Events/Concerts/Sports

January 17, 2016: Jingle Rails Exhibit at Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art

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Various photos taken at the Jingle Rails Exhibit in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jingle Rails is a display of various locations, primarily of the West, but also a few local, including downtown Indianapolis and the Indiana State Fair. New this year is a tribute to the Las Vegas Strip. Others include national parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, etc. Exhibits are made of natural materials, such as twigs, moss, and nuts.

January 17, 2016: Jingle Rails

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August 13-16, 2015: Birthplace of Route 66 Festival

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As online chatter started among Route 66 roadies about the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival in Springfield, Missouri, we thought it might be fun to attend, especially since we weren’t able to attend the festival in Kingman last year and not able to attend LA next year.

When we thought of attending, we debated on a car trip vs. RV, but after purchasing a new (to us) truck to haul the Shasta Oasis, we didn’t want to leave that costly combo sitting at home collecting dust. If it’s going to collect dust, it had better be road dust! The Rail Haven was booked, and being on Nutrisystem, taking the trailer and eating mainly our own food would be easier and keep me on track.

Thursday, August 13, 2015

We left Thursday afternoon after work, and our plan was to get to the St. Louis area. We did a lot of research on RV overnight parking (Walmart, Flying J, Cracker Barrel, etc.). Parking options in the area were slim, as most municipalities had ordinances against it, and we didn’t want to risk staying in unsafe areas. Rivers recommended against the Alorton Flying J as very unsafe. Highland, Illinois was recommended as a much better area, but it was pretty warm that day, so we decided to stay at the Red Barn Rendezvous RV Park in Edwardsville, Illinois. It had good ratings as an inexpensive place to stay ($35), especially for overnights. We called to make sure they could accommodate us, especially since we’d be arriving a little after dark. They said that would be no problem. We arrived and they were ready to greet us from their home at the camp entrance (the Red Barn) and were very friendly! We had a pull through site, never unhitched, just needed a slight level, and hookup to electric.

Illinois Sunset along I-70

Friday, August 14, 2015

Red Barn Rendezvous RV Park - Edwardsville, Illinois

We had a quick breakfast at the campground and got ready to hit the road.

As I was getting things ready, I was thinking about the pros and cons of car travel vs. RV travel. We have not done much RV travel (mainly just weekend camp) but there is a lot of appeal to RV travel. I know that in the future when we either full-time or at least, part time extended travel, it will be fun, but with our limited weeklong vacations, I was hesitant because we only have so much time, hauling the trailer is slower, and you can’t stop as much and certainly not on a whim to grab a shot of a cool neon sign, roadside relics or other offbeat treasures. Especially now, with a truck and trailer combo that’s pushing 48 feet total! So that is a downside; but stopping at places along the way is not totally impossible. Most whims are difficult and like all good roadies, we do like to travel the odd alignments. However, with some planning, we can stop at many attractions and locations. We also can concentrate more on certain locations than we normally do, by stopping earlier and setting up the RV at a place, then exploring the area for the remainder of the day (or longer if we want).

So we set sail for the day and made our way around the south side of St. Louis. We picked up Route 66 in Pacific and took as much of the route as we felt comfortable with. Where we knew the road would be too narrow or curvy for the trailer, we took the Evil I but that wasn’t too much. Made a few stops too! Fanning 66 Outpost for some Route 66 Soda, a Route 66 coloring book for our grandson – and bonus, a stand outside selling local honey from Fanning Apiary. Bought a bottle and some flavored honey sticks. Redmon’s Candy Factory is always a must stop for us too. Bulk candy and fresh fudge!

