The Mother Road Part 3

Travels with Caroline and Party Research Part 3

When we first decided to take our party research on the road, we really figured we’d cover what we could of Route 66 over a few days at spring break and that would be it.  As soon as we got home from our Joplin to New Mexico journey, we realized we HAD to finish what we started.  The biggest obstacle to driving the Mother Road is really getting to a starting point and then making the drive back home. Driving to the beginning point can add at least a day if not two to the entire drive time, and I don’t know about you, but we really just don’t have that kind of time (after all we do have to figure out how to build a paper mache Blue Whale of Catoosa).  Thankfully, Southwest Airlines (gotta support the SWAPA pilots) is celebrating its 50th anniversary with cheap flights!  So, we booked 3 flights to Chicago.  Then I realized that Caroline had 30 Hour Famine, so we re-booked 3 flights to Chicago to find out 2 days later that not even Friday nights are safe from middle school orchestra concerts, so we re-booked them again declaring that we would absolutely NOT move them one more time!   

When the day of our much anticipated trip finally arrived, we got up at an insane hour of the morning, called an Uber and headed for the airport.  Thankfully, our flight was on time, and we boarded the plane with only the minor drama of Alex being out of numerical boarding order which got him a quick rebuke from the the gate attendant.  Once on board, it was very clear that while Texas might be easing up mask requirements, Southwest was not.  It was a constant mantra from the flight crew; they even printed mask instructions on the napkins.

We landed in Chicago, picked up our rental car and set out for the starting point of the Mother Road.  Route 66 actually moved around over time.  In some places it is a dramatic change, others like where the starting point is are more subtle.  There are 3 “Begin Route 66 signs” but all of them are located in a 2 block area on E Adams Street in downtown Chicago.  The original one is almost completely covered in stickers, the other two have been relatively left alone.  Caroline and I had to wait a bit at the third sign while a young couple finished up taking their Instagram perfect shots.  We weren’t eavesdropping, but we were close enough to hear them mention taking pictures at the end point in Santa Monica. Thinking we had met more of our fellow travelers, I asked if they were driving the entire route. Nope, they live in LA and were just going to drive down to the pier (cheaters.)

If you look up stops on Route 66 from travel bloggers or trip advisors most of them will suggest that you go to the Chicago Museum of Art as you begin your trip.  After all, it is literally across the street from the most recent unvandalized Begin Route 66 sign.  I love a great Art Museum, but that’s not what this journey is about. Maybe we’ll go back when we do “famous works of art” as a party theme.  We might have skipped the art museum, but we decided to increase our world awareness and opted to listen to Ayann Hirsi Ali’s podcast rather than our usual road trip choice: true crime podcasts. I’m pretty sure the moment Hiri Ali came on, so did Caroline’s giant pink headphones.  At least we tried. 

This trip differed significantly from our journey across Oklahoma and Texas primarily because it featured quite a few places that were as famous for their food as they were any oversized or crazy art.  As a result, we decided to ditch the picnic plan we followed previously and eat at stops along the way.  Let me just issue this warning here, you cannot be on a diet and enjoy this leg of the road.  Understand that you are going to gain 10 pounds, and that you’ll spend the next month working it off, but it’s worth it.

 That being said, our first stop was the Rich and Creamy Ice Cream Shop in Joliet, Illinois.  The Rich and Creamy is described as “typical of ice cream stores that dotted Route 66 in its heyday.”  That sums it up perfectly.  It’s a rather unassuming white building trimmed in teal and pink with a walk-up window.  Most famously, it has Blue’s Brother statues perched on the roof.  I personally have never watched the movie so the tie-in was lost on me (as of this writing I was informed that John Belushi played Joliet Jake in the movie- maybe I’ll have to watch it now).  We hit the Rich and Creamy right around lunch time, so ice cream for lunch it was.  We ate our ice cream and wandered around the park that was directly next to the Rich and Creamy.  The park contained several informational kiosks that once featured highlights along the route in the city and surrounding areas. Unfortunately, the kiosks have been bleached by the sun and torn by the wind and the snow making them barely readable.  We did manage to make out a list of historic gas pumps around the area.

We finished our rather decadent lunch, piled into our Kia Sedona and continued to our next stop the Gemini Giant in Wilmington, Illinois.  The Gemini Giant was the first of 3 “Muffler Men” statues we had on our list for the day.  Chances are you’ve seen a “Muffler Man” statue.  They’re on average 18-24-foot-tall fiberglass statues that were used for decorative and advertising purposes primarily in the 60s.  At 30 feet tall, The Gemini Giant towers outside the Launching Pad restaurant wearing a space suit and helmet that resembles a welder’s mask more than an astronaut’s helmet and holding a rocket.   Since we had ice cream for lunch, we didn’t stop in at the Launching Pad.  In order to get a full shot of the Giant, I took pictures at the gas station across the street. A patron pumping gas smiled at me looking bemused.   I imagine, I was not a unique sight on that corner. 

Our next destination was the Standard Oil Gas Station in Odell, Illinois.  This former gas station was located in the middle of what was mainly large swaths of farmland (if you don’t like driving through farmland don’t make this trip).  The Standard Oil gas station was built in 1932, and copied a design called the domestic style gas station.  It is described as a “house with a canopy” and was supposed to make travelers feel comfortable because they could associate it with home.  Eventually, the owner added a two bay garage in order to stay competitive in the crowded Odell gasoline market.  The station operated in some manner through the late 70’s.  It fell into disrepair as many shuttered businesses do along the Mother Road.  Like the Tower Station the Standard Oil Gas station got a new life when the Village of Odell partnered with the Illinois Route 66 preservation society and other historic groups to preserve the station.  The Standard Oil gas station was definitely one of the busiest places we visited.  It seemed particularly popular with car clubs, notably Corvette drivers.  There were at least 6 Corvettes parked by the station when we got there and 9 by the time we left.  We even noticed a few more headed in that direction as we drove off to our next stop.

