Ugh, nothing but rain. I got a late start today, and by the time I arrived at the starting point in Chicago, it was pouring rain, with lots of traffic in downtown Chicago. I had never driven Chicago downtown before, and was a bit nervous, but I made it without much ado. It's interesting how people drive in downtown Chicago, lanes don't seem to matter and drivers are all over the place. In the wrong lane? Just pull out and point your car in the right direction...easy peasy.
I couldn't wait to get out of Chicago to see the "real" Route 66. I was not disappointed when I entered Joliet, Illinois. Most of the pictures you see above were taken in and around Joliet. Since it was pouring rain and most everything was closed, I decided to stay overnight in Joliet and hopefully explore more of Route 66 tomorrow.
One of the historic Route 66 attractions in Joliet are the gas pumps around downtown on Cass Street. I found one of them, as you can see from the picture above, and hope to find more tomorrow by exploring a bit. I also want to take the walking tour of downtown Joliet starting at the Route 66 Museum (can you say free!) you see above, as well as the Rialto Square Theatre and the Barton Grande Organ in the main theatre. There's also an Irish pub and a "lift" bridge. Hmmm, sounds interesting.
Of course on my way through Joliet, I had to stop for ice cream at the Route 66 ice cream shop. I love the Blues Brothers on the roof near the neon sign dancing away. The site the ice cream shop rests on has a walk way and playground for kids to burn off some pent up energy and give parents a break from screaming kids. The one statue is Mother Nature, but the other dude, I'm not sure who he is. It was raining and he looked interesting so I took his picture. :0) Notice how green everything is down here? Just stunningly beautiful.
We've stopped for the night at a Wyndham just south of Joliet and Gnomeo has already snoozed off into slumber in his own bed. Little guy gets tired easily and is not much of a conversationalist. Oh well, as long as he's up for some fun tomorrow!
