Day 3: Chicago to Springfield Illinois

Started off the morning getting a taxi to Lou Mitchell’s- a Chicago breakfast institution. Had a waffle with pecans, yum.
We then got another taxi out to the airport to pick up our car. Really smooth process and we were off in our Ford Taurus with Rich starting the driving. After some tricky interstate driving we picked up Route 66 before Joliet where we made our first stop.

Next we stopped at the Launching pad and our first giant statue the Gemini giant. Went in to buy a soda and had a good chat with Kima volunteer there. The Launching pad was closed for a number of years and only recently reopened, they hope to be starting food soon.

Next stop Pontiac - great Route 66 museum and a war museum inside. We met the son of the people who opened it. His Dad was one of the first in Omaha beach. He gave us a lot of info and also a little USA flag to take away. Really nice guy.
We also stopped at a bakery for coffee and cake in Pontiac and our accents sparked much interest among the locals!

We hit our first problem as we appear to be having an issue with the car- twice it has started severe wobbling and we have had to pull over. Very alarming when it happens as it’s like the car has a mi d if it’s own. We decided to carry on for the day and see what happened.

Made it to Atlanta,Il and another giant - pictured with the giant hot dog. This is also where I got the Route 66 road stencil photo and the smiley face water tower!! Had to go back on the interstate here as Route 66 had a closed section.

Got to Lincoln for a brief stop to get a shot of the worlds largest covered wagon. It is indeed large.

Then finally made it to Springfield hotel no3. No giant bed here but not a bad place considering it is one of our cheapest bookings. Had a rather unhealthy dinner at another Route 66 institution Cozy dog. Yummy and inexpensive.

Tomorrow we drive to St Louis where we have decided to try and swap the car. There is a long way to go and I haven’t dared drive yet!