Speedway, Indiana to Fenton, Missouri

Our honeymoon road trip actually began three months before our wedding. We weren’t married until September 14, 2002, but Jennifer had just moved to Speedway from the Chicagoland area and wouldn’t have any vacation time at her new job by the time the wedding arrived. So we decided to take our honeymoon early.

Since we’re both road warriors at heart—and our shared fascination with the lore of Route 66 is actually how we met—it felt only natural to plan our honeymoon along America’s most famous highway.

As luck would have it, Indipala SS, an Impala SS club in Indianapolis that Pat belonged to, was planning a caravan to St. Louis for Impalapalouis on the very same day we were leaving for our trip. Since we were already planning to stay nearby in Fenton, Missouri that evening, we thought it would be fun to join the caravan for part of the drive.

After only about two and a half hours of sleep, we began our journey at 9:15 AM, heading west on I-70 toward Plainfield, Indiana to meet up with the group.

We arrived in Plainfield right at 10:00 AM, just in time for the caravan to depart. It took a little longer than expected to pack Pat’s 1993 Caprice LTZ for the cross-country trip, but we were greeted by Indipala president Dave Bass and Dodie Sheffield as we joined the line of cars.

As the caravan pulled out, we brought up the rear.

The bumper-to-bumper traffic moving at 70+ mph on I-70 (with the occasional sudden brake tap!) was a bit much for Pat’s 34-year-old heart, so once we crossed into Illinois we decided to exit the interstate and continue our trip on the much quieter and slower U.S. Route 40, the historic Old National Road.

Lunch Stop – Effingham, Illinois

By early afternoon we stopped in Effingham, Illinois for lunch at Woody’s Restaurant inside the famous Dixie Trucker’s Home truck stop.

After lunch, Pat’s keen eye spotted a Chevrolet Corvair parked behind the restaurant. Naturally, we had to investigate. After chatting with the gentleman at the nearby garage where the car was parked, we climbed back into the Caprice and continued our southwest trek along U.S. 40.

Our route took us through several small Illinois towns including:

• St. Elmo
• Mulberry Grove
• Pocahontas

before finally arriving in Collinsville.

Meeting Up in the St. Louis Area

We met up with some of the Impala club members at their hotel before continuing on to our own hotel in Fenton, Missouri, just southwest of St. Louis.

After checking in at the Fairfield Inn, we rested for a bit before heading back into St. Louis for a classic Route 66 tradition.

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard

Our evening destination was the legendary Ted Drewes Frozen Custard, which has been serving frozen custard on Route 66 since the 1940s.

There we met fellow Route 66 e-group member Emily Priddy for a famous Ted Drewes concrete. What started as a quick stop turned into a wonderful visit—we ended up talking for nearly two hours!

A Sweet St. Louis Surprise

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Walgreens to pick up a Styrofoam cooler and a few travel supplies.

While we were there, we discovered a local St. Louis specialty: Gooey Butter Cake.

For something that wasn’t even chocolate, it was unbelievably decadent!

Calling It a Night

After a long day of driving, visiting, and discovering new treats, we returned to our hotel and called it a night. We wanted to get an early start the next morning as our Route 66 honeymoon adventure continued west.

All Route 66 Honeymoon Photos