Day 05

Day 05

Smaller update today.  Left Bloomington for Atlanta, Illinois.  This all feels familiar.  As it turns out Illinois, not all that different from Indiana.  Lots and lots of corn and soy.  Beautiful driving through it all.

Atlanta is great for Route 66 goers.  One of the few towns that hasn't been bypassed by newer versions of the road.  Here is the first muffler man on the Route, giant Paul Bunyon.  Originally he was closer to Chicago but now he's down here in Atlanta. No idea why he's holding a hot dog.

Atlanta also has a fantastic Museum.  I got the tour from a truly amazing man.  96 years old, WW2 vet, gives free tours of the Atlanta History Museum.  He knew everything there is to know about this town and had a badass walking stick.  This map shows where visitors originate from.  As you can see Route 66 is a BFD in Europe.  I still don't understand why but the evidence is irrefutable.

Mural art is pretty big on the road.

Illinois has a weird obsession with Daniel Day-Lewis

Went down to Lincoln, Illinois got to the wondrous WORLD'S LARGEST COVERED WAGON!!!! Can you believe they leave this thing unguarded?

Wanted to go the famous Mill Restaurant but it was closed.  Luckily it looks like it's being restored to be reopened.

Springfield was the next big stop. There are several small towns in between.  They were nice to drive through but nothing big to look at there.  Springfield is a surprisingly small city when you consider it's the state capital.  Wanted to see Shea's Gas Museum.  Closed.  Things on the Route have the weirdest hours.  You'd have to be a Machiavellian genius to schedule well enough to see everything.  Anyway, the other famous 66 stop in Springfield is the Cozy Dog Drive In and the Route 66 Twin Drive In Theater.

The last leg of today was to Litchfield where my hotel is.  More beautiful fields and cozy small towns.  Illinois roads all seem to have at least two names which is makes the street signs big and confusing.  Worked out some kinks with the GPS.  It still sends me in terrible directions but it's less frustrating now that it talks with an English accent. 

Happy Birthday America