2014-10-13 Moving Day to Lincoln, IL

Yesterday we went to a very nice church, the First Baptist Church of Pontiac. We were warmly greeted and given a bad of goodies (Bible, informational brochure, book marker, mug, and a pen). Their pews were very comfortable and we sang songs out of the hymnal that were also displayed via computer on the overhead screen. Great small town church.

Our drive today is only about 70 miles to Lincoln, IL so we'll visit some sites along the Road. We are moving from #15 to #16 today. Hold down Shift and click the map for a larger size map.

When the Route 66 Bypass was built, Lexington decided they still needed to let drivers know that Lexington still existed, so they erected this sign pointing toward downtown.

10 miles further down the Road was Towanda and Illinois' famous "Deadman's Curve", where many accidents happened because drivers were driving too fast for the narrow and sharply curved roadway.

We've seen quite a few re-creations of Burma Shave signs in these small towns. Today's reads...
The wolf
Is shaved
So neat and trim
Red Riding Hood
Is chasing him
Burma-Shave

Entering the Normal/Bloomington area on old Route 66 we pulled up to this old Tudor Style gas station/restaurant.

The David Davis Mansion is impressively large but closed. He was a supreme court justice and Senator from Illinois. He was a judge during the time Lincoln was a lawyer and heard many of his cases. He was instrumental in helping Abe get the Republican nomination for the Presidency in 1859.

In downtown Bloomington we found a place on the street to park the truck and 5th wheel for the 2 hours that we toured the McLean County Museum of History.

Abe was out front waiting for us and although I did all the talking, we had a nice chat. He's a good listener.

Inside the old McLean County Courthouse, built in 1905, it was beautiful.

A reason to come back is that the basement will soon house the Cruising with Lincoln on 66 Museum. Cool logo.

"Encounter on the Prairie" is their permanent exhibit in 4 rooms.

There was a People Gallery that told about all the different immigrants that made up the region and what interesting items they brought with them.

The Work Gallery gave examples of the occupations of the residents.

Abraham Lincoln and Adlai Stevenson were featured in the Politics Gallery and the Farming Gallery showed how farming has changed over the years.

Main Courtroom

There was a great hands-on exhibit about everyday things the pioneers had to do.

It was a good day to do a museum because the driving weather was gray and drizzly.

Our home for the next 3 nights is Camp A While Campground, surrounded by corn fields. Our night here was punctuated by our first tornado warning. By the time we were setup the alert was removed for our county

2014-10-11 Shopping in Pontiac, IL

For a small town there really seems to be a lot to do here in Pontiac, IL. Most of the towns along Route 66 are doing a great job with signage.

Originally, Route 4 went through the towns in Illinois. This bridge and roadway have been rebuilt, but to really attract visitors they preserved the 4 ends of this 1926 bridge and stenciled the image on the ends of the posts.

These are the educational markers along the route. This one tells about the tunnel they build under Route 66 in order to safely get children to the school that used to sit on this site.

We shopped for a few hours and bought some clothing in town and then headed to the north end of town to have lunch at the Old Log Cabin. (I happen to be talking to Aunt Jeanne about a computer problem that we solved later that night)

We traveled the length of the Route to the south end of town where this old Police Headquarters was. It's unique in that is was designed in the shape of a derringer pistol.

The next town south was Lexington and they have preserved a section of the old road that they call Memory Lane that you can occasionally drive on. We drove one way and walked it as well.

Stick with me on this explanation. Originally there was Route 4. It was changed into Route 66. That Route 66 was used for 10-15 years depending on the city. Then Route 66 Bypass was built that went around the towns. Then another Route 66 Bypass was built next to the first one after it deteriated.

All 3 of these roads converge at the beginning of Memory Lane in Lexington. They turned the 1st road into Memory Lane.

The 2nd roadway they paved over part of it and use it as a walking/biking trail.

The 3rd roadway is what we drive on from town to town.

Pontiac also has a disc golf course. (Yes, it IS a perfect town). Karen and I went and played. The 18th hole gives you the option of throwing your Frisbee across the Vermilion River. I did.

2014-10-10 Pontiac, IL Route 66 Museum

Here is a map with the places we've camped so far on our trip. Click on the map to get a larger view.

Friday seemed to be "Museum Day" for us. After the Pontiac Museum we headed over to the Route 66 Association Hall of Fame & Museum less than two blocks away.

The Museum is preserving the memories of those who have traveled Route 66 and spent times in its hotels, restaurants, and cities.

The showcases highlighted famous landmarks starting in Chicago and working west.

Places we've already been on our trip were represented with icons and memorabilia; Chicago, Joliet, Wilmington, and Gardner.

We knew we'd be in the other cities represented in the other cases, but we didn't "know" them yet; McLean, Lincoln, Springfield, and Litchfield.

Bob Waldmire was an ardent support of the Mother Road and he traveled many miles promoting it in his VW Bus.

Bobby Troup (you may remember him as a doctor on the TV show, Emergency!) wrote the classic song "Route 66". He had a case also.

We spent an hour reading through everything before heading upstairs to some unusual exhibits.

A series of rooms was themed to the American Lifestyle in the 1940's.

In the same building was the Livingston County War Museum. There were about a hundred military uniforms on mannequins and each one had a real person's name on it, what unit he/she was in, and where he/she was deployed.

Outside contained a few more surprises. Bob Waldmire also had a larger bus.

There was also the world's largest Route 66 sign that provided one of the best photo ops in the world.

2014-10-10 Pontiac Oakland Automobile Museum

We are spending 5 days in Pontiac. We might need more.


Hold down the SHIFT KEY and click on Pontiac, IL to see a larger map

There are so many things good about this town. Four free museums, Lincoln sites and sounds, 3 swinging bridges, a beautifully restored County Courthouse, friendly Midwest people, and an 18 hole disc golf course.

I don't want to start doing reviews of Laundromats but the one in Pontiac was very nice. Clean clothes, reasonably priced, and the clothes actually got dry without having put in more money.

Yesterday we took a day off and went for a walk in the parks that line the Vermilion River in Pontiac.

The three swinging bridges span the river within a 1/2 mile stretch of each other.

During our walking adventure we found an 18 hole disc golf course that was in two of the parks. The 18 hole had you throw ACROSS the river to get to the basket.

Abraham Lincoln came to the city quite a few times. Sprinkled around the city are very nice informational plaques explaining why he was here.

One visit was accidental, caused by his train not being able to proceed north because of a snow drift. Townspeople rescued him and the other passengers and put them up for a few days. That's the kind of people in that still live in this town.

Here's a famous statue of Abe in front of the County Courthouse.

We have a couple we met many years ago in our roller coaster club, Chuck and Eva. Their other hobby was Pontiac cars. Chuck and a couple of other enthusiasts helped open the Pontiac Oakland Automobile Museum in town about 3 years ago.

The curator of the museum, Tim Dye, gave us the grand tour when we stopped by.

We walked around a bit on our own and then he showed us the good stuff. He took us upstairs where they have at least two more museums worth of Pontiac stuff to show off.

Before there was I-55 or Route 66 or Highway 4 there was the Pontiac Trail. This may be the last ceramic sign of that highway.

And then there's a bunch more car memorabilia in the basement as well.

When asked what other cars they have I think his final total was 50, spread in various garages and buildings around town.

He took us to one such building down the street that might have had 7 cars in it including this rare Pontiac Yellow Bird.

Tim and Penny have really put a ton of work into the museum and they keep crazy hours. We were in town late a couple of nights and I still saw their pickup truck sitting outside.