Our off-66 detour couldn’t have been more enjoyable last night. We arrived at BoomR and BluVox’s gorgeous home in North Dallas, at which time they treated us to a positively magnificent dinner at Chamberlain’s Steak and Chop House. It was a religious experience — and I’m still bloated. I was a member of the Clean Plate Club fo sho. A big piece of crusty bread, a Caesar salad, a medium-rare filet mignon, garlic mashed potatoes, and several sample bites from this —

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— all gone, down the hatch, into the gullet.

The food was matched only by the company and the conversation. I love these guys! We all had a great time and a ton of laughs, and I’m looking forward to when BoomR comes to visit me in September.

Now if I can drag myself to the shower and the car, we’ll get on with this thing. I’m never eating again. I mean it. Fly me over the Super Bowl.

PiggyFink

Flying down the interstate today. We want to reach BoomR’s house as quickly as we can, YaaAAaaAAy
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But yesterday, we avoided the expressway almost completely and stayed on the Old Road. And while we saw some delightful stops along the way, the commercial devastation caused by the advent of the interstate highway was impossible to miss. Some of the little towns we drove through had just dried up, with abandoned remnants of better days standing guard over the two-lane road that once was the signature thoroughfare between Illinois and California.

Some out-of-the-way places have really capitalized on tourism, however, and seem to do really well. For those of you not on Facebook, one of my favorite stops was the World’s Largest Rocking Chair in Fanning, MO, where we spent some time at the Trading Post and did some shopping.

We drove through Cuba and saw another Route 66 classic — the Wagon Wheel Motel. Built in the 1930s, it embodies the old-style “motor court” establishment, with stone cottages built from pieces of Ozark mountain rock.

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Great day, full of fantastic memories, with a comfortable night in the “Route 66 Room” at the world famous Munger Moss Motel. I’m uploading most of my pictures to Facebook, and if you don’t do the FB thing, email me and I’ll send you a public link to them. Fun stuff.

Speaking of fun…writing the blog in the car is just that. Having family and fiends to share it with: amazing.

Fink (and the Thriller), Dallas bound

Yesterday embodied a true Route 66 experience. As everyone knows, food can really enhance a vacation, but atmosphere can make it. Such was the case in the small towns of Atlanta and Litchfield, Illinois.

As we exited the interstate and kept to the “Old Road,” as all the locals call it, we came upon various little hideaway burgs with old Americana charm, and the food and atmosphere did not disappoint.

We were hungry for lunch, so we stopped at the Palms Grill Cafe in Atlanta. Originally built in the 1940s, it had fallen into disrepair (or was damaged by fire…I can’t remember and don’t have time to research it this morning). Several years ago, someone sank tens of thousands into its restoration. He did a great job.

It was great fun to sit at the marble counter and watch as one woman waited all nine tables, with her sons filling drink glasses and bussing. Period signs and neon decorated the walls, and big band music played on a stereo. They served the drinks in those tall, wavy glasses. You know the ones I mean? Very cool.

After lunch, it was on to another signature restaurant on the Old Road. The Ariston Cafe was opened in 1935 by a Greek immigrant. It is run today by his son and his wife — both of whom regaled us with tales from the old days. It was delightful.

The people were just as charming as the ambience. Fabulous day yesterday, capped off by a couple of fun (and profitable, yay) hours at the Lumiere Casino in St. Louis.

If this is what being on vacation feels like, I think I adore it.

Well, we must fly. We’re leaving the delightful Budget Lodging in a few minutes, trying to outrun a huge thunderstorm, seen here out our room door:

I guess it won’t matter for awhile though, since we’ll be underground at Meramec Caverns, 12 miles down the road. Yay! I’m on vacation.

FO

Howdy from the road, fiends! (Tethering is fun.)

At this moment, we’re driving along Old 66; far away from the interstate. Towns of 600 and 800 population dot the landscape. But I have to back up a bit first.

Joliet was our first stop, as you know. We went downtown this morning after breakfast and walked around. Some quaint shops and a couple of interesting things to see, but the Route 66 museums and visitor centers were not yet open at 7 a.m. on a Sunday. So we walked and looked and didn’t hurry.

This isn’t Route 66-related, but it was a sight to behold all the same. Take a look at the photos of Joliet Township High School — although they won’t do the place justice. The building — built in 1901 — takes up an entire city block. Look at the architecture. Kind of like Gothic/Roman meets medieval haunted castle meets Mansfield Correctional Institution. We wished that it would have been open for a tour.

We also experienced our first Muffler Man sighting, although we couldn’t get inside the minor league ballpark (where the Joliet Jackhammers play) to see it up close. So I peered through the stadium chain link fence:

Anyway, onward we went, off the beaten trail and onto Historic 66, which runs right alongside the interstate in many places.

First stop was Wilmington, IL. Of course, we had to get a photo taken at our second Muffler Man discovery:

On the way to Odell right now, to unearth an old 1930s Sinclair gas station. More later — we love not being in a hurry to get somewhere. Weird feeling….

XO

Indeed. The Detroit skyline (complete with the Goodyear blimp in the distance) is going to provide excellent cover for the drive west today.

More updates as they become available — we’re going to go downstairs (yes, at 9:25 a.m.) to have a leisurely breakfast before leaving the hotel. Then it’s 4.5 hours to Joliet, and off we go.

Happy weekend, everyone. Yay!