To Chicago and Route 66

From Youngstown we made a b-line west-bound on interstate 80 to a certain little mid-western town called Chicago.
We didn’t stay long. We found the official beginning of Route 66, snapped a picture of the sign and set-off through the south side of Chicago.



Route 66 has been officially decommissioned. The route itself is a series of short segments connected by new roads and intersections. It often occurs that the old Route 66 runs parallel to a modern highway. We debated whether we would take the orthodox approach and stick to the old road the entire way. We had preconceptions of it feeling more authentic and adventurous.





At our first stop in Wilmington, at the famous Launching Pad diner, we acted like tourists and snapped pictures of the giant spaceman and Lombardi’s car dealership. Because it was already dark, this activity attracted the attention of a suspicious citizen who notified the local police of our presence. A patrol car inscribed with the message “Say no to drugs”, pulled up next to us. An easy going, cigarillo smoking officer knew the score as soon as he saw us: tourists. “You going to take my picture too?”

We set off south along route 66 which runs parallel and is within spitting distance of Interstate 55. It was dark by then. We couldn’t see anything except the traffic on the interstate. The Wall by Pink Floyd was playing as we imagined what lay on either side of us. In the morning we saw that it was just fields of corn.

The goal for the first night was to reach Joliet and look for lodgings. However, there was a big car race in town so all rooms were booked. It was on to Springfield (there is a Springfield in every state it seems). But, there was a rodeo in town! Luckily, at 1:30am, the Stevenson Inn had a vacancy room for two more cowboys.