Route 66, Day 1 (Tuesday 7 Feb.) – Wilmington to Bloomington. It was a special day. My first on Route 66 on the Epic USA Road Trip. Fantastic. It was like parachuting into a completely different place. Time has seemingly stood still in a lot of these old towns bypassed long ago by the interstate. Everything I expected and more (well, other than the warning light in the TT and the downpour but one can’t have everything).
It’s actually Day 3 of the road trip. I drove a little over 800 miles Sunday and Monday, from Brooklyn to Joliet IL. 3/10 of the way across the entire country.
Sunday I made it as far as Wooster OH (near Akron). I spent a good part of yesterday in the Ohio heartland mostly in Wooster, Ashland and Upper Sandusky. Maybe a post later about the day – it was splendid. Lovely part of the state. Today’s post, Route 66.
I got to Joliet late last night. I was there last year on an Illinois drive tracing the Lincoln Highway in Illinois; the Lincoln and Route 66 meet up in Joliet. This post is from that drive. I also did a post about a stop in Plainfield where Route 66 and the Lincoln also meet. I started the drive on 66 today in Wilmington which is south of Joliet.
I decided to skip Chicago. After the day in the Ohio heartland yesterday I had no desire to stop in a big city and booked a place to stay in Joliet. Perhaps on the return drive I will stop there, or fly in for a visit. I want to get a picture of the Route 66 start sign (and get back there for other things, too). Another time. I may skip St. Louis later this week as well and just do a drive-through. I prefer the smaller cities and towns when I am doing a road trip like this.
I left the hotel at 9:00 am. At 9:01 am the skies opened. I didn’t know so much rain could fall at one time. At least it wasn’t a snowstorm. (The snow is tomorrow.) Once when I was driving with a friend to Dresden in the former GDR (DDR) many years ago the skies opened like they did today. All the Trabants pulled over to one side. Why that still sticks in my mind I don’t know…
I digress. Miraculously, the rain stopped when I got to Wilmington. It stayed dark and drizzled but at least it was not pouring rain for which I am very thankful. The pictures are dark, however, even with some light post-processing.
For my first Route 66 picture on the road trip: the (now closed) Launching Pad Drive-In, home of the Gemini Giant. Does it get better than that? I can stop with that one. (Muffler Men cognoscenti reading this will feel as I do that inside that spacesuit this is indeed a Muffler Man.) The Mar (a 1937 movie palace) is in Wilmington, too.
The misty shot is from a Route 66 bridge over the Kankakee River leaving Wilmington for the next stop, Braidwood and the Polk-a-Dot Drive-In. This one’s still open. It was very quiet. Great old Wurlitzer. I had a chat with Dan who was taking orders inside. It was pretty empty. He says that it is packed in the summer. He came outside to check out the TT. He says he doesn’t see too many. He got that right. They are rare on this side of the country.
Next, Godley. These places are almost surreal. After that, Dwight which has a beauty of a gas station on the way in – a restored Texaco station. There are lots more of these. I have to do some galleries. This selection of pix just scratch the surface. The church (in Dwight) is just one of many on the road today. That’s a detail of the old train depot. In Odell, there was an unrestored filling station. Classic. The balance were taken in places like Pontiac, Chenoa, Lexington and Towanda. All wonderful.
As I write this I am in Normal IL which is just above Bloomington. Illinois State is here. So is Grossinger Audi where I have an appointment in the morning. The joys of owning a 12 year old car. Wish me luck (with the snow tomorrow too)…