Tri-County Truckstop, Route 66, Villa Ridge, Missouri
Tri-County Truck Stop, Villa Ridge, Missouri
Phillips 66 Filling Station - Route 66, Cuba, Missouri

 

Phillips 66 – Cuba, Missouri

 

2016 Shasta Oasis at Fanning Outpost - Route 66, Cuba, Missouri
Fanning 66 Outpost
Devil's Elbow, Route 66, Missouri
 Crossing the Devil’s Elbow Bridge

All Photos from the Journey to the Festival

August 13 & 14, 2015: Birthplace Of Route 66 Festival – Getting There

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We arrived in Springfield, and made our way to the Springfield Route 66 KOA. It’s not on an alignment of Route 66 – it’s actually a couple of scant miles south of 266 (Route 66) on the west side of Springfield. They very much support Route 66, too. When we checked in, they told us about the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival and handed us a festival postcard – we said we were in town for the event. They have a lot of great Route 66 merchandise including souvenirs, shirts, maps (including Jim Ross and Jerry McClanahan’s “Here It Is” map series) and books (including Jerry’s excellent EZ 66 Guide for Travelers).   The campground is fairly smaller than a few of the other KOAs we’ve been to (St. Louis, MO, Dayton, OH and Louisville, KY) but nice and quiet…except for the trains. It was close to train tracks, which for some people might be an issue. It’s not a far off sound in the distance, it’s pretty close and loud. I didn’t find it a problem, personally – others’ results may vary. I enjoyed it there and would stay again!

Arriving at the Springfield Route 66 KOA

As we were setting up, Pat met a fellow Route 66 roadie, Chery, who was staying at the KOA in one of the cabins. Most of the other roadies were staying in hotels and motels, particularly, the Route 66 Rail Haven, so it was nice to see a fellow roadie already!

We were a little tired from the long drive, and we didn’t think we’d make it to the parade, so we stayed at the campground and relaxed. We also were to meet up with fellow Route 66 roadies and Corsair enthusiasts, Teresa and John. Pat had talked to Teresa on the Route 66 Pictures Facebook Group when she posted photos of some of their Corvairs. Pat offered them a few Corvair wheels, that they were happy to take off of his hands! We chatted for a while about 66, Corvairs and trailers and said good night. I decided to play around with the cable TV setup and managed to differentiate between the satellite / cable / antenna hookups. We didn’t really plan on watching it, but it was there and I had nothing else to do before bed.

August 2015: Springfield Route 66 KOA

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Saturday, August 15, 2015

Today’s the big day of the festival for us – we would have to leave early tomorrow and not attend any of the festival. Getting ready in a bigger trailer is pretty nice. There’s still a little orchestration required but far less than with the Scotty and everything does have a place – even though I’m still getting used to where those places are! We made our way over to the festival area and started with the car show and local vendors – we made our way to The Glass Place, which was where many of our roadie friends – authors, artists, photographers, and collectors – would be. We met up with plenty of longtime friends, as well as many new that we know through Facebook – Jim & Shellee, Jane, Bob, Fred, Chery, Mike & Sharon, Joe, Jerry, Tonya, Bob, Rhys & Samantha, Ron, Joe, Don, Jason & Woody with the Road Crew and met new folks we know online – KC, Nick, Amy, Dora, Geoffrey and even more – Mike & Dean, Steve! It was great seeing and talking to everyone! I helped Jim & Shellee at their booth for a bit while they had lunch and even sold a couple Tourist Trap Tees! I was wearing mine of the Spooklight, so I already had on the uniform. :) Tourist Trap Tees- 2015 Birthplace of Route 66 Festival We saw a few more booths at the exhibit but needed to head out to see The Road Crew show and would come back later.

Photos from The Road Crew Show

August 15, 2015: Birthplace Of Route 66 Festival – The Road Crew

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Here’s a couple of videos from the show too! Check out our YouTube Channel for more!


