26 September 08 - 19:03
Day 3 Route 66
This morning Dave slept in but we did manage to get out of the campground before noon--nearly 20 minutes before.Our first stop was the Polk-a-Dot Drive In in Braidwood, Illinois. This place is truly a blast from the past. They had figures of Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and Betty Boop you could take photos of but they were too shaded for my pictures to turn out well. The tables and counters inside had individual jukeboxes with all songs from my teenage years. And the place looked like something from a way back machine.
Next we drove by the Riviera Roadhouse near Gardner, Illinois. At least, we think we did. It wasn't where it was supposed to be and it was called the Riviera Restaurant. Anyway, it went by too quickly to realize what was happening in time to take a picture of it.
Gardner had street signs that took us on a turn-by-turn tour through town on old route 66. I think they hoped we'd stop and shop if we went downtown instead of staying on the main highway.
Next came a 1933 gas station in Dwight, Illinois, that is the longest operating gas station on route 66 Guessing they weren't likely to be selling diesel, we stopped across the street to take this picture.
The Odell Standard Station has been restored. It wasn't open today but you can sit on a bench out front and listen to a recorded message about how it was and that downtown is still alive and well and would like your business.
Odell is such a small town we saw a fellow riding his electric scooter down the highway. We made him a little nervous since we obviously weren't local but we always make way for bicycles and pedestrians so why wouldn't we do the same for him?
Then came another of my childhood memories--a barn advertising Meramec Caverns. These used to be everywhere beside the highways in Illinois. Apparently that advertising worked because I remember my family touring this cave. Now this ad has been restored and a turnoff from the highway lets you take its picture without blocking traffic.
Then we drove into downtown Pontiac, Illinois, looking for The Old Log Cabin Restaurant which was billed as a classic Route 66 restaurant. What we found was people everywhere. Dressed in orange and blue, lining the street, looking like they were waiting for a parade. Which they were. School obviously was not in session this Friday afternoon of Homecoming Weekend. A nice policeman directed us to park at the grocery store and walk back to see the parade. We even scored a street side table so we could eat lunch while watching the parade.
As we walked back to the RV, we stopped at the corner bank to get some money from their ATM. Then we bought groceries at the County Market whose parking lot we had been making such good use of.
Now we are parked at the Livingston County 4-H Park just west of Pontiac where we have water and electric for $16 a night. My thanks to Nick Russell of the Gypsy Journal, http://www.gypsyjournal.net/index.html, for finding us another good place to camp.
TTYL,
Linda
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