Day 5 - Route 66, first steps

 

A decorative panel in a museum celebrates the states connected by the Mother Road

First Impressions

Stories about Route 66 abound. As I prepared for our trip, I read blogs, articles, and a few books about the Mother Road.  YouTube added the music, voices,  and so much more.

A vintage sign at the start of our adventure 

Sometime, it was an overload of information and even repetitive. So, I will do my best to avoid the cliches of describing the bus, the miles, every authentic cafe, diner, garage, or sign we have seen.  Instead, I will compress time and share the highlights.

Chicago!

Point of departure: Chicago. A vibrant city that feels young. We hit the road and began the litany of states: Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas. The towns were  many. Among them Joplin, Springfield, Galena, and Saint Louis.

Where are we??

The interstate is flanked by vast expanses of open country.  Farms and pastures extend to the horizon.  My partner remarked, “In America everything is XXL!”

Kansas… where tornados are strong.

  He’s not wrong.  This isn’t about clothes size.  It’s the wide roads, copious restaurant portions, parking lots, Big Box stores, and the welcoming spirit of the Americans who greet us along the way.

 

This goodwill is no sales pitch.  We feel it again and again in the smiles, salutations and words exchanged with total strangers who are also exploring Route 66.

Happy Motoring! 

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