vacuum). Images, shadows, reflections, etc... are all allowed to break the light speed barrier, since they have no mass and can carry no information ftl.
For example, if I stand in my backyard and shine a powerful laser onto the moon, I can theoretically make a bright spot appear on the moon. If I quickly point the laser downward instead, the spot will appear on the ground almost instantaneously. Were the spot restricted by the speed of light, it would take several seconds for it to move from the moon to the earth.
Locations can also move faster then light, though the objects defining these locations might not. The spot where the two blades of a pair of scissors meet will travel significantly faster then either blade will. A long enough pair of scissors could certainly result in this spot moving faster then a photon.
Of course, you might argue that these things arn't really "things", or that their movement isn't really "movement". I'll not argue with you; find some other terminology and I'll consider using it. Even if they are illusionary, they still look like they're traveling faster then c.
Let's also not forget that under certain conditions light itself can seem to travel faster then light.