If you can, and it's not rush hour, start at Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park, Chicago. Most people will tell you this is the actual best place to start, but it can be tough to get to when it's busy. We planned to go last Thursday when we were in the city, but ran out of time & had to start in Joliet. The Rialto Theater is still active and has stars come there on tour, and the museum is worth seeing. We ate dinner that night in Wilmington at The Launching Pad. We wanted to see the motel, but it's in a state of disrepair & hasn't been restored. On July 3, we took a bit of a more extensive trip down 66 on our way to a late Father's Day dinner in McLean (Dixie Travel Plaza, the former Dixie Trucker's Home). We actually started that trip in Braidwood at the Polk A Dot Drive in & the food there is wonderful & the prices are great (The Launching Pad was very reasonable as well). From Braidwood, we followed it south to Dwight to see the Ambler Station and from there to Odell to see the Standard station. It's basically a souvenir shop, but it's cool to go into the service area as it retains the original roof. We went to the Pontiac museum after that, but right now they have all sorts of road work going on around the railroad tracks & it's near impossible to reach the museum. There are actually two versions of 66 around there. One runs past the museum (which is on Howard St.) and the other is about 4 blocks to the west. That's the one you want to take as it's also the one you come in on. That'll lead you toward Lexington & Memory Lane. We didn't walk down the whole of Memory Lane, but I got some great pictures of some of the signs. Towanda is also must see as they have refurbished several parts of the old alignment and turned it into a walking path. Watch out in Normal though, as the 66 alignment actually runs through Illinois State University before it heads out toward Bloomington. At that point, that's the ONLY spot on I-55 that you'll have to use. It runs roughly a mile or two before you can get off of it & continue down 66 toward Funks Grove (the Sirup place). From there, it takes you right to the Dixie Travel Plaza in McLean & then heads toward Atlanta. We had followed much of the road in 2008, but stayed to 55 most of it with occasional detours in Mt. Olive & other stops. In a couple years, we want to travel the whole route & I actually want to find out where the truly bad spots are.

Hi Bob,

Email me anytime. I am guessing you are going in a car so you will be able to make better time than we did on the bikes. Should take about 2 weeks to see most of the route that way. Like I said, I have my guide book here and will be glad to share with you.

Coach