Burkifornia ’16 – Day 2
Day 2 of the Burkifornia ‘16 trip was even more fun than the first. We left Indianapolis this morning, got right on the interstate and headed for Springfield, IL. After 3 hours of driving, we parked on the grounds of Abraham Lincoln’s home and spent some time walking around the homes and properties preserved by the National Park Service. Happy 100th Birthday NPS!!!
Then, it was time… time to hop on Route 66 and go. We were all ready to go and technology failed us! The Google map we had downloaded of Route 66 in Illinois went blank. It’s a good thing one of us remembers how to use paper maps and directions because that saved us. After getting our bearings, we headed south. Not to take all the credit, Route 66 in IL has excellent signage! We made a quick stop for lunch at the Cozy Dog Drive In, a Route 66 hot spot. Then we drove on for about 2.5 hours, slowing or stopping to see and photograph various sites. Did I mention our driver-in-training drove this part of the route? She did a great job, even if I did grind my teeth to nubs out of pure fear (just kidding!)
We finally reached the IL border and crossed the McKinley Bridge into St. Louis, MO. Initially, I was bummed that the border crossing would be on a bridge. That, naturally, meant there was no safe way to take a photo by the sign. But, that didn’t matter because there was no sign at all – what a disappointment. When we got to the other side and I looked around, I immediately realized why there wasn’t a sign: Why would anyone in MO want to advertise that part of town as belonging to them? ‘nuf said? We drove past the beautiful arch we all hear about, but who wants to stop in that part of town? So, we set our sites on Ted Drewes Frozen Custard – a St. Louis/Route 66 favorite since 1941! There’s a yummy reason it’s still in business after so many years! We enjoyed a Cookie Dough Concrete and Blue Note Concrete. “Concrete,” you ask. Yes, concrete. Don’t ask, just try it! Simply awesome!
Having walked around the neighborhood with our furry golden companion and our taste buds elated, we climbed back aboard the Semper DIVE!® transport and headed to St. Clair, MO to check in at the lovely Budget Lodge. Yes, it has a cheesy name, but it’s quite cute, clean, and pet friendly. We had dinner on the balcony over looking the pool, I-44, and the sunset.
We’re looking forward to day 3 of #Burkifornia16, when we’ll be headed to Afton, OK via a tiny little corner of southeast Kansas. Yes, we’ll look out for Toto, munchkins, witches and the like. However, I doubt we’ll come across any on Route 66, it’s not the Yellow Brick Road!