Day 1 Route 66 - Chicago to Pontiac 98.1 miles

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WE HAVE SURVIVED our first day on the Mother Road!!

But, before we started our journey on Route 66 we had to do a couple more things in Chicago. First we had to go back out to O'Hare International Airport to drop off the transponder, eTag thingy that Bernie was convinced we had to have when we picked the car up on Sunday afternoon. It's to pay the tolls on the tollways. On Sunday, the woman who processed our car hire pick-up convinced Bernie that we would need it to get around Chicago but, because we only drove to Ray's and then caught the train for two days, we really did not need it. With 20/20 hindsight we wouldn't have taken it on Sunday. Because it adds around US$40/week to our car hire we really needed to get rid of it rather than take it with us to LA.

Next we had to go to Calumet Photographics because Bernie wanted to trade in a couple of his lenses on a 70-300L lens at US prices. Good plan, but they didn't have one in stock so Bernie had to leave empty handed!! Maybe we will be able to seek out another photographic supply store along the way?

That left us ready and raring to start our journey across the US of A. Bernie had downloaded a Route 66 itinerary for Edna so we called up Ogden Avenue so that we could start as close to downtown as we thought feasible. After just one false turn (that Edna took in her stride) we were on our way and it wasn't long before we saw our first Route 66 'sight' the Giant Hot Dog sign at Henry's Drive In. Woo hoo, betta get a photo!

Armed with Jerry McClanahan's 'EZ66 Guide for Travelers' and the SatNav itinerary it wasn't long before we realised that it was going to be difficult to reconcile these two with the Historic Route 66 signposts that we were seeing posted regularly along the route. With Route 66 having been re-routed in many instances, there is no definitive route to follow these days ... it is open to interpretation and we were finding that our three different guides were not agreeing with each other!!!

Having become reliant on Edna, our first inclination was to go with the itinerary that was loaded for her to talk us through. Hmmn, the problem was that the itinerary was broken down into sectors that had to be loaded progressively as our destination. This got very tedious, very quickly as some sectors were only hundreds of yards long!!

After our first deviation from the signposted route, I said to Bernie that I felt like we were going around in a big circle. And guess what? That's because we were!!! Although we were almost back to the Giant Hot Dog sign before Bernie could be convinced that we were heading back to Chicago!!!!!

So we did a U-turn and I was entrusted with keeping an eye out for the Historic Route 66 signposts so that we would rely on those as our means of navigation. This proved to be a good decision because soon we were passing Montana Charlie's Little America Flea Market and White Fence Farms.

In not time at all we were crossing the drawbridge over the Des Plaines River into Joliet where we popped into the Route 66 Welcome Centre and Gift Shop. A very helpful man there told us a little bit about his experience on the Mother Road and gave us a couple more pamphlets to potentially confuse us even further!! After a quick walk around town, which failed to discover the Rialto Square Theatre, we walked back to the car to continue on our way. But first we put the top down!!

Just down the road at Wilmington we encountered our first giant - the Gemini Giant at the Launching Pad Drive In. He's the dude in a space helmet holding a rocket in his hands. Since it was lunchtime we decided to eat at the Launching Pad Drive In where the proprietor was quite chuffed that we were visiting from Australia.

Our next stop was at the Polka Dot Drive In at Braidwood for ice-creams. After three Drive Ins with no projection screen in sight, it dawned on Bernie that these are drive-in diners not drive-in theatres!! The Polka Dot is a diner with classic '50s decor that was much brighter than the Launching Pad which seemed to be struggling for its survival in comparison. Unfortunately, both diners have to compete with McDonalds these days! They have way more character than McDonalds though.

Route 66 continued onwards through Godley to Gardner and then into Dwight where we stopped to visit the Ambler-Becker Texaco Gas Station. This was a classic cottage-style servo that was designed to make travelers feel at home along their route. The gas station serves as the Dwight Visitor Information Centre and it was staffed this afternoon by four lovely ladies who had their deck chairs pulled up in a circle enjoying the sun while they waited to assist tourists from far flung corners of the world!!

Once again we found the locals quite excited that we were visiting all the way from Australia. They have a map of the world on their wall and they give you a pin to put in the map to show where you have come from. I was so disappointed that I didn't get to put in the first pin for Melbourne, Australia!! It was only the second pin for this year though.

And on into Odell, where we found the quaint little white with blue trim Standard Oil Filling Station and Cayuga, which is famous for its advert for the Meramec Caverns painted on the side of a barn.

We arrived in Pontiac about 4.30pm and booked into the Best Western before going to the Walmart just down the road for some supplies. The ladies in Dwight recommended the Italian restaurant, Bernardi's, for dinner so that was where we went.

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