Route 66 - Part II - The First Leg of the Journey

Start of Route 66, Chicago IL

Well, finally I’m getting to Part II of our Route 66 trip (crazy month, crazy life). 

Anyway, after a few days in Chicago, we fought the morning traffic and headed downtown to find the beginning Route 66 sign. Thus our Route 66 Trip officially started…

Illinois: Land of Lincoln, Gemini Giant and Cozy Dogs…
Our first stop and overnight on the route was Springfield, Illinois. Springfield is the home of Cozy Dogs, the Bearded Muffler Man, and Abraham Lincoln. Absolutely, the pride of Illinois is our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. There are statues, towns, monuments, museums and constant signs stating "Land of Lincoln" throughout the state. We visited the Lincoln Museum and Presidential Library in Springfield. This is a fascinating place that chronicles Lincoln’s life from childhood, to the Civil War to his tragic death. The museum is a tribute to a remarkable life and man. I can’t say enough about the museum – worth a stop if you're ever in the area.



Giant Catsup Bottle, Collinsville, IL

Route 66 is a piece of American history and a bit of a scavenger hunt. Part of the fun on the route was finding the various icons, “giants” and signs. In Illinois we found the Gemini Giant, the world's largest catsup bottle, a pink elephant drinking a martini and Betty Boop.

The best corn dog I’ve ever eaten was at the Cozy Dog Drive In in Springfield, Illinois. A Route 66 favorite and part of the inspiration for the Disney movie “Cars.” They claim that they created the original corn dog – not sure if this is true, but they have certainly mastered the recipe. The Cozy Dog opened in 1946 and has moved a couple of times, but now sits squarely on Route 66. They even serve Route 66 Soda!

After finding the giant catsup bottle in Collinsville we took the bridge over the Mississippi River into St. Louis.

Missouri: the Arch, Largest Rocking Chair, the Cardinals and Mini Stonehenge…
As you head over the bridge to St. Louis, you are greeted by the Gateway Arch. The arch is a beautiful piece of American engineering. Years ago we traveled through St. Louis and I was impressed by the arch and it was just as wonderful the second time around. Time and perhaps where you are in the moment makes you forget some past experiences. One thing I didn't remember was the amount of stairs inside the arch which was challenging. However, I’ve found

The Gateway Arch, St. Louis

throughout our travels people generally try to accommodate us when they understand Patrick’s mobility issues. So we were able to make the journey to the top without event.

We caught a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game at Busch Stadium. The stadium has the Arch as a backdrop, definitely one of my favorite baseball stadiums. I made the mistake of wearing my Wrigley Field shirt to the game and garnered a couple comments - apparently the Cubs are not loved in St. Louis. Ah, nothing like a good baseball rivalry.

Missouri is a lush green state and Route 66 wanders through some beautiful scenery. We continued our scavenger hunt with a mini Stonehenge on the campus of University of Missouri in Rollo, the world's largest rocking chair and a Hubble telescope replica, in Edwin Hubble's hometown of Marshfield.

Kansas: 11 miles of Route 66, Disney Inspiration, Tow-Tator, the Rainbow Bridge...
The state with the shortest road on Route 66 is Kansas - a total of 11 miles runs through it. The Kansas folks are a friendly group and we spent quite a bit of time on this short strip of the route. There are murals, signs, gift shops and information stops throughout Kansas. The scenery is not what you expect - it is very picturesque with a river and tons of greenery.

Rainbow Bridge, Outside Galena KS

We met some of the inspirations for Disney's "Cars" movie in Kansas. The story was told that Tow-Mater was actually a beat up old tow truck that the kids in Galena nicknamed Tow-Tator. We met, Melba Rigg, at the "Cars on the Route" gift shop. Melba is a quite a character herself – she proudly proclaims that no one can talk as much or as fast as her.  I don’t think I can argue against this claim. She was interviewed by Disney for the "Cars" movie and her half hour interview went three hours and the Disney folks missed their airline flights (she was quite proud of this). She is featured on the "Cars 2" movie blu-ray edition discussing Route 66 and impact on the local towns along the route.

There is a lovely bridge outside Galena, KS named the Rainbow Bridge. The locals believe it is the inspiration for the bridge that Lightning McQueen and Sally raced along in the original "Cars" movie. True or not it was a beautiful spot to stop and enjoy!

Oklahoma: the Blue Whale, a Memorial, Route 66 Museums...

Oklahoma City Memorial at Sunset

The route traverses through much of Oklahoma and includes Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Clinton. We were fortunate to arrive in Oklahoma City at sunset and spent time at the Oklahoma City Memorial - which was absolutely moving and we got some amazing photos of the memorial at sunset. It's worth a stop if you're ever in the area.

The scavenger hunt continued in Oklahoma and we found the Blue Whale in Catoosa, OK which was part of an old swimming hole. This was an anniversary gift to Hugh Davis’ wife, Zelta, built back in the 1970s. Pretty awesome gift, in my opinion, beats jewelry any day! This was a busy route attraction and there were plenty of folks fishing, taking pictures and walking through Big Blue.  Additionally, we found an old Conoco Station, the Kuku Bird and A Soda Pop Statue in Oklahoma.

There are eight states on Route 66– Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.  My original plan was not to write on all eight states, but I loved this trip, and I want the written memories… so I’ve decided to do a part III which should be out sooner than this one…(the next final four states: Texas, New Mexico, Arizona & California).

