So we didn't drive back to central Chicago in Monday morning rush hour traffic to take a picture of the car outside the Art Institute - one of the official starting points of Route 66. We left from Days Inn instead!! Route 66 goes from Chicago to LA and was the first great highway built across the USA in the 1920's. In the 30's it represented the move West for people following the American Dream. After the war and into the 50's and 60's, the heyday of the American car, driving holidays kept towns along the route busy. Motels and towns added "attractions" to get more people to stop. By the 70's the new Interstate Highways were constructed, by-passing the towns, and chain motels and fast food outlets like MacDonalds set up along the new Interstates, sounding the death knell for the businesses along Route 66.
Monday 10 June - Chicago Illinois to Springfield Illinois
We put on our Road Trip playlist and hit the road! "It's never too early for Rock and Roll". Our first stop was Joliet, famous for it's old prison where Jake Elwood of Blues Brothers fame was incarcerated! It also became home to the first Dairy Queen in 1940. Next stop was the Gemini Giant in Wilmington and then on to the Route 66 Hall of Fame Museum in Pontiac, Ill. In Lincoln we saw "the world's largest covered wagon" and,wait for it, the famous lifesized watermelon sculpture! We laughed for ages over that - there is some historical Abe Lincoln significance to it, but still! We ate corn dogs at the Cozy Dog Drive - In. Corndogs are hotdog sausages covered in a maize meal ( pap) batter, deep fried and served on a stick. We spent the night in Springfield, Ill. and enjoyed great food at a microbrewery and blues music at a local dive.
Monday 10 June - Chicago Illinois to Springfield Illinois
We put on our Road Trip playlist and hit the road! "It's never too early for Rock and Roll". Our first stop was Joliet, famous for it's old prison where Jake Elwood of Blues Brothers fame was incarcerated! It also became home to the first Dairy Queen in 1940. Next stop was the Gemini Giant in Wilmington and then on to the Route 66 Hall of Fame Museum in Pontiac, Ill. In Lincoln we saw "the world's largest covered wagon" and,wait for it, the famous lifesized watermelon sculpture! We laughed for ages over that - there is some historical Abe Lincoln significance to it, but still! We ate corn dogs at the Cozy Dog Drive - In. Corndogs are hotdog sausages covered in a maize meal ( pap) batter, deep fried and served on a stick. We spent the night in Springfield, Ill. and enjoyed great food at a microbrewery and blues music at a local dive.
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