Today will be our very first complete day spent on Route 66. And it’s going to be a beautiful day, even though we start out in a downpour. We leave Joliet after doing some necessary stuff like shopping for drinks and lunch, grabbing some cash at an atm and filling up the car with gas. Our first stop today is the Gemini spaceman at the Launchpad Drive-in in Wilmington. The drive-in doesn’t really exist in authentic state anymore but the spaceman is still there. It is a relic of a time when these statues were used in many places as a roadway sign and advertisement.

We drive on, past the Polka-dot Drive In, which is sadly closed, so we can only take a picture on the outside. With Jonathan included of course!

In Gardner, we take a quick look at the local oddities, like the 2-cell jail and the Streetcar Diner (no longer a diner, but the car is still there).

Our next stop is in Dwight, where there is a fully restored Ambler’s Texaco Gas station, one of the longest operating stations along the Route, it was open for 66 (!) years. We speak for awhile with Jerry, a volunteer who mans the station now and welcomes guests. We’re the only ones but we don’t mind. It makes for great pictures and Jerry is really nice! As a kid, he used to hang out at the station and look at the cars coming in to be serviced.

The next stop is Pontiac. And that name might ring a bell. Indeed. The car brand. So it makes sense that there IS a Pontiac museum. Its really nice, and free. There’s even a pontiac station wagon from the 60’s from Calgary, with original plate, on display!

This little town is very…I don’t know how to describe it. Imagine Back to the Future, the little town of the first movie. It is very much like that. Square with the town hall in the center. Shops around it. It is a typical, idyllic, classic American town. It gives a small peek in how the US looked and felt like in the 60’s.

Since we pass through it anyway, we stop quickly at the Chenoa Pharmacy in …well…Chenoa. It is open since 1889 (!) and is still located in the original building where you can see the original wooden chests with the white knobs, as well as the original ceiling and counters in the back.

Next up is Lexington, where we have lunch while sitting ON the original Route 66 pavement. A special experience!

We drive through many more small places but the next real stop is in Atlanta. The above pic shows the C70 in Main Street, with Route 66 sign on the road. It is here that Jonathan faces a very difficult choice : which license plates to buy? He found about 20 he likes, but that’s simply too much. Eventually we settle on 3, which makes the total 5 plates bought so far (he bought 2 in the Pontiac museum too).

The picture below is taken at a gas station we encountered which isn’t in any of the guides we have with us. It is in Elkhart or Sherman, I forgot the precise location. But we could drive the C70 in front of it which makes for a fun sight!

And that brings us to Springfield IL, a bigger city which we traverse until we encounter the Cozy Dog Drive in on the South side. It is the perfect place for an early dinner. This establishment is run by the Waldmire family. One of the Waldmires, Bob, traveled along Route 66 and drew murals and post cards and is the inspiration for the Cars character Fillmore.

And that about concludes this day! We push on towards Litchfield, because initially we had hoped to go to an old Drive in theater there but it only is open on Friday and Saturday. Our alterntive, the famous Ariston cafe, is closed on Mondays. Luckily, Jonathan has his plates…..