Check out the photos...
In the meantime, I’ve uploaded photos of our trip through Oklahoma… A picture in this case is absolutely worth a thousand words: Route 66 - Part I Photos

Get Your Kicks on Route 66 - Part I

It's been about a month since my last blog and what a month it's been!. We spent most of August on an amazing journey across the United States and back. We took the world famous Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica. This is a trip we've talked about doing for years and it was definitely one I will remember fondly- frankly, there is nothing like a good road trip! Here is the quick and dirty breakdown:



My traveling companions: Patrick & Caitlin

5,231 Total Miles
13 States
3 traveling buddies
1,600,504,211 cows
2 baseball games
1 blue whale
563,231 corn fields
1 bed bug
1,545 windmills
4 muffler men

I'm finding the writing of this blog to go on and on... so I've decided to separate this into two blogs, that way I feel a sense of accomplishment and actually post something today...  So this is Part I of our Route 66 Trip... - I will also be putting the photos on shutterfly - a picture is worth a 1000 words!

The Plan...
Our original plan was to fly to Chicago and rent a car to Sacramento.  It seemed the most logical, saving the driving time from Sacramento to Chicago and putting the least amount of mileage on our vehicle. However, we didn't take into effect the cost of the rental car - which turned out to be more than $5,000... so we then considered the idea of buying a used car in Chicago (hey overall it's cheaper than $5,000) but in the end we decided to extend the length of the trip and use our Ford Explorer. Our son in law, Justin, put steps on the Explorer making it easier to get in and out of, and its fully automated so it really made the trip easier and wound up being the best choice anyway.

The Journey to Chicago, IL
So, the day arrived and in true Timmons fashion we planned to leave about 10am and really wound up leaving at 1pm. So with a full tank of gas, three suitcases, our favorite pillows and a whole lot of snack food, we headed out!  We didn't want to spend too much time getting to Chicago so we put in about 8-10 hours driving each day. We journeyed through Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa and into Illinois. Patrick & I have been to Nevada, Utah and Wyoming quite a few times so that was not a new trek for us, but neither of us had ventured into Nebraska or Iowa. So these states were new for us to explore.

Iowa - Beautiful Fields of Corn & Farms

 

It's interesting how we get ideas in our heads about states and what they look like - although I've been through a number of states and we lived back east for a time, I'm still amazed by how incorrect these assumptions often are. Yes, Iowa does have quite a bit of corn fields - but there is something wonderfully beautiful about a farm with a windmill next to a green corn field. Truly picturesque... 



At Antique Archaeology, LeClaire, IA

Caitlin & Patrick at Antique Archaeology

We watch Mike, Frank and Danny of American Pickers on TV, so it was a "no brainer" to stop by their shop outside Davenport, Iowa on the eastern edge of Iowa and check out all the cool stuff and purchase a few items. If you like garage sales, old vintage stuff or the open road this is the show to watch, visit Antique Archaeology. Funny, on the show you get the feel that they are located out in the middle of nowhere in a small town, well that's not true. Antique Archeology, is located in LeClaire right next to the  Mississippi River, such a cute town!

 

 

Chicago: Windy, Traffic, Wrigley Field and Deep Dish!

Lou Malnati's in Chicago

It is true that Chicago is the windy city, I think in most of our photos I look like I've got a rats nest building in my hair. But, that's part of it's charm! Chicago is a busy city with traffic, skyscrapers, people and lots to do! We had delicious deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati - you know the pizza is fantastic when folks line up at the door. It was a wait, but absolutely worth it! For dessert we had a cookie pizza, warm with vanilla ice cream - yep, it's worth moving to Chicago just for this dessert (of course, I'd weigh a couple hundred pounds if I did)! 


Wrigley Field!!

We are big baseball fans, so we never miss an opportunity to see a game and seeing a game at the historic Wrigley Field was something I've wanted to do since I was a child. I grew up in Susanville, CA (about 4 hours north of Sacramento) as a child we got 10 cable channels and one was WGN in Chicago (who knows why). I had no idea where Chicago was, but I watched the Cubs play whenever they were on. So, going to the Cubs game was a highlight for me, we had "Chicago dogs" and watched the Reds beat the Cubs. Bummer, I wanted the Cubs to win. -- We ALWAYS - "root, root, root for the home team!"

After a few days in Chicago, we started the Route 66 journey! Route 66 is the old highway that folks took before the Interstates were created. Route 66 is sometimes known as the Mother Road.  The Disney movie "Cars" is based on a fictional town, known as "Radiator Springs."  The movie tells the story of a town being forgotten after the interstate detoured travelers. The movie is pretty accurate, in that many of these little towns closed up or had to find other means of existence.  Radiator Springs was inspired by many of the sights along Route 66.

Some of Route 66 is no longer drivable, so its not possible to take Route 66 for the entire 2,448 mile journey. This caused us to move between the Interstate and Route 66 and the difference between the two is profound. The route really gives you a feeling of going back to a simpler time when you took life slower and enjoyed the sights. You miss so much when you just take the Interstate, if I have one recommendation when you're out on the road, stop in at some of the little towns along the way and enjoy a few detours from the main highway, there is so much to see and do, as well as wonderful folks to meet!

Route 66... To Be Continued... (I know the anticipation is tough!)