My Route 66 Road Trip
info@my66roadtrip.com
Clearwater, Florida
The early morning was a short walk to the beginning of Route 66 at Adams and Michigan in downtown Chicago, where we did a couple of takes in the light rain. Only the battery in the receiver for the wireless mic died, despite charging before we left home. And I was in great form! I swear! Looks like I’ll be re-doing the audio back in the studio…
Next was a visit to the Museum of Science & Industry. I don’t remember much as a kid, other than I thought it was pretty incredible. Dillon and I were disappointed. There wasn’t as much science and industry as I expected. With the cost of admission and special events, the (lousy) lunch & parking, it was close to $200.
The things we liked – a lot:
Things that were pretty cool:
The rest of it wasn’t much science, although some of it was interesting. The only real industry was covered above.
Dollar for dollar, I like The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, MI a lot more.
A quick dip of the toe in Lake Michigan and fill the green bottle with Lake Michigan water. It’s much colder than the Gulf of Mexico! I was tempted to drink it, looked very clear, but resisted temptation. Surprisingly, there was a guy there in a swimsuit who looked like he was training in the nippy waters.
The beach we visited was on what used to be Meigs Field, until the city tore up the runway and converted it into a park. I flew into that airport in the 90s, landing a Cessna 172 and making dang sure I didn’t land short. The runway went all the way to the seawall, so a short landing meant you were either ripping the landing gear off or landing in the water.
It’s over to Michigan Ave and the beginning of the drive west on Historic Route 66 on a drizzly, overcast afternoon.
It’s a rather boring drive west on Adams, then southwest on Ogden, darting here and there until we finally hit the open road. The first big landmark was Joliet Prison in Joliet, IL, home to Joliet Jake of the Blues Brothers for several years. The prison is now closed. It’s an eerie site, seeing a place where men were imprisoned. It struck us odd that they’re called correctional institutions, as not much correction has gone on int he past. But I digress. The closed facility makes an interesting photo shoot.
Leaving Joliet, we passed by Pops across from Chicagoland Speedway just south of Joliet. Who could resist a shot of the Bluesmobile up on a pole?
My Route 66 Road Trip
info@my66roadtrip.com
Clearwater, Florida