Day Thirty – October 8, 2018
Partly cloudy skies this morning – a far cry from last night’s thunder storm. We pack up with hopes of getting to Chicago slightly after the lunch hour and before rush hour. That’s the plan anyway.
Between Towanda and Lexington, IL is part of the original 1926 road that has been preserved and set aside as a walking path. We are excited to put both feet and tires on this bit of pavement.
Someone is getting their kicks on Route 66!
They have done a really nice job here and you can see this old part is next to the newer alignment, which of course is near the Interstate.
Next stop is Pontiac, IL for the Route 66 Association Hall of Fame and Museum. Just driving into Pontiac is fun – there are so many murals and sights along the streets even before we get to the museum.
These are not actual stores, simply murals painted to resemble stores!
It’s like four museums in one here – with everything Route 66 and then a War Museum and a whole room dedicated to the music of war with the sheet music framed on the wall and then just old stuff.
Pretty eclectic and we could spend a full day here.
We take in as much as we can – which is a lot!
If we are going to get to Chicago today we need to leave – but we are pretty sure we will come back to Pontiac because it is very interesting.
More of the old road and another of those train signs!
It is possible to get your kicks on Route 66 by driving fast also!
We travel through Odell and find the restored 1932 Standard Oil Service Station. This station is also a Welcome Center, only open May through October.
Continuing north we drive through Dwight and Gardner and find more old service stations.
In Wilmington we see the Gemini Giant; he is supposed to lure you to the historic Launching Pad Diner.
Next, we find ourselves going through Joliet where we encounter another unusual road and then a bit of expressway. We read that the original Route 66 through Joliet became ALT 66 in the 1930’s and then was partly wiped out by I-55.
We are pleased to see that our Route 66 will take us into Chicago without going on any expressways – that seems unusual but very cool.
The skyline changes dramatically as we approach Chicago on the old route. We are excited and anticipate a few good photo ops as we finish our 66 portions of the trip.
We spot Union Station, Willis Tower and then make our way to Michigan Avenue.
It is about 1:30 pm and supposedly after the lunch hour but the sidewalks are mobbed with people and the cars are barely moving on the streets. What gives here? We are crawling along the street and craning our necks to find any signage about Route 66. Our maps give conflicting information about the origin of the road here and we are on Michigan Avenue trying to make our way to the corner of Jackson Street.
And there it is – one lonely little sign atop a lamp post signaling the start of Route 66. We are so disappointed. The only photo op will be out of the car window – we couldn’t park if we wanted to and the crowds are tremendous.
Okay, time to get out of this crowded city. We program our GPS for home and head out of Chicago.
We make very good time leaving the city and now we are in Indiana.
We make very good time through Indiana and find ourselves in Ohio.
Feeling a bit weary and still disappointed, we stay in Maumee, OH for the night. Our hotel clerk recommends Packo’s for dinner; reminding us the “Klinger” from the TV show “Mash” always wanted to go back to Toledo for Packo’s hot dogs. That sounds like fun and hopefully will lift our spirits.
Packo’s does not disappoint – a wild and crazy menu and lots to look at while our “dogs” are being prepared. Looks good! Hot dogs, chili and stuffed cabbage. “Klinger” was right – this would be worth coming back to eat more Hungarian fare.
It’s been a long day so we get some rest and hope tomorrow’s weather will be good.