Home!

We are back, just one day short of three weeks.

I think Connie is most astonished that two people (us) can be together 24/7 for three weeks and get along just fine the whole time.

My own main reaction is that one of the items on my imaginary "101 things to do before you die" list has been accomplished! This trip was so long in the anticipation and planning.

True, we didn't follow route 66 all the way to the end--but we did enough that I am quite content.


We traveled from Chicago until just inside Arizona on 66, and then also including quite a lot throughout New Mexico.

It really isn't possible to identify a "favorite part," but I did like the short stretch inside Kansas quite a lot. Connie particularly enjoyed Santa Fe.

Odometer: 4586 miles total

Our daily average distance was about 230 miles for the trip as a whole.

Flowers to Barbara's grave

We placed these flowers, purchased at the country fair, by Barbara's grave in Sycamore.

Bloomington, Saturday night

We have arrived in Bloomington IL, and finally also seem to have an internet connection that works!

Part of the way today, we drove on a different routing of historic 66, one that bypassed Springfield. We came upon a very pleasant country fair in the little town of Elkhart, IL. One of the things going on there was that ice cream was being made with a little engine-driven machine.

Tonight we will go to the game, and then we will start the final leg home tomorrow (Sunday) probably going by the gravesite in Sycamore. We did buy some flowers that could be placed there.

Barbara's birthday

September 30th is Barbara's birthday. She would have been 64--same as me now. I hope we can find a way to honor her somehow.

Friday AM

Woke up here in Joplin, me earlier than Connie. Probably the best night's sleep I have had, though. Much less cough/breathing difficulty.

We don't intend to push down the road very hard today. There is a restaurant in Springfield MO on 66 that we hope to visit. Then we expect to travel north through the Ozarks, hoping to find a pretty route.

It has been really hard to use the computer! Between problems of its own, and then also problem's caused by the hotels' security systems, I haven't been able to get on email!

Our trip is nearing its end. Connie says that is always very hard for her.

Thursday

We drove across almost the entire state of Oklahoma today, and the corner of Kansas that is clipped by route 66. Now we are in Joplin MO.

It was an interesting drive, and the short segment in Kansas was especially nice. It is so amazing to think how many people drove all the way to California, on a narrow strip of pavement, in cars that were so much less reliable than ours are now.

Tomorrow night probably we will be somewhere over by the Mississippi.