Time to Revisit Route 66

October 23, 2021 PT

Route 66 is about as Americana as it gets. Certainly, you should know quite a bit about Route 66 already. But, for the sake of your education and blog clarity, lets review Route 66 history one more time. So, please pay attention. In the 1920s, the states completed Route 66. Traditionally, it is about 2,500 miles of highway running from Chicago to Santa Monica, California. Consequently, it was one of the original highways of USA. The “Mother Road” or “Main Street of America” has been subject of literature, song, movie, and television. Over the decades, Route 66 has changed and a lot is gone. But, if you take the time to explore Route 66, you will find much of the history, businesses, hotels, signs and restaurants still exist. These places are history. Whenever my travels place me near Route 66, PugsleyTonks finds time to revisit Route 66.

As some of you know, Carol is not just a beautiful trophy wife, she also does marathons. Actually, she mostly does the half marathons. But, marathon or half marathon…its all fairly insane. Anyway, a recent marathon road trip took us to Springfield, Illinois. Springfield, IL, is not merely the Land of Lincoln…its along the Mother Road.

On our long weekend in Springfield, Sunday was all about the marathon. However, Saturday is mostly about searching for Rt 66 icons of Americana. First, my Rt 66 travels took me to the Maid Rite Sandwich Shoppe. Fred Angell started the first Maid Rite in Muscatine, Iowa, in 1926. The franchise signature item is the loose meat sandwich. Its kind of like a sloppy Joe that is not so sloppy. Furthermore, Maid Rite is one of the oldest food chains with many locations still in existence. The Springfield Maid Rite is from the 1920s. Beyond being almost 100 years old, this location boosts of having the nations first drive through window. I can not guarantee you will be over whelmed by the loose meat sandwich. However, stop there anyway for the nation’s oldest drive-thru. Every visit to a Maid Rite is like stepping back in time.

The Route 66 food history in Springfield does not stop at Maid Rite. Rather, our dining caravan rolled on to the Cozy Dog. This famous restaurant has been located on Route 66 since 1949.

Obviously, there has been some significant renovations to the original building. So, what make the Cozy Dog famous? “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Or, a coney dog by any other name would taste as good. Although called a Cozy Dog, this place is was the first to put a hot dog on a stick, dip it in batter, and deep fry. Thus, the Cozy Dog is the inventor of the corn dog.

The Cozy Dog is very popular with the locals and loaded with Route 66 memorabilia. I had to visit this iconic restaurant to enjoy the Cozy Dog. For the record, Carol did NOT eat the Cozy Dog, nor the Loose meat sandwich. The marathon was the next day. No matter how nostalgic, this was not the time for Carol to do historic food experimentation.

Please do not get the impression Route 66 is just about cheap, greasy, historic food. I can find high end history too. It is the land of Lincoln after all. Therefore, Carol and I felt compelled to stop by the home of Abraham Lincoln. This was the only home that Abe ever owned. He and his family lived there from 1844 to 1861, just prior to going to Washington D.C. Now, to return to the blog theme, the back yard of his home is actually on Route 66.

Technically, the front of Lincoln’s home is on South 8th Street, which is not old Route 66. However, the property line at the back of the site is on old Route 66. Furthermore, there is a significant Lincoln building at the back edge of his property. Located along old Route 66…drum roll please…I give you the Lincoln crapper. So far, my favorite of all Route 66 attractions.

I could not get all three pots in the shot. But, trust me, this was a 3 hole crapper. There was no privacy between toilets. Apparently, they were a bit more open with their toilet duty in the mid 1850s. To be clear, the crappers are chained off. I did NOT use the Route 66 Lincoln crapper. I only admired the history.

So ends my latest stop on Route 66. This historic route from Chicago to Santa Monica is a treasure trove of Americana. If you find yourself near the old route, I highly encourage you to do a scavenger hunt of your own. There is no bad time to revisit Route 66. Have a wonderful day. PT

I hope you have enjoyed reading “Time to Revisit Route 66” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.

Here was the first post on Route 66 https://travelingwithpt.com/get-your-kicks-on-route-66/

If you want to start planning your Route 66 scavenger hunt, start here https://roadtrippers.com/the-ultimate-guide-route-66/