Our next two designated stops were the remaining Muffler Men.  Both were versions of Paul Bunyan statues.  On our way to the first one in Atlanta, Illinois we stumbled on a couple of advertisements for Burma Shave.  This was a find for us, because we had the concept slated for a party decoration but didn’t think we’d actually see them along the way (the ads were used from the mid 1920s through the early 1960’s) .  The Burma Shave ads are a series of typically 6 small red signs to be read by the passing “motorists.”  We were treated to “ If hugging- on highways- is your­­­­ sport -trade in -your car-for a Davenport” and “She kissed- the hairbrush – by mistake- she thought it was- her husband Jake.”  There was actually traffic on the road so stopping and standing in the middle of the highway wasn’t really an option, and there wasn’t a good place to pull over and stop. So we made a couple of passes driving slowly trying to get some pictures and turning around and doing it again.  Except for the picture taking, it was sort of like a mini-version of dragging main street in Cedar City circa 1991.

After 3 or 4 passes of Burma Shave signs, we made our way to Atlanta, Illinois the current home of the first Paul Bunyan Statue on our list (the first one Paul Bunyan statue was in Flagstaff, Arizona).  Like the Gemini Giant, Paul “Bunyon” was originally created as a restaurant decor.  This 19 foot fiberglass statue prominently featuring a hot dog initially stood on the roof of a hot dog stand in Cicero, Illinois.  “Bunyon” was popular with the kids and was moved to the entrance where they could climb over and on his large feet.  The hot dog stand closed in 2002, and this hot commodity was moved to Atlanta, Illinois in 2003.  He now stands watch over a sleepy street in a charming small town downtown that seems to exist simply to remind people it was once a part of Route 66.  

As we journeyed from site to site, we tried to stay on the original Route 66 as much as possible. If we’re following Google Maps or Waze this could be difficult because that’s not an option, so we’re left guessing if the “longest” way is really the old Route 66 or another much longer way to get to where we are going.  In some places Illinois was really helpful with this, they had the roads well marked, and for a stretch we were on a road that was a mere 10 feet away from the remnants of the original road. In that stretch the road was lined with decorative trees and a periodic park bench.  It looked like it was intended to be a walking or riding path, though no one appeared to be enjoying it while we were passing by.  Trying to follow the route to specific destinations also proved tricky through here because as I mentioned earlier it moved over time and sometimes dramatically.  There were places throughout the state that would show break-offs to Route 66 and with the designated time that it was the path.  Following the Route 66 path that ran from 1926-1930 might not take you to your next destination if it was built in the 1960’s.  (In trying to find out more information on our experience I stumbled across this article which shows that I clearly didn’t do a ton of research before we started our journey on the Mother Road https://www.railstotrails.org/trailblog/2019/may/14/get-your-kicks-on-route-66-illinois-trail/).

It was also along this stretch of road that we decided that Ayann and her guests were amazing, but listening to her soothing voice for several hours might lull us to sleep.  We changed it up and turned on Smartless where we got to listen to Jason Bateman playing Jason Bateman as a podcast host with Sean Hayes and Will Arnett.  We decided to listen to their episode with Bob Odenkirk because we love us some Saul Goodman.  It turned out to be a fun treat, because both Bob and Sean are from Illinois and they had a great little conversation about many of the places we had just been to, including Joliet.  

Our final Paul Bunyan of the day was the Lauterbach Bunyan in Springfield, Illinois.  Where his counterpart in Atlanta keeps watch over a sleepy street, Lauterbach sits in a parking lot on the edge of a very busy four lane road.  This muffler man has moved around Springfield a few times, and his original tire has been swapped out for a flag.  While he was impressive, he really wasn’t very exciting compared to the other two.  If you’re in the area, I think it’s worth it to stop by, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for this particular muffler man.

Our final stop of the day was dinner at the Cozy Dog Drive In (it does have a sit in dining room which I highly recommend). The Cozy Dog Drive in has been a staple on the Mother Road since 1949 and claims to be the home of the original hot dog on a stick.  While there are no cute girls mixing lemonade in funky hats, they did have delicious corn dogs (if you’re into that sort of thing- which we are).  The Cozy Dog Drive in has moved next door from its original location, but it has remained a family owned business.  From the outside it’s a rather nondescript restaurant-it could be anything.  Inside, it has a little more character, but for the most part still consists of your typical family style fast food restaurant.  There’s a giant counter with a menu board above, and the soda fountain and condiments are just after the pick up window. There is a unique mural on the wall and a small corner that is set up as a gift shop, though they encourage you to buy most things from their website.  Then, in the middle of the restaurant right next to the center tables is a giant book case field with old books.  This is the Edwin Waldmire Memorial Library.  It’s tribute to the original inventor of the hot dog on a stick and his love of books. From what I can tell there is a long history that goes with the shelf itself, that I have yet to fully research.  For now, you need to know that you can get a family pack that consists of 4 “cozy dogs” and a large fries for $11.90 and eat them next to a bookshelf full of books they’d prefer you not touch.  

We finished up our hot dogs on a stick and headed to the hotel for the night where we worked on the party menu, and played a little music night.