The Route 66 Chick

Pontiac is a delightful Route 66 town, and I spent the day there last Saturday (June 21) with my co-author, Joe Sonderman. Joyce Harbin Cole hosted us for two book signing sessions at Old City Hall Shoppes. The rooms of Joyce's shop, located in the old City Hall (oddly enough!), are artistically filled with antiques and Route 66 souvenirs and books.  Joyce Harbin Cole's Old City Hall Shoppes. Joyce's photo of a couple authors that showed up that day. We had a two-hour break between morning and afternoon signing sessions and made good use of it. Lunch at Lydia's Cup was excellent. This lavender-painted cafe is clearly the place where locals and travelers gather to eat and get coffee - it was packed. Service was very good and so was the food - a breakfast plate and a horseshoe.  For any of you not familiar with Illinois cuisine, the horseshoe is a large plate of french fries, bread or Texas toast topped with a hamburger patty or other meat, and the entire...

The first official Illinois Route 66 Blue Carpet Corridor weekend isn't scheduled until one year from now, the second weekend of June 2015. However, by planning, chance, and coincidence, there is a festival or other event in almost every community in the Blue Carpet Corridor Region this second weekend of June 2014! Some are long-established events, some are new this year, and a number of the communities in Macoupin County on the Route 4/early Route 66 alignment have put together Blue Carpet Corridor "preview" events especially for this weekend. So much enthusiasm is growing in this area right now for tourism and preservation that it just warms this Route 66 tourism advocate's heart. Now I want you to warm the heart of at least one of these communities this weekend if you live anywhere near any of them! Pick one, pick a half-dozen, but visit the Blue Carpet Corridor Region this weekend and see what we all have to offer! Keep in mind that not all events run all ...

On Sunday, Joe Sonderman and I presented our first program for our new book, Route 66 in Illinois, in Edwardsville, Illinois. Madison County Historical Society graciously hosted our first program and book signing at their Archival Library. We had a good crowd who stayed engaged with us through our slightly-long presentation - there are just so many stories we want to share! Special thanks to Mary Westerhold, Research Manager, Cindy Reinhardt for great publicity and handling cashier duties while we signed books, and Steve Rensberry for snapping some photos. Photo by Joe Sonderman. Photo by Steve Rensberry.  Joe's beautiful new hardcover, full-color book, Postcards from Route 66:  The Ultimate Collection from America's Main Street," was also available and on display. Today, Monday, June 9th, is the official release day for Route 66 in Illinois so it is now available for shipment from Amazon. Don't give up on your local book stores as well. In speaking w...

It's virtually impossible to be in Albuquerque and not find yourself on Central Avenue/Route 66. Besides the soaring “Big I” and its interstate arteries, I-40 and I-25, Central is still the lifeblood of the city. I can remember stops on 66/Central when I was a child on trips with my parents. I can still recall the purple sunset and the lights up and down Central. Since daughter's college days and also since my own research trips when I went back for a master's degree a dozen years ago (did my master's at SIUE, but did a lot of my research at UNM), UNM has been a frequent stop over the years for concerts, recitals, library, or book store. And across Central from UNM is the great Frontier, with its smiling 'green light – it's your turn to order' fast, efficient service. The Frontier is celebrating its thirty-year anniversary, and it's a success story that's well deserved. It's hard to eat at the Frontier and not run into someone you know...

The Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center at 334 Historic Old Route 66 North (across the road from the Ariston Cafe) in Litchfield, Illinois, is celebrating its first anniversary on Sunday, June 1, from 1:00-4:00 pm. The museum invites everyone to come join them for the celebration, with new attractions, special music, vintage automobiles, door prizes, and refreshments. The museum and welcome center opened a year ago after many months of planning, design, and construction. Construction of the building was followed closely by Litchfield residents driving by the site and by Route 66 fans around the world via social media. The building was designed by John Fletcher to be reminiscent of Route 66-era service businesses with a corner entrance and plenty of neon. Carol Hampton Berry is credited with the floor plan for the building and United Builders/Larry Pence did the construction.     The “Vic Suhling – Gas for Less” sign, appropriately situated in its original loca...

Red and green chile, walks in the sunshine, family time with daughter, son-in-law and co-in-laws, great food, Isotopes baseball, and the dry, sweet, clean air – these are the things I look forward to on each trip to Albuquerque. We scored on almost everything this trip except the weather and the baseball game. Of course, I was looking forward to sunny, warm, dry weather. I seldom even think about the weather when I'm headed to New Mexico, because it's always so dependably wonderful. But this time, I arrived just in time for close to a week of rainy, overcast, chilly weather – and it's not even monsoon season yet. Rainy mountain view outside Santa Fe. We had game tickets for Sunday night and it was a rain-out. Disappointing, but we did go see “Godzilla” instead, with New Mexico's beloved Bryan Cranston in one of the major roles. Good movie, great effects. But back to baseball. One of the hot news stories in Albuquerque was the dugout brawl between Isotopes...

A couple weeks ago, I gave my "Route 66 in Madison County" program based on my book of the same name for the Marine Historical Society in Marine, Illinois. There was a nice-sized and very attentive audience, made up for the most part of Marine Historical Society members. I appreciated the invitation from this dedicated group of local historians and preservationists. I meant to post about it in a more timely fashion, but in my excitement over and preparation for the New Mexico trip, it temporarily slipped my mind. Thanks to Troy Times-Tribune editor Steve Rensberry for allowing me to use photos he took that evening. Giving my Route 66 in Madison County program in Marine IL. (Photo by Steve Rensberry.) These two lovely and accomplished young women came to the program to hear about Route 66 in the county they represent! On the left is Madison County Fair Queen Kristen McDowell, and on the right Junior Miss Madison County Queen Anna Nichols. (Photo by Steve Rensberry.) ...