The festival was very well done. In its fifth year, they had a car show, the authors / artists / collectors exhibit, concerts, local vendors, a motorcycle show, and kids area with a ton of bounce houses (I can only imagine if we brought our grandson, we’d have to impose a strict limit!). We went back to the Glass Place to see everyone we didn’t see earlier. We headed back to the KOA and debated about dinner – I thought it would be good to have a meal out, and we managed to figure out where everyone was gathering thanks to Facebook posts. We discovered everyone was at Colton’s, so we headed over there and were seated pretty quickly. We enjoyed some “onion tanglers” and steak. Remembering that I had a refrigerator on this trip, I opted to do the right thing for my sensitive stomach and save some for later. Good choice. We then headed over to the Rail Haven, where many (most?) of the roadies were staying and the Road Crew was going to perform an acoustic set. Awesome, especially since we couldn’t stay for their Sunday show. When we first arrived, it was just a notch past the “golden hour” but I still had enough ambient light for some photos of the recently installed replica of the old Rail Haven Motel sign. How awesome to have an owner who honors the past and the uniqueness of the original sign. Holiday Inn, are you listening?   2015 Birthplace of Route 66 Festival-72

I headed over to the pavilion just in time to find Pat and we set up our chairs as The Road Crew got ready for their show. Here is a video of them performing “That Ol’ 66″. Check out my YouTube channel for two others!

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Not too much to say about today, really…we start the journey home early. Break down camp, pack up the trailer and haul it east to Indy all day! No festival attendance for us – yesterday was the big day. We took 66 most of the way out, but would have to take the Evil-I home. However, we did stop at the Route 66 Rest Area and Visitor’s Center – which is a great stop to get not only some info on Missouri but Route 66 too. The rest area is very much themed to Route 66. Here are a few examples, see the gallery below for more!

I also enjoyed a new app called iExit. It’s mainly for interstate travel, but could also serve 66 travelers as it quickly brings up services “nearby” based on geolocation from your smartphone. It does very well when traveling on the sometimes necessary Evil-I, by showing you what services are available at upcoming exits and the distance to them. It’s so handy to see at a glance that the next rest area is 58.7 miles, so if you have to “go” sooner, a stop at a restaurant or gas station may be required, and which ones are coming up. Here’s a link to iExit, available for iOS and Android.

The other thing that made the time pass easy is we knew our RV friends, Dane and Elaine, would be traveling home from a trip to Michigan – so after texting them to see what route they were taking, they replied I-70. So we played a game for an hour and a half where we estimated when our paths might cross and if we could see each other and snap a pic! We did so well as we got to the 113 and 108 mile markers, leaving us only minutes apart. Then, my fear happened when a semi passed us…and slowly, which would block our view. He creeped along, barely passing us. It would have been too risky for us to slow down, as we already cruise at a steady 60 MPH when towing, so we held steady and hoped he’d just move on up and pass us already. Once he did, I gathered myself back up, turned my head to look past Pat and out the driver’s window for a split second as I saw a small silver car that looked like a Toyota RAV4 in the passing line westbound. I thought it might be them…and it turns out it was. Too bad I missed getting a photo, but they got one of us!

Caught on Camera!

We set off on our next adventure in a month, a road trip again with the trailer. Plans are sketchy right now, unsure whether we’re going to Michigan or on Route 66. But either way, we’ll be sure to have fun and make more road trip memories!

RTM_CartoonGreen

Pat & Jennifer

June 7-9, 2013: Mounds State Park – Anderson, Indiana

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This weekend we *finally* got the trailer out and camped somewhere other than our own yard! We had reservations at Mounds State Park for Friday and Saturday nights. We were going to see Huey Lewis and The News Saturday night at Hoosier Park Casino, and Mounds State Park is a small, but very nice, state park close to the casino.

Here was our spot for the weekend, in a small loop right next to the airport. We saw many small planes taking off and landing throughout the weekend.

Serro Scotty - Camping at Mounds State Park, Anderson, Indiana

Here are a few photos inside our Serro Scotty, featuring our new turquoise bedding, throw rug, and turquoise storage tubs under the bed.

Serro Scotty - Camping at Mounds State Park, Anderson, Indiana

Serro Scotty - Camping at Mounds State Park, Anderson, Indiana

We used our electric grill, the Griddler, to make a reasonably healthy dinner Friday, chipotle lime chicken and grilled veggies.

