Travelers! Start your engines! The dust is already settling behind us and the house disappeared from the rear view mirror several hundred miles ago. We have reached our starting point for the Route 66 journey – Joliet, Illinois. We have already begun to uncover the things we forgot to pack but are also finding that maybe we’ll be okay without them. Although, having to tell Ben I left all his NASCARs on the living room floor was probably the lowest moment of my day.

Most of the day was uneventful driving. We met with some heavy rain a couple of times but we were fortunate to mainly be at the tail end of most storms. Reaching spots where the rain had fallen and all that remained were wet roads.

Once we arrived in Joliet we decided to get a head start on roadside attractions before the real action begins tomorrow. We started with the Joliet Museum which has a great mural of Route 66.

Then we bopped over to the old Juliet Prison. Otherwise known as the Blues Brothers Prison. Ben and Tom tried to escape to no avail.

And lastly, we did a drive by on the Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66 Raceway. How could we not? Ben is a huge NASCAR race fan. So was my Dad. I can remember stopping at the Daytona Speedway on one of trips to Florida in my younger days. It was very important for my Dad. I’m guessing this is where Ben developed his love of racing. He never met my father, but it appears to me you can inherit certain traits. A love of car racing among them. In any case both tracks were locked up tighter than a drum which was slightly disappointing. Another trip for another day.

Carving routes