Last year, when we started out on our three week road trip vacation, we picked up Route 66 in St. Louis. We knew then, that we would never have the time to start at the beginning and make it to the end and back home in three weeks, so we had to make the decision to pick up Route 66 as close to home as possible. Starting in St. Louis was an excellent choice for last year, but we also knew that the trip would not be complete until we were able to drive the 300 miles of Route 66 in Illinois. So, we considered our journey incomplete until we had done that. The hardest part was waiting until the best time for us, and the route, to get back on and finish up. At first we thought about a Spring Break trip, we started to think seriously about that, and I got started on the research. Well, I quickly realized that our Spring Break was considerably early this year. Jon's birthday is April 1st, and usually Spring Break falls somewhere around then, either before or after, but this year, it was March 16-20th. That really put a kink in things, I knew weather in Illinois in March can be unpredictable. It could be moderate as far as temperature, or it could be snowing and blowing. The real kicker, however, was when I realized we would be in Chicago on the weekend of St. Patrick's Day. Now that would normally be pretty cool, but when traveling with a young son and my mother, the appeal was lost. Not to mention, it would be a lot more crowded and harder to maneuver around town to see the sites we wanted to see, and the price of hotel rooms skyrocketed! So, we had to think again. We decided to stay in the south for spring break (we ended up going to Dallas, TX to see family), and plan our Route 66 completion for early summer. Best. Decision. Ever!
So we started out on our trip on Monday, June 8th, driving to Chicago. It was a long day of driving, being as it is just under 500 miles from our place to Chicago. We got loaded up and got out on the road by about 9:30am, not as early as we had hoped, but not too far behind our plan. We decided to go a different route up, since we have driven the stretch of I-65 from Nashville to Chicago many times on our frequent trips to Michigan to visit family. We decided, instead, to drive up I-24 through Paducah, KY and take I-57 up to Chicago. We made a stop in Metropolis, IL to stretch our legs and check out the Home of Superman!
After checking out the Superman town, we got back on the road to continue on. We drove for a while before we stopped for lunch in Salem, IL. After lunch, I checked my trusty Roadside Attractions App and found a quirky little place right on the other side of town. So we headed over to check it out. The place is the home of Richard Pollack, and he has very unique "art" in his yard!
After that little stop, we got back on the road, destined to reach Chicago as soon as possible. It was still another 4 hours before we would get there, since we really had only made it half way at this point. So, with only one stop in Arcola, IL, for gas and an ice cream cone, we made a beeline to Chicago and our hotel near Midway Airport. We were just a few miles from our exit, when we were SLAMMED with High Winds and Heavy Rain, nearly trying to blow us off the road, but we made it through and made it to the hotel before dark. Dinner that night was at the hotel restaurant, because we were all so tired and didn't feel like eating much or even getting in the car.It was on to bed pretty quick, too. Big day ahead the next day!
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