I've Always Liked Ethel...

Ethel was the loyal one; she was true and constant. Oh, sure, she would go along with Lucy's hair-brained schemes, but she was always a voice of reason when said "adventures" got out of hand. She was always supportive, always in Lucy's corner, so to speak. In fact, she's been called, "One of the greatest sidekicks," by Entertainment Magazine.

Why this journey down television lore? No, old sets from "I Love Lucy" are not on Route 66, and while Ethel Mertz was born in Albuquerque, NM; we're still in Tulsa, OK.

So, why talk about Ethel? So we can introduce you to our newest sidekick!


Lucille Ball ALSO started having issues with out journey. Mainly, some slippage in the transmission (along with a crunching sound when getting started), and letting us smell the coolant when the air-conditioner was on (and let's face it, if the car's on, the AC is on!). There was also some alignment issues, but those might have been the result of the car-eating potholes in St. Louis...

Anyway, we now have Ethel. And, as much as she's a team with Fred, we're kinda hoping to not have to meet him on this journey, if you catch my drift.

After meeting Ethel (who Mr. C calls, "An AWESOME car!!"), we spent the day just hanging out with Mr. C and his momma, trying to pack in as many giggles, tickle fights, and little-boy-hugs as we could.


Mr. C looooooves his Nini, to the point that there were times that he didn't want to open a door (to an AIR CONDITIONED PLACE!) because Nini was behind us and hadn't caught up yet.

He's coming out to Cali for a visit very soon, so he's already counting the days (figure of speech; we're still working on that whole counting thing...).

Tomorrow, we pick up our journey again. We're really hoping that Ethel's up for one more hair-brained scheme. ;)

Mr. C

Outside of Tulsa, lives Mr. C and his parents. He's kinda a big deal to Louise and me (especially Louise, being his grandma and all...), so we're taking a quick breather from The Mother Road to spend a couple days with Mr. C.


(Back seat hijinks with Auntie Thelma are HI-LAR-IOUS!)


"C'mon, Nini! Let's ride the horsey!!"


Even superheroes need nap time.


Dinner with the gals; he's quite the ladies' man.


" 'Tomatoes are yummy,' you said. 'You'd like them,' you said."

Rolla, Missouri to Tulsa,Oklahoma makes for a very long day!

Louise here! I'm writing, Thelma will add pictures. Her iPad, her skills required.
We balance!

Leaving from Rolla, we passed through a variety of towns and smaller "villages", which is a generous description. Names included Hooker, St. Robert, Halltown, Plew, Avilla, Albatross, Heatonville, Gay Parita and Rescue. And we spotted the Blue Whale, Giant Bowling Pin, and the Giant KuKu, to name a few.














We crossed and photographed a few bridges, but one was not in working order. We backtracked a bit to bypass the issue. Seems that restoring it is a hot political topic with the locals... We were a bit sorry we asked about it. 15 minutes later we were backing out of the room, trying to saying goodbye!





The actual "Field of Dreams" baseball field used in the movie has been maintained and is in use by the community, and is literally on Route 66 .

As we reached a T in the road, right in front of us was the "Dairy King", in business for eons in the town where Bonnie lived for 3 years. She and Clyde, yes the real ones, used to hide out with relatives nearby. We drove up to the window to get Route 66 cookies, and had to sign their guest book and were given copies of articles about these outlaws. Cookies were good!





We tootled along 66 through Catoosa, then turned on our Waze app and Colonel Sanders guided us around Tulsa center to Sand Springs and our Copper Oaks B&B. Thank you Colonel, as it's highway construction season here also. We have actually driven 66 through Tulsa, not knowing that it was 66!

Our hosts had brownies baking for our arrival, and we are settled. I lived here for 3 weeks in December of 2010, when grandson Caleb was born. I have open reservations to do it again when his sibling is due in early January.

We will spend 2 days with munchkin and his parents, and head out on the road again.

Time for bed!

"The salient landmark in St. Louis is..."

The ARCH!


Thelma here. That's actually an example sentence in my vocab curriculum, for the word "salient," which means, "striking, conspicuous, most noticeable." We figured that since the Arch is the SALIENT LANDMARK of St. Louis, we had to visit.

Thing is, St. Louis is undergoing this crazy thing called, "Road Construction," so every route, and we mean, EVERY ROUTE didn't work. At one point, the GPS was trying to have us park in the water at the levees.

