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Exploring Elkhart - posted on September 8, 2009
There’s a lot more to Elkhart’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it small town than meets the eye. This stop along Route 66 in Central Illinois offers options for dining, shopping, and even learning—all in the span of two tiny blocks. Why bother stopping? “It’s very well-sited right on I-55 and smack on Route 66,” explains Andrea Niehaus, owner of Horsefeathers Antiques & Gift Shop and The Wild Hare Cafe. “Plus it’s like a page torn from Norman Rockwell.” In other words, it boasts about as much character as you can possibly fit in one tiny downtown. Horsefeathers and Wild HaresRevitalizing downtown Elkhart is all in the family for Andrea and her sister, Renee Sisk. Andrea and her husband, Peter, renovated the original red brick...

Great Illinois Drive-Ins - posted on July 27, 2009
Did you know Illinois once boasted more than 120 drive-in movie theaters? Although most of these iconic film-viewing sites of the past are long since closed, there are still 12 to 13 open outdoor picture shows (depending on who you ask) in Illinois—and two are located right here in the central part of the state. The first, Harvest Moon Drive-In in Gibson City, opened in 1954 and still shows movies nightly from June through August and on weekends in April, May, and September. Shows begin at dusk and admission is $6 per person (children 5 and younger are free). Click here for movie listings and more information. The second theater, Route 66 Drive-In in Springfield, originally was called Green Meadows when it opened in 1978. It closed in 1982, was purchased by Knight's Action Par...

Route 66 Stop: Cozy Dog Drive-In - posted on July 22, 2009
Was Ed Waldmire, the creator of the cozy dog (originally called the “crusty cur”), the first person to sell the corn dog? Some say so, but it's a highly disputed fact. Hot dog historians argue that the cozy dog—which was created in 1946, sold at the Illinois State Fair that same year, and later led to the opening of the Cozy Dog Drive-In in Springfield—was preceded by the Texas State Fair’s “corny dog” and the Minnesota State Fair’s “pronto pup.” Whether the Cozy Dog Drive-In holds the title or not, it’s a can’t-miss stop for tasty fried food and Route 66 kitsch. Just make sure you remember one important fact: you’re not ordering a corn dog, folks. It’s a cozy dog. Get that right and you’re in fo...

Route 66 Stop: The Palms Grill Cafe - posted on July 13, 2009
The Palms Grill Café in Atlanta, Illinois, was a Route 66 hotspot from the 1930s to the 1960s, the place locals and travelers along the Mother Road gravitated to for five-cent coffee, home-cooked meals, and waitresses with a bit of sass.Now, roughly 40 years after the restaurant closed, it’s open once again—looking much as it did in its heyday and offering a hearty menu sure to satisfy the appetite of any wanderer or local. Slide onto a stool at the counter or grab a table and see for yourself.The SettingLocated right on Arch Street, the main drag in Atlanta, the Palms is conveniently situated next door to the local museum annex and across the street from a rather tall Paul Bunyan clutching a hot dog, just two of the many Route 66 sites you’ll find downtown.The gri...

Travel Back in Time: Atlanta - posted on July 2, 2009
Looking for something to do this weekend? Take a walking tour of a history-packed stretch of Route 66 in Atlanta, Illinois.It’s hard not to grin when you’re greeted by a giant smiley face water tower, the first site that meets the eye when as you drive into Atlanta. And it’s even harder not to smile when you park downtown in front of the J.M. Judy & Sons Grocers mural (a replica of the same mural from the early 1900s) and realize you’ve been transported back to a simpler time.This will be your starting point for your walking tour of downtown Atlanta, with its historic Route 66 sites, Lincoln history, and a whole lot of small-town charm.At the corner of Arch and Race streets, get an up-close look at the Atlanta Public Library and Museum, an eight-sided limeston...

Holding Court in Postville - posted on June 17, 2009
Walk up the cobbled sidewalk that leads to the Postville Courthouse in Lincoln and you’re accompanied by ghosts of court days past—including the spirit of Abraham Lincoln, who walked these same grounds himself more than 160 years ago.The Postville Courthouse you enter today is not the same building that Lincoln spent time in. But a tour of the replica—a state historic site and Route 66 Roadside Attraction—offers a glimpse of what the original structure looked like at the time a young Abe Lincoln practiced law there. A Trip Back In TimeInside, displays showcase what life was like for traveling lawyers and explain how the legal system worked in the mid- to late-1800s. Lay your eyes on a rocking chair Lincoln used to sit in when he visited friends in the area—but...