Grilled chipotle and lime chicken and veggies

On Saturday morning we went for a 3 mile walk around trail 5 that loops the entire park, and also a bit of trail 1, that goes by the mounds.

Hiking on Trail 5, Mounds State Park, Anderson, Indiana

Hiking on Trail 5, Mounds State Park, Anderson, Indiana

After our walk, we relaxed around the campsite for a while, then we went out to an early dinner at the nearby Lemon Drop Drive-in and had onion burgers – yummm.

Lemon Drop Drive-in, Anderson, Indiana

Dinner at the Lemon Drop Drive-in, Anderson, Indiana

We went back to the campground to get cleaned up for the reason we were in Anderson – to go see the band, Huey Lewis and The News. They are celebrating the 30th Anniversary of their hit album “Sports” with a tour and we thought it would be fun to go see them at the Hoosier Park Casino. I’d seen alot of popular bands back in the 80’s, but not Huey Lewis. I thought about so many of his songs and liked them all, so why not?

Why not indeed…the show was terrific. Huey Lewis sounds excellent, exactly the same as he did back in the 80’s. He puts on a very good, entertaining show and I recommend anyone who likes his music to go see them.

Huey Lewis and The News

The venue… The Outdoor Music Center:

Hoosier Park Racing & Casino - Outdoor Music Center, Anderson, Indiana

The main attraction – Huey Lewis and The News!

Huey Lewis and The News

Huey Lewis and The News

Huey Lewis and The NewsPhotographs

Below is a slideshow of the weekend’s photos.
Click any photo to stop the slideshow and view the photos on my Flickr site.

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Video

Here’s a video of “The Power of Love”

May 2009: Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Centennial Era Balloon Festival

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May 2009 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by Carl Fisher, James Allison, Arthur Newby, and Frank Wheeler as a testing facility. The history can be found in this article: Centennial: Four Founders’ Vision Created Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The first Indianapolis 500 race was held in 1911, so we have two years of Centennial Celebrations to anticipate; thus, the “Centennial Era.”

Events held from Friday – Sunday, May 1-3, kicked off the start of the Indy 500 Festival celebrations here in Speedway, Indiana. One event I was looking forward to was the Centennial Era Balloon Festival, an event to celebrate the first race held at the IMS, which was actually a balloon race held in June 1909. An interesting account, as told by IMS founding father Carl Fisher, can be found here: Balloons at IMS in 1909: what a race it was

On Friday and Saturday evenings, hot-air balloon pilots would be participating in a “balloon glow,” where they would illuminate their balloons in different patterns: synchronized, sequential, twinkles, etc. I had seen photos on Flickr taken by the IndyFlickr group at a similar event at the Indiana State Fair grounds, and it looked very cool.

Friday, May 1, 2009

On Friday night, the weather was sketchy, but it cleared up and Pat headed over to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to watch the Balloon Glow. Unfortunately, I was unable to accompany him. I’m trying to get through recovery from oral surgery for the removal of my two lower wisdom teeth, and it’s been rough! I was in pain all day, and it wasn’t responding to even Vicodin. So, I was tired and opted to stay home, hoping that I’d feel better for Saturday. Pat’s photos from Friday’s Balloon Glow are here

Saturday, May 2, 2009

The next events were held Saturday morning, a “Founding Fathers” balloon race, and the annual 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. Pat asked me about making our annual trek down to the intersection of Georgetown, 16th & Crawfordsville Roads to watch the marathon participants arrive. It’s always a spectacular sight to see 35,000 people running by! But unfortunately, again I wasn’t up to it. My lower left side was swollen and hurt badly. I had taken Lodine and Vicodin, neither of which was helping, and I was tired from lack of sleep and food for the past week. A call to the “on-call” dentist was frustrating, as he was participating in the Mini! He asked if I needed a prescription for Vicodin called in and I explained that I had some, but that it wasn’t helping, which is why I was calling! He suggested I had a dry socket, and to take the Vicodin, and come in on Monday. Not wanting to mess up his marathon pace, I told him I’d call Monday and hung up.