So, after yet another two times across the Mississippi, we parked a good 1/2-mile away and figured that since we've just spent the last few days in a car, the exercise was necessary.


The Arch? It's amazing. You ride up/down in a space pod, which takes about four minutes each way.


The view is incredible, and since Missouri is flat, you can see for miles.


On our way out of town, we stopped in for frozen custard at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. The place has been in business for over 80 years.


As we drove along, we kept seeing advertisements along the highway (which we were paralleling) for Meramec Caverns, which were used by the Union to mine saltpeter during the Civil War (but was in Confederate territory...that was just *slightly* problematic), and then used by Jesse James as a hideout after a pretty impressive heist.

You know...we're on a road trip. That means, we can stop and see things...such as Jesse James's hideout. Truth be told, there wasn't that much about the Civil War or Mr. James, but the stalagmites and the stalactites ended up being pretty impressive. They actually have the third largest stalagmite in the world (eclipsed only by China and New Zealand).

At the end, they take you to the Theatre Room, where they project a very sweet, moving, patriotic film on the "curtain" made of the formations.


We're glad we stopped. Oh! Did I also mention that the ambient temperature in the cave was 65-degrees? Considering that it was 90-degrees outside, we felt that detour was quite advantageous (especially since it was 95-minutes long!).

Tomorrow, who knows what adventures we'll find?

Closed Roads and U-Turns and the Mississippi...

Last night was spent in the Route 66 Hotel in Springfield. We KNEW it was going to be kitschy, but wowza. It's epic. Awesome. Epically awesome. We recommend maybe stopping in for a looky-loo, but the rooms were old and damp (no outside air, at all), and noisy. Don't stay there, just stop by and get a look around.

We spent the morning touring Lincoln's Historical Home, which is exactly as it was when he lived there. They even have the historically accurate air conditioning (okay, so that MIGHT be a modern addition, maybe)! Louise took pictures while Thelma was wondering if the alarm really would sound (as they warned) if she swiped a candlestick or two...


(President Lincoln's personal desk)




(Mrs. Lincoln's commode. Why Louise took a picture of her commode, I do not know...)




(Mrs. Lincoln's kitchen stove)

We also visited the Lincoln Depot, the train station where the President departed for Washington after winning the election, and where he delivered one of his most famous speeches:



After leaving Springfield, we hit the back highways and byways. The route is marked with brown signs, which Thelma has become pretty adept at finding. In some of the smaller towns, they'll paint the roads, too:



All kinds of crazy and marvelous sights were found, and many a u-turn was made so that pictures could be captured. Things, such as:

A smiling water tower:



Our Lady of the Highways Shrine, which has been blessing the road since 1959 (complete with the Hail Mary written out in Burma Shave-style signs):



The Soulsby Filling Station, with its fully restored gas pumps:



Arts Motel (too bad it's closed):



And then, this place:



We were told by a Route 66 aficionado that we needed to stop there. Granted, she called it, "The Rabbit Place." Louise and I both figured we didn't need to stop. We've seen rabbits before, and we figured that if we saw one, we'd be taking it home with us. And then, we'd be trying to drive across country, juggling maps, old back roads, and a cute, furry thing jumping around the car.

It wasn't that kind of rabbits. The place has at least 50 (if not more) VW Rabbits, in all different stages of operation. Plus, of course, more Route 66 memorabilia than should be located in one yard:


(See? ALL stages of (in)operation!)













At the end of the row of the planted? entombed? Rabbits, there was one more thing for us to see. It was kinda creepy, and you can just make it out in the right edge of this picture:





"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!!"

Upon entering St. Louis, we ended up spending more time with the Mississippi than we had planned. See, following Route 66, we crossed the river on 270, at the north end of town. We plugged in our GPS (who has the voice of "Colonel Sanders," no really! He does! It's part of the app, and we thought it might be fitting for our trip), and turns out, our hotel's on the SOUTH side of town. Following the Colonel's instructions led us to road closures, that he wasn't hip to, so we ended up on a detour...that took us over another bridge (on 70), back across the Mississippi. At this point, we're back in Illinois, so we turned around, and once AGAIN crossed the Mississippi to get back into Missouri. As it was, poor Col. Sanders STILL hadn't been briefed on the roads and the issues, so we had to wiggle through downtown St. Louis until we'd circumvented the road closures and could finally head out to our hotel.

