Chapter 2 - Morning, 11/6/18

Keeping it simple.

We met Sunday afternoon, late, in Chicago. Our first order of business was to find where Route 66 started and we did that and got the requisite pictures. The first night will be in a later chapter.

Right now, we're on our very first morning after a restful night of sleep in a DeLuxe 50s-60s style motel. The kind you'd encounter on a trip on the Mother Road back in those glory days.

But Michelle wasn't feeling too comfortable. Hahaha, not a great endorsement for a peaceful night's sleep. I'm sure it was just an anxious pup. Pretty sure. Relatively sure. I'm hoping it was just an anxious pup.

Amy enjoying the retro Key with Tag on it for the room. Hahaha, like she never saw one of these when she was little. Still, it fit into the 'sense' of the era we were visiting.

Flashback to a time now gone forever.

Hahaha, high-tech!! When this baby was built there weren't any AC room units to build in with them. The AC back then was open a window and deal with it. But then they went and got all modern.

Honestly, I'm sorta surprised to see a window-mount AC. I imagine these are going the way of the key-entry doors now.

But sleep we did and then it was load up the mini and let's hit the Road to Adventure. And we took the time to organize a bit.

One of the first sights we saw in Pontiac, Il, were the Cottage Houses. Seems they were built en mass for a business here, a factory of sorts. These are the ones that are left. It was interesting to see the homes and their neighborhoods.

Oh, BTW, we were all taken with Pontiac. Cool beans.

 One of the many magnificent County Courthouses built to proclaim their prosperity to all who visited.

OK, I confess, I do not remember where these pictures were taken. I thought they were in Pontiac but I checked Google Maps and . . . it wasn't there.

So, here's a downtown area. It could be any of hundreds of small American cities. It's beautiful and it is alive. Centered around the town square the road in the square is made of brick. 

The hotel on the Square. Once an important part of this growing and vibrant community. And one of the jewels in their crown.

I do love the architecture of years past. Functional but with beauty. The lives of the people living back then were hard enough and they used every opportunity they could to introduce some beauty into their lives.

And to tell the world how good they were doing. 

Love this. I really enjoyed the trip through Illinois and Missouri. Mostly because of these small towns that Main Street, USA, motored through. 

There is a beauty, a simplicity that really calls to me. I could live in a small town like this. I could.

The Mother Road tied all these communities together and gave them prosperity and a chance to grow.

And we would say this often, but we were really lucky to be traveling during the "Peak Week" for the changing seasons. It was colorful, beautiful and always spectacular.

On the country roads between here and there. 

And I am constantly reminded of how fortunate I am to have been born in the United States.

And the beauty of it was all around . . . every day along every part of the Route.

Colorful and beautiful but still you can see this land has a certain harshness to it. To tame it and control it you had to be hard and strong. The people that took this land were formidable. And they did it and built something wonderful.

Peak Week.

The early morning light was just beautiful. I tell you, I didn't fully realize it at the time, we were just starting and there was a long way to go yet, but I was having a great time seeing America.

Riding the Mother Road.

And it was everywhere as we drove along.

I love the old gas stations. Neat, utilitarian but with a certain beauty. 

I could see coming here to work every morning. The pride of ownership must have been tremendous.

Michelle made me get a picture with the gas pumps at every one we stopped by. Hahaha, I enjoyed being forced to pose for 'just one more.'

And every morning there was a small treat or present waiting for me on the front seat of the mini. Here's one from the first full day. 

Tic-Tac D'ohs!!

And they tasted good. You can't see it here, but each one had Homer's face on it. A yellow tic-tac with Homer's face. 

Delicious, fun and delightful.

I had such a good time that first morning. And it kept on going. The start of my best birthday ever.