day 14: chicago is my kinda town

last day of route 66! 

we spent part of the morning trying to find the memorials to President Lincoln including his tomb. but we didn't have good maps or even an idea where things were so we found a couple and then got out of town. we drove for awhile until we came to McLean the home of the Pig Hip Restaurant. unfortunately it burned down in 2009 so we took a photo of the house that was right next to the restaurant that the owners have lived in for years and years and years. 

the E is on the chimney because the owners name was  Ernie Edwards

after we saw the empty lot of what we wanted to see we drove past the Dixie Truck Stop that has been a stop for motorists since the early days of the route and we found this truck! 

this was our favorite gum as kids so we were pretty excited to see a whole semi truck of it! 

after a quick stop here we continued down the orignal route to Funks Grove where they make real maple sirup. in this case sirup is spelled with an i because it is made from pure sap from the tree rather than juice with added flavors like syrup. 

when we pulled into this farm we were snapping a photo with this barn when a group of people came out and offered to take our photo. they were doing route 66 just from chicago to springfield. it was a whole group of adults taking their parents on this trip for a christmas gift. we enjoyed talking with them and they loved our shirts :) brooke did such a great job with them! 

after talking with them we went into the shop and sampled some pure maple sirup. it was delicious! so we got some and then hit the road again. 

we continued past Normal and Bloomington into Pontiac which the group we just met told us had a great museum. it was a two story museum with the bottom floor dedicated to the route 66 hall of fame which included many of the key places along the route. it also included a whole section of Bob Waldmire complete with his vw van and his remodeled bus. the second floor had a war museum and a whole section with actual items from the 1940's. 

a small car covered in drawings from all over the route

Bob Waldmire's van he took on the route for years

his remodeled school bus - it was a cute little home complete with kitchen and sauna

after spending time in the museum we continued to O'Dell where we found an old underpass that had to be made because the road was too busy to cross. 

just down the road was a restored gas station. we stopped by but there wasn't much there and so we figured we just had a little bit left to go so lets get it done! 

we had to stop by Wilmington to see the Gemini Giant. we weren't hungry so we didn't eat at the Launching Pad Drive-In and left to head the last few miles to Chicago. 

we tried to stop in Joliet but we took a wrong exit and ended up in the wrong part of the town. we finally figured out how to get out of there and ended up at a gas station a little further east. dad talked to some guys and they gave him good directions to get back on route 66. with those good directions we got on the right roads and we quickly passed through the right roads of Joliet and then into Chicago! we had a good map of Chicago that pointed out where the route was. we passed the bakery restaurant 

 Lou Mitchell's where a lot of people would eat before leaving to travel the route but they were closed for the day so we kept going to find the begin route 66 sign. 

we couldn't be on the road that was indicated on the map because it was a one way street going to the opposite way we needed to. but there were signs that indicated the route on the next street over so we kept following those and surprise surprise we found an end route sign! we stopped at the stop light and put on our hazards while the kids and mom jumped out and snapped a photo before the light turned green. 

there were no places to stop out that were talked about in the book or in the map so we thought we might just head over to Iowa but we thought we would just turn down the street that was originally marked on our map. and *ta da* we found the begin sign! once again there was no where to stop so we just pulled over and all jumped out. there were a bunch of people trying to take their photo with the sign and it was finally our turn. surprisingly we didn't even get in trouble for stopping in the street!

WE DID IT! 

we finished route 66

from there it was time to start driving across illinois to get to iowa. we kept ourselves entertained in the back with chips. 

when we finally stopped for the night about an hour from the border of Iowa the kids played settlers of catan {i bet tonka} and then we thought we would take some funny photos. here's just one good one :) 

a cute normal family right?

still loving each other after two weeks stuck together in the box!

day 13: sweet dreams are made of these who am i to disagree

we woke up from our KOA and rolled down the road to Meramec Caverns just to check it out. after looking around we headed down the road and stopped by the Jesse James Wax Museum because the Meramec Caverns had been Jesse James hideout at one point. we wandered in but didn’t go into the actually exhibit part because wax people are a little freaky to dad. so we hit the road to head up to St. Louis where the bulk of our day would be spent. 

we absolutely had to stop by Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. They have served frozen “concretes” to travelers since the prime days of the route. so we each got a different concrete, for those of you that don’t know {like we ddin’t} a concrete is like a blizzard but with a custard base {I think} so when its container is flipped upside down it doesn’t even budge. it was so good! as we were standing there and enjoying our treat a lady and her son came up and starting asking us about our trip and giving us advice on where we should go in St. Louis. it’s rather amazing how friendly and talkative complete strangers can be! 

