Day Three, still in Illinois

We have gone 80 miles today. Tonight we are at the Comfort Inn in Pontiac Illinois. I was certain we would make it out of Illinois but Penny and I keep being distracted. We have met some great people.

Elaine is the manager of the Joliet Historical Museum. She is a wealth of information with maps, information, and connections. She certainly knows how to connect her network to everyone who comes to her shop. This is a great place to start your trip on Route 66. We could never get to the beginning because Grant Park was closed in Chicago. Elaine told us about Scott who use to be the manager for Muddy Waters, now he owns a store and makes Route 66 Root Beer. She was also able to tell us which hotels had washers and dryers, which other sites we needed to visit, and gave us great maps. Thanks Elaine for the Batteries for my camera, they are great.

Scott, past manager of Muddy Waters, has a great store in Wilmington. He has a private formula for Root Beer, lots of great stuff, and some great Muddy Water Memorabilia. He loves Route 66 and recommended the Riviera as a place to visit. It was the speak easy of Al Capone. It was a very interesting place.

A time to pause. We really do not have anywhere to be................or anyone expecting us to be there. No time schedules, no pressure. So we took time to pause, sit by the river Kankakee, enjoy the quiet and these little deer were enjoying the same solitude.

I think we will make it to Springfield tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Hazel M. Walker

Day Three: Just How Big is Illinois?

As we prepare to hit the road for Day Three, I have to ask myself, just how big is Illinois anyway?

Chicago was a blast, but then Hazel and I always have fun in Chicago. A lot of walking, a lot of shopping. Fortunately, this time, we did more walking than shopping. Just no place to put a lot of treasures in Baby. However, after a whole lot of walking, it was time to get this show on the road. The whole point of going to Chicago in the first place was to begin our trip at the "official" starting point. After several hours of wrong turns, closed streets (Lollapalooza was in town), rush hour traffic in downtown Chicago, we decided to give up the search for the starting intersection. Getting out of Chicago proved to be an adventure in itself, and after a few more wrong turns (how many times can you go past Division St anyway?!?!?), we stumbled upon our path.

Anyone who has traveled with me knows that although I can tell my left from my right, I'm map challenged! When we stopped for dinner at a really cool McDonald's in Romeoville, I discovered that the maps in our highly recommended travel guide are the original maps from 1933! No wonder our directions didn't match the maps!

Today's goal...maps! Real, 2007 maps!

Lessons Learned:
1. Don't panic, we don't have to be anywhere, or be responsible to anybody for 5 weeks!
2. Cinnamon Surge Nicorette gum will set your mouth on fire!
3. If you're going to stand along the side of the road with a life-sized doll, taking pictures of road signs, you've got to expect people to yell out their windows as they pass you by.