My Route 66 Road Trip
info@my66roadtrip.com
Clearwater, Florida
A night in a so-so Super 8 motel room, booked out of necessity. It was called a suite but really it should be called the “romance” suite for the very large jacuzzi tub in the corner of the bedroom area. After a morning getting work done, it was on the road. Flat roads. Lots of road bordering I-55. Several cool small towns, several nicely restored gas stations and a couple of very cool museums. And a President’s repose.
Great photo opportunities in three restored gas stations. Missed one – hard to follow the EZ Pass sometimes.
The unfortunate part is these facilities were closed. It seems most of the small tourist places on Route 66 are closed on Monday and Tuesday, so a drive-by and photo op were all that was available.
Giant people seem to be a thing and a noteworthy one is Giant Hot Dog Man in Atlanta. The guide book says not to miss it! We nearly did, and even though it was late afternoon the shops downtown were closed. Not to worry, there was still an ambiance not to be missed.
This was a VERY pleasant surprise!
The downtown Pontiac area is immaculate and well taken care of. There are two museums, one that holds 6 distinct display areas and the other a Pontiac car museum. Even more surprisingly, both are free!
The main museum has a Route 66 room, a Life on the Titanic exhibit, and art gallery, a “Life in the 1950s” showing how a house was furnished, and more. Of particular note is a military museum with mannequins dressed in correct uniforms for each serviceman and woman from Pontiac who has served. On each uniform breast pocket is a card with the name, rank and details of that person.
The Pontiac car museum is very nicely laid out with several notable Pontiacs, including 3 from the muscle car era, several older models and the only 4-seat Fiero ever made. I like it–the lines remind me of the Lotus Esprit, and that’s not a bad comparison! Very definitely worth seeing.
There are many excellent murals in town, and the favorite has to be the giant Route 66 wall, complete with flowers and drive-up entry for those great photo ops. Which I took advantage of.
There are two nice restaurants next to the car museum and we had the hashbrown hamburger. Not something you find every day! And great custard. We sampled that, too.
I heartily recommend including a visit to Pontiac, IL in your itinerary.
I am partial to this picture because the white and blue so nicely captures the blue in my Corvette. We missed the turn into downtown Odell from the 66 bypass, then I tried to intercept the charted route and got it wrong. After stumbling around in the wrong places, got back on Route 66 in town and drove right by the gas station. Fortunately in these tiny towns you can’t get too lost!
I wonder if there’s anyone in the town of Normal, IL with a last name of Ab? First name Iam?
(Iam Ab, Normal, IL. Figure it out.)
Whether there is or not, this really nice gas station and family home is nicely situated in a residential area just before you get to Illinois State University. Very much worth seeing.
No gas station in Atlanta, but there is Giant Hot Dog Man. We missed it driving through the downtown area, had to circle around and eventually saw it when driving up to Main St from the side. Seems there are tall trees on both sides that obscured my vision. While admiring Giant Hot Dog Man from across the street, a local gent slowed down, zipped down his window and asked where we’re from, to which he replied, “Welcome to Atlanta!” You don’t get that in the big city.
Besides being a cool spot to check out, two items are worth mentioning.
A spur-of-the-moment decision to make a short detour to see Lincoln’s Tomb. At the end of a street in a quiet residential area is one impressive cemetery with majestic trees and rolling hills. A short distance inside is a stately edifice that holds the remains of Abe, his wife and three of his four children. The fourth is buried at Arlington.
I’ve never visited a presidential library or home before. I have seen the chair Lincoln sat in when he was shot, on display at Greenfield Village. I’ve never met a president in person, so viewing the tomb was not what I would normally do. But hey, the guy is famous for a reason and by all accounts was a damn good president. I felt a visit was in order.
The tomb is impressive. His Gettysburg address and his farewell speech to the people of Springfield when he left to assume the presidency are displayed in bronze.
There’s a bust of Lincoln out front that people rub the nose for good luck. You can see the shiny bronze of the nose from 100 feet away, not matching the dark brown color of the rest of the bust. A sign now says, “Don’t rub the sculptures.” Close inspection of the shiny nose reveals a small rectangle where a piece of bronze has been fitted in place.
My Route 66 Road Trip
info@my66roadtrip.com
Clearwater, Florida