Friday, 25 August – Pontiac IL

We sleep in deservedly after our early get-up yesterday and when it warms up take ourselves off to hike the Central Trail Loop by the lake.  We get it right today, don’t go walkabout this time and it’s a nice walk.  There are 9 miles of trails within the 700 acres of the Preserve.  Kim waits for me on a park bench while I powerwalk the loop around the lake, he is watching the work being done on replacing the 50 year old natural gas line which dissects the Burnidge Forest Preserve.  The line was originally buried underground but is now being rebuilt above round to preserve the land.

Then around 11am we hit the road driving south to meet up with I55, through the attractive little town of Geneva.  We need diesel pretty soon and the first stop is a Speedway.  The pump would only give us $35 worth so I go inside to get them to release the pump so we can get more, but the nice little Indian man could not find a way to release the pump without an actual quantity of diesel being dispensed.  So after a few futile minutes holding up the queue we are outta there and looking for a better option which eventuates 3 miles down the road and it was $0.15/gallon cheaper!  But now I am starting to feel sorry for the little Indian man who lost a $100 sale.

We detour off the I55 at Dwight so we can drive some of Route 66 - take some photos on the way through. 

Ambler-Becker Texaco - Route 66 Dwight IL

More old petrol bowsers - Dwight IL
Then mosie on to Pontiac where we find the Route 66 Association Hall of Fame.  It was brilliant, could have spent hours there, very well done.  Exhibits really celebrated the glory days, portraying life in the 1940’s, lots of war stuff too and the Bob Waldmire experience (Road Yacht and VW Minivan in which he toured Route 66).  Then we wandered around the town looking at the murals and the miniature Art Cars, so cute! Took heaps of photos, wore out one battery and half of the spare.

Iconic Route 66 Mural, Pontiac IL

Mini-Me

Chevy Road Yacht, how you did it back in the day!

Mural Route 66 route from Chicago to LA

Coke Mural, Pontiac IL


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