The day started well. Temperature, pleasantly warm, as we made our way to the car hire office. Paperwork was sorted without delay and we made our way down to the basement to collect the Ford Escape, they had allocated us. Snag! One of the reasons we didn't opt for the glamorous Mustang option , was the small boot (trunk) space, which would mean leaving a case on the back seat, in full view. Whilst this has a decent sized boot, there isn't a cover over the boot space, thus, cases, etc, are still on view. The guy told us they rent hundreds of cars for Route 66, none of which have boot covers and they have never had any reports of problems! Like that means nothing can happen. With little option and having voiced our concerns, we fitted TomTom and made our way out into the Chicago traffic. First stop, the hotel, to collect our luggage.
 |
| Ford Escape, our ride for the next 17 days. |
Ahead of us, was a 200 mile journey to Springfield. We planned to have breakfast at our first historic site, Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket. It took us an hour to get here. Even so, we were too early, as they didn't open until 11:00. Maybe they don't even do breakfast. Anyway, photos taken, it was back in the car.
Next stop, the Rialto Theatre in Joliet. They do tours of the theatre but, yes, you guessed it, we were too early! To be fair, this was expected. Photos taken, we dropped in to the library, to see if they had a town trail leaflet. A lovely lady behind the desk, walked us around the building trying to find someone who might know if they had one but to no avail. She was very apologetic that she couldn't help us.
 |
| The 1926 Rialto Theatre, Joliet |
Across the road there was the Joilet Route 66 Diner, so in we went for breakfast. Unlike the gruff Amy, at Lou's, here we were greeted with a very friendly Mexican waitress, Elena. She was very helpful in pointing Catherine towards a vegetarian option. When it came, it was the normal American portion. When Catherine commented, Elena quipped "welcome to America, honey". Needless to say, Catherine couldn't clear the plate.
Back at the car and exiting the the car park, an old guy at the booth, asked us where we were from, then, promptly let us off the $2 ticket! A gift from Joliet.
Next Stop, Wilmington and the Gemini Giant. Here we met a group of Swiss bikers, male and female, on rented Harleys. I obliged them by taking the group photo and we wished them well on the rest of the tour. Shame to see the diner is closed. I had read this earlier in the year. How on earth could they fail to make money? This giant is a must do stop on this part of the Route.
From there the attractions came thick, if not so fast, The 2 cell jail and horse drawn diner in Gardner, Dwight's Ambler Texaco gas station (where we chatted with Don & Joy, volunteer custodians), Odell's Standard Oil gas station, the Old Log Cabin and Route 66 Museum mural in Pontiac and Sprague's Super Service gas station in Normal.
 |
| Dwight's Model T Fire Engine at the Ambler Gas Station |
Next up was Funk's GroveMaple Sirip Farm. Unfortunately, we were within a few miles, when we were diverted onto I55, as R66 was closed. Doubling back, all the way to the road closure, we found the farm, only to find we were too late, this time. Not only was there a sign saying they were sold out of sirip but the shop was closed as well. Time was ticking on, the going having been slower than we had imagined.
Back on the itinerary, there was the Dixie truck stop, the first truck stop in the USA and then our second giant of the day, the Bunyon Giant, in Atlanta. As we closed on Springfield, we took in The Mill and the Lincoln giant and record breaking wagon, in Lincoln and rounded the day off with a quick stop at Shea's gas station. The latter looks a bit like a junk yard to be honest but I believe it has or may have been shut since Bill Shea died, so maybe has been neglected somewhat.
 |
| The World's Largest Covered Wagon |
Finally, we were in sight of the hotel, almost home and dry but with just enough time for me to turn the wrong way up a one way street to get to the hotel car park, earning me my first toot of the day. :-(
TomTom had been near perfect this first day, with only two issues, which were attributable to my putting my waymark on the wrong side of the carriageway. Luckily, I have travelled most of this route and streetviewed plenty, enough times to realise, "make a U-turn" was not applicable at that point, so was able to re-program.
Tomorrow is a 'rest' day, meaning we'll be walking into town to do the Lincoln house, museum, etc.
Until then.
No comments:
Post a Comment