after we finished our yummy treat we moved just a couple blocks down the road and found the old Donuts Drive In! we couldn’t just leave without having a donut so we bought a dozen to enjoy as snacks and breakfast the next day. the people there had more than enough suggestions of good eats that would have kept us there a week! 

one place was called Googy Louie which was just on the next block so we did stop by there and picked up one of their famous butter cakes. in that short span of time we picked up so much sugar! 

after that influx of sugary goods into our pantry it was time to navigate our way to the Gateway Arch! we made it successfully down to the water area but then we had to figure out where to park! we managed to get down by the water and find the free rv parking. it was a nice walk past the park and then up the steps to the arch. we walked across the lovely green lawn and saw a ramp to go beneath. 

so we went through security and found a whole underground area. we got tickets to ride the tram to the top but we had to wait about an hour and a half to ride it so we walked through the really big museum that covered from 1800 to 1900. there was also a shop with delicious bread and pepperoni sticks that we munched on for a late snack. finally it was our turn to go to the top! we had to wait for our turn to go onto the trams and when they finally said we could go we were at the front of our grouping. mom was the first to attempt to go through the turnstile ... attempt is definitely the right word! she managed to get her leg stuck somehow in the machine and couldn't get moving! the rest of us were cracking up because there was no way to help her. i don't think any of us stopped laughing for a couple of minutes. 

we finally made it to the top after a 4 minute, 630 feet tram ride up and this was the view we had. 

that is a long way down

we were at 630 feet up. that is 25 feet taller than the top spike of the space needle. 

looking out over st. louis on one side and illinois on the other.

it was amazing to be up there and see so far out! i usually hate heights but i was pretty good! until i would realize just how incredibly high up we were and how far over you had to lean to look out the window. suddenly there was a feeling that the whole structure was swaying but we just didn't think about that :) 

back down at the base we walked along the mississippi river to get back to our rv. 

another view of the arch

we hit the road and crossed over the bridge into illinois! 

we had a long ways to drive until we got up into springfield just before 8pm. in springfield there was the home of the Cozy Dog Drive In. brooke couldn't wait to try a cozy dog so we ordered a bunch for dinner. as we were getting our food there were about 3 different groups that tried to come in but they had just closed. we got in just minutes before they closed! 

we enjoyed our food and then left to head to our KOA for the night. the trip was almost over!

day 12: da na na na na na batman!

when we got up this morning it was nice and rainy - just like home! we knew we wanted to go to some sort of caverns and so we figured why not just head down the road to the Fantastic Caverns? we managed to get our tickets just before a large bus load of kids came in so we were the tour before them. good thing! there were so many of them they filled two tour trucks! Timmy got to sit in the front next to the tour lady while the rest of us sat in the trailer. 

we saw some amazing formations built after many thousands to millions of years. there was only one bat to scare mom but he didn't come too close to us. there was one section that was pure calcium and the columns were pure white and sparkling. it was a steady 60 degrees in the cavern which felt a little like home. it was interesting when the guide would shut off the lights and show how terrible the lightening had been back in the day. the first people to explore the cave saw only a fraction of the wonders that were there. we even got to see two large sinkholes that were in the cavern. one has a hour long crawl to see where the bats live but we didn't get to do that. 

the first ladies to explore the cave left their names printed on the wall of the cavern. on the tour they showed us how the area would have looked back when it was first found and how they would have mined for saltpeter. 

in the lobby there was a cool old Willys Flat Fender. tim and i thought we were so cool with our new bat hats. hehe

when we were talking to the owners of the Fantastic Caverns they told us that we should stop by Bass Pro Shop. we figured sure why not? wow we were not ready for that at all. it was *huge* they had live turtles and fish and supposedly a live alligator but not all of us believe it was alive. but the store was just massive, we didn't even see everything in the 45 minutes we were there! they had one section decorated to feel like you were underwater with the ceiling like the lake with the bottom of the boat up there and everything. 

after we finally found our way out of that city in a store we had a lot of ground to cover to the next town we wanted to see. we kept driving until we got to Devil's Elbow. there weren't many buildings but we did stop by the post office to mail some postcards and because this was one of the stops on the route. there wasn't much inside but a few trinkets so we kept rolling. 

one of the many signs in missouri that "marked" the route.
half the time they just helped us to get more lost. 

we continued down the road until we arrived in Rolla. here we found a couple of old trading posts. on the west end of town was the Totem Pole Trading Post. we wandered in and looked around for a bit but the cool antiques were well over priced and we had a long ways to go yet. 

