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Click hereEvening had descended in a rain shower as I exited the tour of the house and I was starved again. So, Swifty and I once more set off to find some more culinary delights for me and a fuel supply for her.
Day two had been so chock full of activity that I groggily turned the alarm off on day three and slept through until noon. I finally managed to get up, shower, dress, and go for a slightly late lunch in the dining room of the motel.
Since I'd completed my site seeing objectives earlier than planned, I decided to spend several hours shopping in downtown Springfield before once again hitting the four lane. I did more window shopping than actual buying, but I did make a few purchases. Then it was definitely time to get back on the road.
There remained about one-hundred some odd miles of Illinois Route 66 before the road reached St. Louis. But first, I had to get out of Springfield. On the south end of Springfield, there has occurred a lot of realignment of the original Route 66.
Pre 1930, the road ran west of Springfield for a ways and then south through Chatham, Virden, Girard and on. After 1930, the road went more directly south through Glenarm, Divernon, Waggoner and on. The two alignments eventually reached Staunton and came back together a couple of miles south of that town.
Another Illinois Route 66 landmark is found a few miles beyond Waggoner at two-hudred-twenty miles past Go. This is a marble statue of the Virgin Mary with an inscription asking protection for travelers and is known as "Our Lady of the Highways."
The statue was crafted in Italy and is a replica of the statue displayed at Lourdes in France. The Route 66 statue was erected in 1959 by a group of local Catholic youth organizations. The complex is sited on land owned by a local farmer, Francis Marten, whose daughter was one of the original fund raisers. By the way, Mr. Marten, in his eighties in 2001, was still tending the shrine regularly and paying for the electricity that illuminates it at night.
Further down the four lane, outside another small burg, I found another piece of the original two lane Route 66. It is interesting to note, in contrast to the wide four lane, that the original Route 66 paving was of two lanes, each nine feet wide and the concrete was six to ten inches thick, depending on the subgrade.
The two lanes were separated only by an expansion joint to prevent cracking. The abutting two slabs were tied together with steel rebars. Well, back on the four lane and on to St. Louis. Yahoo! Go Swifty, go!
Finis
*****
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- COMMENTS
jmjdriverabout 16 years agoChapter 3 and off we go into the wild blue yonder. In this case, I guess that it is gray for concrete and green for grass. By the way, Jen hasn't gotten laid in the grass as yet!
PEATBOGabout 16 years agoHaving spent only a few weeks in USA some 40 years ago, I find this tale of great interest both historically and geographically. Jen is a delightfully sexy character with a healthy appetite for food and fun!! Let's hope that this appetite does not lead her into danger or embarrassing health problems. Keep up the good work! Pete.
