First Day

I rolled out of bed at 5:30 today and my father was already up mainstreaming coffee. After getting ready, we left the house at 6:30 AM and drove down to the art museum in Chicago. The route started there and the road was clearly labeled. We followed the map and the road was well marked in Illinois and we never really got lost; we just got misplaced a couple of times. We followed the route through the south side and then into the industrial suburbs. We started to notice signs and business names that revolved around route 66. The road quickly brought us into rural areas. We stopped at White Fence Farm to get a picture. White Fence Farm was a famous stop along the road. We stopped at interesting places to snap pictures and just enjoy the scenery.  We were cruising through Pontiac IL and stopped at a Route 66 museum. What really struck me was that all of the workers had a slight obsession with the road. 66 was their lives and they would do anything to slow its decay. All along the road there were businesses or gift shops capitalizing on the road. Some of the gift shops were not open but it made my Father and I realize that we were not the only ones that vacationed on the road. We snapped some pictures of the Camaro at a couple of old gas stations and tried to stay upbeat. When I was about eight we used to drive the road and come back in one day. I remember sitting at an old gas station and mimicking a man in one of the pictures who was sitting in the same position on the same chunk of concrete. The picture was taken in the thirties and really brought the past to the present. Eight years later, we retook the same picture with me sitting on the same slab on concrete. Another thing that really struck me today was in math class this previous week I was reading about The Palms Grill Cafe in Atlanta IL. It was the place where teens in the town would hang out and it was also a Greyhound bus stop. We were driving through the town and stopped at the Cafe. We walked in and were greeted by fifties music and the smell of pie baking. It had just been restored and it was a bit like stepping back in time. You could tell though, that it was restored. The place did not feel old, and even though it was cool, it felt wrong. After ordering some pie we continued on.   At about three o'clock we were tired and had only gotten to Springfield. We found a hotel and settled down and got some dinner. It was surprising how long it took just to get to Springfield. However, it was a good day and we both are looking forward to tomorrow.  

Facts Known by Few: In 1857 Lt. Edward Fitzgerald Beale was assigned to create a government funded wagon road that ran along the 35th parallel. This was the beginning of route 66 and also helped establish the idea that cross country travel was at least possible with a bit of ease. His secondary and far more interesting assignment was to see if Camels could be used in the southwest desert.

Two Favorite Songs:

1.       My Eyes Have Seen You The Doors

2.       How Many More Times Led Zeppelin

Favorite Food: The pumpkin and apple pies in Atlanta IL