Day 1 - Chicago IL to Bloomington IL - 140 Miles

Day one starts by leaving downtown Chicago and following the historic Route 66 towards California.

Willowbrook IL

We scheduled it so we could stop in for a bite at Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket & Cocktail Lounge just in time for their famous fried chicken buffet.

Little has changed since they opened in 1946

Unfortunately, they recently lost their iconic neon sign which, if still in service, would have looked like this:

Joliet IL

While maybe not "classic" Route 66, Joliet gave us a couple opportunities for photographs.

I would be remiss if we didn't take a small detour from Route 66 and do a quick Blues Brother tour. First up... a visit to the now abandoned Joliet Prison.

...and bless the town for embracing their moment in Hollywood cinematic history.

Wilmington IL

One of the first classic roadside attention grabbers is the Gemini Spaceman at the now defunct Launching Pad Cafe.

Braidwood IL

Home of the Polk-a-Dot Drive-in which opened in 1962, gives us an opportunity for "famous" chili-cheese fries and ice cream sundaes.

Gardner IL

Unfortunately, Gardner lost one if its claims to Route 66 lore when its Street Car Diner burned down. However, the historic society has replaced it with a similar street car as a reminder, which just happens to be located next to their 1906 2-cell jail.

Dwight IL

Dwight offers us one of the first restored gas stations on our trip with its 1930 Texaco Station.

Odell IL

A restored 1932 Standard Oil Station is next.

Cayuga IL

Even vintage advertising is preserved as seen on this restored barn, calling attention to the upcoming Meremec Caverns in Missouri.  Well... IF we can get across the Mississippi River flooding tomorrow.

Pontiac IL

Pontiac hosts the Illinois State Route 66 Museum and Hall of Fame.

As well as multiple murals, including this 66 ft. long depiction of the road ahead.

While not Route 66 related, they had a really cool County Courthouse visible from the main road.

Chenoa IL

While we are following the original route we are driving on a modern highway.  However, paralleling our travels as we head into Bloomington are sections of the ORIGINAL Route 66.  Kinda cool.