R66

Route 66 trip in 2012

Is this the way to Amarillo?

We left Oklahoma City and were on our way to Texas early on Sunday morning. Our next stop was Amarillo, which of course meant listening to THAT song a couple of times. In Amarillo there is the Big Texan Steak House, which basically offers a 72oz steak and a tonne of sides for free, provided you can eat it within one hour. It has been featured on Man Vs Food, but almost a stone of steak is way too much for either of us so we took to the all-you-can-eat steak buffet instead.

We're off to see the Wizard

Our trip across America continues smoothly and we have now entered our fourth (of eight) states that we will be visiting - Oklahoma. Yesterday, we took one of only two planned detours we intend to make from the route, as we headed down to Branson, Missouri, to visit the Ripley's Believe it or Not emporium that they have there. Basically a collection of oddities and strange things from various places in the world, which was a great way to spend a couple of hours.

Seven score and nine years ago

Seven score and nine years ago Abraham Lincoln made his now infamous "four score and seven years ago" speech, two years before he was assassinated. He is considered one of America's finest and most influential presidents, and revered in Springfield, Illinois, where he spent much of his adult life and is now buried alongside most of his family. On Wednesday morning, we checked out the Lincoln memorial and tomb where he is buried, before hading into downtown Springfield to see the Lincoln museum. We also had a tour of the house he land his family lived, which is now owned by the state.

And we're off!

After a long but pretty painless 22 hours of travelling, we picked up our car and checked into our Chicago hotel on Monday night. A ludicrously early start on Tuesday morning meant that we were able to get breakfast before anyone else in the hotel, before heading to the interstate to join every other Tom, Dick and Harry trying to get into downtown Chicago during early rush hour. Worth it when we arrived at Chicago, though, and checked out Lake Michigan (which is massive, and also surprisingly clear), before heading to the official start of Route 66 on foot to get our photo with the sign.

Route 66

We are doing the iconic "Mother Road" of the United States in the Easter Holidays. Below is a map of all the sights we intend to see in the 13 days we are out there.

 

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