So, I again attempted to try Vicodin, and it helped make me groggy, but didn’t touch the pain. Then, for some unknown but happily miraculous reason, later in the afternoon, the pain went away on its own and I was *completely* pain free! It felt as if nothing was done! So, by 7:30, I decided to head over to the track for tonight’s balloon glow. Pat was busy working on Amber’s car, but was finishing up and would join me shortly. So I grabbed my Nikon D50, hopped in the Corolla, and made the long, arduous drive over there. Usually not long or arduous, as I live 1/2 mile away, but there was pretty good traffic heading in there. I was directed to park behind the Hall of Fame Museum and made my way over to the field where the balloons were lined up. There was a wicked HUGE Energizer Bunny there, 166 feet tall!

Centennial Era Balloon Festival at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

They did the various glows and I had fun taking photos. Here’s one of a synchronized glow:

Centennial Era Balloon Festival at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Pat had quite a time getting in with the traffic, as there were alot more people there Saturday than the previous night. I ran into my manager from work and fellow photography enthusiast, Duane, who was there with his family. I told Duane about the balloon glow, knowing he’d love the photographic opportunities! Shortly thereafter, Pat arrived, the glow ended, but the fireworks began!  The remainder of my photos from the Balloon Glow are on my Flickr site: Centennial Era Balloon Festival at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana

Sunday, May 3, 2009

The remainder of my pain free evening had continued until I went to sleep around midnight, and I managed to get 6 hours’ sleep, the most consecutive sleep I’d had since the surgery. Unfortunately, I woke up in worse pain than ever! I took a Lodine, which took the edge off for a few hours. That gave Pat and me enough chance to head to the track for the “100 Years Race.” The traffic was much easier to handle this morning!

100 Years Race - Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana

It’s not every day a 166-foot pink bunny flies past the Bombardier Pagoda at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway!

100 Years Race - Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana

After all the balloons left, I needed to head to the southwest side of town to take a photo for work. By coincidence, the wind carried the balloons in that very direction, and we spotted this one along I-465:

100 Years Race - Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana

The Energizer Bunny was there too, losing some of his energy as he deflated.

100 Years Race - Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana

The remainder of my photos from the 100 Years Race can be found on my Flickr site: May 3, 2009: 100 Years Race – Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana

June 2006: Munger Moss 35th Anniversary Party

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Slideshows of All Photos

Photos en route to the Munger Moss

 

Munger Moss 35th Anniversary Party

Route 66 Tattoo Man

The Party’s over…

Our Route 66-Themed Wedding

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We visited Town of Summer Place during a Corvair club trip in July, 2002 – just two months before our wedding.  Town of Summer Place is the very cool realization of Jim Richardson’s dream…to build a replica of a typical 50’s town…in his own backyard, which helps him to raise funds for his charity “A Home For Every Child.” Click on the links below to learn more.

Pat & Jennifer's Wedding - Town of Summer Place, Sharpsville, Indiana Jim has built something very special…Jim has a barbershop, Standard Oil station, cinema, fire station and even a working diner!  They can even serve good old delicacies like cheeseburgers, fries, banana splits and cherry cokes!  When we saw a brochure about Summer Place which indicated that events could be held there, we immediately looked at each other with that gleam in our eyes…we knew we were each thinking we should have our wedding there!!  Monday, we got to work and started making the arrangements.  We even decided to have Jim and crew cater and we served our guests burgers, fries and cherry cokes!  Of course, banana splits and wedding cake for dessert.

Though it wasn’t on Route 66, it certainly was evocative of the spirit of Route 66!!

“Town of Summer Place”

This was just such an interesting place to see, all built within someone’s backyard!  There was a large building available to have the reception.  Not altogether glamorous, but functional anyway…the ambience of the “town” was what we really wanted.  It gave everyone a chance to roam around and enjoy looking at everything, as well as Jim’s collection of memorabilia, restored vintage bicycles, ice coolers, etc.  We decorated our tables with a Route 66 theme:  I made table tents of Route 66 photos for every table, and we also used cutouts from Michael and Suzanne Wallis’ book; I also made mini Burma Shave signs for the tables, and a “road” down the center.  We decorated everything in our Route 66 stuff, and Pat put together a display on Route 66.