We've arrived. Hotel. Dinner was at Cracker Barrel (it was across the street, so we could walk there, and we didn't have to fight road closures!). We're not discussing the fact that we also ate breakfast at the CB in Springfield. It's just been one of those days... ;) But! We did stop for a snack at Ariston Cafe in Litchfield; it's family-owned, and has been in operation since the 1920s.





Tomorrow? The Arch!! And more crazy adventures to come...

And it starts!

Louise here. Thelma has the Blog on her ipad, so I confiscated it for a few moments to take a turn.

We finally made it to Route 66. We so enjoyed our visit with cousins in La Paz, Indiana. Thank you Carolyn for your hospitality. It was great to have a chance to see Kathy, Karen,Kenny and Terry and Olivia. Hope to see the other 71 clan members on another visit. ;)

We started today with breakfast at the Courier Cafe in Urbana. The old newspaper office has been turned into a cute cafe. My brother Bill and I used to deliver the Courier as teens. We were joined by three special people from my Illinois school days, Linda, Carol and Sharon. Thanks so much for taking the time to join us and catch up. It was wonderful.


Thelma and I drove around the town and took photos of special places, got dessert at The Apple Dumplin restaurant, (apple dumpling,of course), and drove north on Route 45. I turned into the driveway of the old Hillcrest Farm to take a quick photo of our grandparent's farmhouse. We had tripped an alarm and the owner started to come out. I apologized for bothering them, explained the family connection and they immediately invited us to come in and see how things had changed. Delightful!





We then visited (and Thelma cleaned) our family graves in Paxton and Gibson City and we headed west to Route 66. So much family history in those cemeteries.

Our first stop was at the Funks Grove for their famous "maple sirup". Thanks Linda for suggesting that stop!

And on to Springfield. The historical sights are numerous. We will choose a couple to visit before heading out.

A huge thank you to a VERY special family for the Route 66 books. We have already used them, and the turn by turn directions are fantastic. Love the back roads with NO traffic.


For those of you riding in our back seat, stay tuned for the next adventure!

PS: Meet Lucille Ball, our new ride!

Dear Wendy's

Dear Wendy's in Bourbonnais,

We know you weren't expecting to be the haven to two frustrated and weary travelers, and believe me, I see your workers giving Louise and me some weird looks. I get it. We've been sitting here for a while, sometimes talking angrily on the phone, and all we've had are Frostys and some soda.

Here's the thing. We're probably gonna be here for a bit, so we'll get to eating dinner while we wait.

See this? This is Desi. As in Desi Arnaz, the cranky half of the dynamic duo.





Desi was SUPPOSED to be our ride along Route 66. He and us, we were going to be a team along the iconic Southwest.

But, Desi...Desi has some problems. We noticed them as we were driving to Indiana to see some cousins. He was just...NOISY. Waaaay more noisy than a car of his distinction should be. I mean yes, he's Desi, but even the original Desi Arnaz was quieter than this one.

After an amazing visit with the family, including this lady right here:





we headed back to Illinois, to visit Louise's hometown and then eventually pick up Route 66.

But, Desi. Oh, Desi. He just started screaming his angst at the whole concept of a road trip, so to appease him, we detoured from our route and found the nearest Toyota Dealer.

It's the David Bruce Toyota dealership down the street from you, Wendy's, in Kankakee. Thelma, of course, got the giggles because David Bruce is the name of a former student of hers, who most definitely does not own a Toyota dealership about an hour south of Chicago. Anyway, the mechanic-person took Desi out for a test drive with Louise, and he determined that all of Desi's moanings and groanings were most definitely not healthy, and that good old D should never have been rented out to Louise and me in the first place.

This, dear Wendy's is where you come in. We stopped in to use your bathroom and enjoy some refreshments while Louise worked out the issues with the rental place. Sounds easy enough, but the rental company (which we won't name, but it has something to do with this symbol: "$") seems to be filled with simple-minded folks who are incapable of understanding the concept of "customer service." Therefore, you, and your benevolent workers, had to listen to poor Louise explain our situation over and over and over again, talking to multiple "Customer Service" Representatives, until someone FINALLY figured out that 1) Louise was getting MAD, and they must've instinctively understood that this is a woman you don't make MAD, and 2) That this was the company's fault, and therefore they needed to make it right.

So, they're making it right. It's just gonna be a while. They're towing Lucille Ball down from the airport for us, and they're going to meet us here.

Therefore, we hope you can put up with our presence a little longer. We promise to get some fries...and dinner...and possibly another Frosty in just a bit.

Thanks for being our haven, even if you were an unwitting one,

Thelma