 

when we got to the east end of town we found the Mule Trading Post. there was a cool old man who we stopped to talk to for a bit. 

then we moved just a little ways down the road and saw the world's largest rocking chair in Cuba, Missouri. they also had an indoor archery range but brooke and tonka didn't want to shock the people there with their sharp shooting abilities. 

also in Cuba was the old Wagon Wheel Motel which is largely unchanged from the old day of route 66.  it looked so cute and really well up kept. 

we still had a ways to go until we stopped for the night and we just had some I-40 driving. so to keep ourselves entertained brooke and i thought we would wear our lovely bat hats and watch the scenery. we only got a few strange looks from other motorists hehe.

we passed a small town where each business had a mural painted on a wall and has a nicely restored Conoco station. 

we finally made it to our KOA in Stanton. while we were gone there was the lynden fishing derby which timmy was really excited to be a part of. so to make up for missing it dad and timmy took fishing poles and they finally got to break them out and use them in this catch and release area. timmy caught a whole bunch of fish! 

only 2 days left of our trip!

day 11: don't stop believing!

{we had to keep singing this as we kept getting lost on the confusing roads}

this morning everyone kinda rolled out of bed gradually and wandered down to the beach a few feet away to write their name before leaving for a few more states.

we moved onto Sapulpa {a name mom can not pronounce to save her life} where there was an old bridge. we safely made it across and saw the old drive in movie theater which is falling into disrepair. 

after seeing the old bridge our next destination was the Blue Whale! over the last few years Blue has gotten new paint and some upkeep and looks much better than some of the photos floating around. we got to climb up into the loft and up the tail where there used to be a diving board. the fins which are slides were covered with netting but that's alright the water was full of growing greenery so swimming didn't look like a blast. but the Blue looked cheerful as ever and the grounds were really nice. 

pretending to be eaten

after visiting Blue in Catoosa we thought we might want to stick to the highway because the roads can be a little backwards around these parts and we had done enough turning around that morning. we passed through a few smaller towns which had some things to look at but we kept moving until Afton. Here was the Palmer Motel {now out of business} and Afton Station turned museum. it was a free museum which had a bunch of restored Packard automobiles. it was run by a sweet older couple who were more than willing to talk to us about all sorts of things! 

one of the first motor homes from 27 i think?

after touring more cars we continued to follow the route 66 through Miami which didn't have much into the little town of Commerce. Here we found a little gem in the hometown of Mickey Mantle. we first stopped because of this cute Conoco station with a sweet mobile home sitting nearby. 

then we looked just a few feet further and saw this Dairy King. it was run by a sweet lady who had been working there for years. we got a few ice creams cones and route 66 cookies {which apparently her son has a trademark on} and chatted with her and the two other older people that were sitting in there. they had all sorts of stories to say about their town and the people they see coming through their little shop.

sitting next to the shop was also the house that Mikey Mantle and his wife first lived in. it was up on blocks because they had moved it away from the mines and weren't sure what to do with it yet. 

after this yummy cool treat we made a couple of entrances into Kansas. we got a little lost trying to find the entrance that would keep us on route 66. but we managed to find where we wanted to be! 

the Rainbow Bridge was one of the few sights on the 13 miles of route 66 in Kansas. it is the last remaining bridge of this style. 

we tried to visit the route 66 visitor center but they had closed just a half hour ago. 

we also had to make a stop at 4 women on the road which has the tow truck that inspired tow mater in the film Cars. they had already closed for the day {why does everyone close so early??} so we snapped photos by the truck and may have peered in the windows because it was really cute inside and then headed for the next state!

we came to Missouri fairly easily and passed through Joplin which didn't have much for route 66. many of the larger places tend to have less for original route buildings or signs or anything especially as we get further east. so we kept moving to Carthage which we could not figure out for the life of us! we got lost somehow in the small downtown which a roundabout circling a whole building. we couldn't even find any of the sights we had listed but when we finally figured out how to get out of the town we did! we moved through a couple little towns with little to no sights and finally made our way just before Springfield where we were camping for the night. we enjoyed dinner and relaxing. later that night we saw fireflies! we caught a couple and let them go of course but that was pretty cool to see. i hear there are more and bigger fireflies as we get more into the Iowa area so we can't wait to see them!