Emily made us some real Burma Shave signs, which led our guests to the parking area.

ALL TO PAT

HER HEART

JENN GAVE

MUST’VE BEEN THE

BURMA SHAVE

 

We arrived in the Corvair owned by Pat’s best man, Pete Lapitsky.  We were escorted by Jim Richardson in his classic sheriff’s car – see photo below.  My maid of honor was my best friend, Lori Bouchard.

Arriving at our wedding ceremony

Of course, we had to have a cake shaped like a Route 66 shield!!!

Pat & Jennifer's Wedding - Town of Summer Place, Sharpsville, Indiana

Of course, no wedding would be complete without the company of your friends and family!!
Pat & Jennifer's Wedding - Town of Summer Place, Sharpsville, Indiana

Pat & Jennifer's Wedding - Town of Summer Place, Sharpsville, Indiana

Pat & Jennifer's Wedding - Town of Summer Place, Sharpsville, Indiana

Pat & Jennifer's Wedding - Town of Summer Place, Sharpsville, Indiana

Pat & Jennifer's Wedding - Town of Summer Place, Sharpsville, Indiana

More more of our wedding photos, please visit my Flickr site: September 14, 2002: Our Route 66-themed Wedding

July 2001: Oklahoma Route 66 Cruise

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Pat and I decided to attend the Oklahoma Route 66 Association’s annual cruise this year, held on July 13 – 14, 2001. Cruisers have the option of travelling eastbound or westbound, with festivities centrally planned in Yukon.

I had just moved to the Chicagoland area back in January and Pat lives in Indianapolis, so we thought about the most efficient way we could get together, to start our drive to Oklahoma. I was able to get a very inexpensive flight from Midway Airport to Indianapolis, so Pat picked me up there and we headed out to Oklahoma.

Since we were coming from Indiana and didn’t have alot of time, we obviously cruised west, starting in Miami, Oklahoma at Waylan’s Ku-Ku Burgers (they have great crushed ice!!).

Ending in Yukon, there was a sock hop and car show, which was alot of fun. On Sunday morning, I had to get to Tulsa for a return flight to Midway. We had difficulty finding the airport and I arrived at the airport with minutes to spare before my flight.

Slideshow of All Photos

For more details about a particular photo, click on it in the slideshow and it will open in my Flickr site.

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 Also, see these photos of the car show and sock hop by Cheryl Nowka

Michael Wallis Booksigning at Hit the Road Travel Store

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On June 21, 2001, I had the pleasure of attending a reading and booksigning by Michael Wallis of the updated version of his wonderful book, Route 66: The Mother Road. The updated version was done for the 75th Anniversary of Route 66 (and the entire U.S. Highway System, for that matter).

The booksigning was held at a very cool travel store called Hit the Road. Unfortunately, it closed several years ago. I shopped there alot to try to support the efforts of the two owners, Annice Tatken and Maureen Geoghegan.

I had the pleasure of meeting again (or for the first time) many roadies whom I would see often over the years: Johnny Miller, Lulu, and Bob Harmon.

I was completely blown away by the power of his speaking in person. I had, of course, seen his video many times over the years, and which was the inspiration for my own Route 66 journey. It was a pleasure meeting Michael and Suzanne for the first time.

Slideshow of All Photos

For more details about a particular photo, click on it in the slideshow and it will open in my Flickr site.

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”roadtripmemories” id=”72157609148844230″ width=”500″]

June 2001: Illinois Motor Tour

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This was my first time (but not my last) attending the Illinois Motor Tour, an event organized by the Route 66 Association of Illinois each year.

Slideshow of All Photos

For more details about a particular photo, click on it in the slideshow and it will open in my Flickr site.

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”roadtripmemories” id=”72157609128414342″ width=”500″]

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