Day 04

Day 02 - 04

Finally back on the grid long enough to blog.  En route to Chicago I stopped to see my family in Michigan City.  Haven't seen most of them in several years so it was great to see them all again.  

Then on to Chicago.  What can I say except Chicago is probably a decent place but the highways around Chicago are a complete clusterfuck.  Anybody that knows me know how much I hate city driving but alas it was necessary.  I didn't get any pictures cause I was too busy driving to get the hell out of the city.  Here's the beginning of 66 (not my picture)

Outside of Chicago I got lost pretty quick.  That's not a surprise for me.  I have the worst sense of direction and my GPS works against me.  That's a great combo for a road trip.  Any way I got to my first stop (a restaurant) and it was closed... at 2 p.m.???  A little bummed.  It's been hailed as the best chicken in the country.  I didn't get any chicken but there was an old shirtless dude with a massive mustache smoking a cigar there.  silver lining.

I found my way to the Joliet Museum.  It had some cool Route 66 stuff.  Apparently Joliet is all about creepy "wax" figures of the Blues Brothers.  They're all over the place there.  Also I ran into an Austrian couple there and  then again further down the road.  They're pretty cool.  Idk their names but I'll just call them Gretta and Mark for no reason at all.

The next restaurant I went to see was also closed at like 4.  Idk what's up with these places.  I hope they're not closing down cause they're pretty famous on the Route.  But I mainly wanted a picture of the Gemini Giant.  He's the first Muffler Man going west on the Route.

Lunch/Dinner at a fifties themed diner.  Not out of the ordinary but they had some more creepy "wax" statues.  My favorite is creepy Elvis.  I'm positive this is how he wanted to be remembered.

The next couple of stops were just old gas stations.  Some in disrepair unfortunately.  Some have been restored by passionate people working to preserve the America that made Route 66 a BFD.  I kept running into these German guys.  Again no names but they were really cool too.  Klaus and Olaf I assume are their real names.  Anyway, I kept asking him why everybody driving the road (at least that I've met so far) are European.  Klaus kept saying "It's a big deal for Europe".  I couldn't get more than that out of him but he kept repeating it.  He told me I was doing it wrong.  The only way to ride 66 is on a Harley or in a Mustang.  He had a Mustang but was upset it wasn't red.  They insisted that every picture they took had their Mustang in it.....
Anyway here are a few of the stations I stopped at.

I made the error of letting my GPS guide me to the hotel.  I missed a small section of 66 when it took me on the faster I-55 that runs literally right next to it.  I felt like the real road was taunting me as I drove into the sunset.  Anyway this place has WiFi and a hot tub so that's what's happening.  I'm pretty tired.  It's been a long few days and I don't really feel like writing anymore.  Still pretty positive though.  I thought Chicago was going to ruin my optimism but the Route has overpowered my cynicism.
Pretend I have a clever closing line....