By Josh Friedrich
The Route 66 Association of Illinois Motor Tour kickoff celebration took place in Plainfield at "Just Off 66." This place is AWESOME! The walls are covered in vintage signage and vibrant neon lights. There were classic arcade machines and tons of 50s and 60s era artifacts from the heyday of Route 66. Cool classic cars sat outside and even a Red Radio Flyer Wagon convertible car for us to enjoy while eating our dinner. Charlie couldn't stay away from his best bud, Marty Blitstein, and helped out at the registration table. After a great evening with our fellow roadies, it was time to head to the hotel for a much-needed nights rest.
After a quick continental breakfast, we headed over to the Berwyn Historical Museum. While there, be sure to charge up at the E-car charging station out front. The place was packed with people and we missed out on getting the goodie bag by a few minutes. I liked the Route 66 history represented, especially the stuff about The Spindle art piece. We posed for the group photo, hopefully I didn't blink or have a goofy look on my face. After that we waited patiently for a spot to open up so we could join the caravan out of town, with an official police escort. We meandered our way past the Steak-N-Egger and onward to Saban's for a good view of the fenced-off section of Route 66 near the Vulcan Quarry that is unsafe to drive on due to mining and erosion near the road.