Route 66 in Illinois: Starting out in Chicago

// This is a machine generated transcript. Please report any transcription errors to will-help@illinois.edu.

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Brian Mackey: From Illinois Public Media, this is The 21st Show. I'm Brian Mackey. And all this week, we are celebrating Route 66. America's most famous highway is turning 100 this year, and Illinois is bound up in more than 300 miles of its stories. We're highlighting some notable and historic places on the Illinois portion of the mother road. To begin our statewide journey, we traveled to the start of Route 66 in the heart of downtown Chicago. At Michigan and Adams in front of the Art Institute, there are signs noting the start of Route 66, and that's where our producer Jose [Zaeda] spoke with people on their own journeys.

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Jose [Zaeda]: Chris, Adam, Charlene,

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Speaker 2: Colton, Avery,

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Jose [Zaeda]: we're from [Patoria], Ohio. Little bitty town on the right outside the country. All right, so, uh, what brings you to, uh, Route 66? Are you doing the entire trip or what's going on? This is actually — we did it backwards. Um, these three young gentlemen just graduated in June and it's their graduation gift. So we flew out to San Francisco, went down the coast to San Bernardino, and this is our ending here. So we did it backwards. How was the trip? Uh, actually it was pretty — it was pretty good, surprising. Any notable experiences? Love the San Francisco [Bridge] and I loved — all then we went to the, uh, what — Redwood. San Bernardino was surprisingly clean. Um, people were really nice. Wasn't too overcrowded. It was, it was wonderful. Uh, for maybe the three of you, um, how was the trip for you? Maybe it's like the last [hurrah] before you guys move on with whatever you're doing. Uh, it was fun, all the views and everything. Uh, the hotels, I liked it. You guys did the road trip by RV, car? What do we — we rented a car in San Francisco at the airport and then we just drove on down to San Bernardino. And what's your, uh, go-to, uh, road trip snacks? What did we eat? We had lots of Dr Pepper, Red Bull, Monsters, chips, uh, a lot of coffee, a lot of coffee. Finally, how are we — how are we getting home? The same car. Perfect. Well, thank you for your time. I appreciate it.

Thank you. Rose and I'm [Teraine]. So what brought you out to Route 66? Well, she missed Woodstock to have me, so we're now going Route 66. What — what took so long? Family time, jobs, you know, life gets in the way. Um, so are you — are you all doing the entire trip? We're doing it. We're taking a whole month. Yeah, we're going to Santa Monica and back. Wow. OK, um, so tell me about how you go about planning this trip, you know, especially for a month. Uh, well, I started out by planning the first four stops and then we're just gonna swing by the seat of our [pants]. OK, and I take it this vehicle behind us is your vehicle of choice to get to do it? Yeah, we rented a vehicle for unlimited mileage, so we're off and running. Always good snacks. What's your go-to snack? Oh, probably peanuts. Yeah, we have peanuts. We have trail mix bars, cashews.

Now, um, I'm not familiar with the way people speak in Maine. Do you say "roots" or Route 66? Route, route, route. OK. And any, uh, sites you're hoping to check out on, on the trip? I think Springfield is a really big — like for me — of Lincoln, yeah, the [Wigwam] and then the Grand Canyon — Grand Canyon, we're going to do Hoover Dam. We're gonna do it all. We're gonna just take our time. From once we get out of here, after our next stop, we'll be just doing 200 miles a day, maybe stopping here, stopping there and eating barbecue. We're looking for the first barbecue and we're going to check out the best, and, you know, we'll report back to you. Why would you tell someone to do such a trip like this? It's historic, historic, it's America, you know, and you learn so much about our history, you know, and who built this country and how — and it's just awesome.

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Adam: My name's Adam. I'm from Rotherham, England, UK.

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Jose [Zaeda]: Uh, welcome to Chicago, for starters. Um, how familiar are you with Route 66 as an Englander?

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Adam: Um, not overly familiar. Obviously I know a little bit of history about it and where it starts, where it ends, um. But yeah, we're just here, uh, doing a bit of sightseeing on a walking tour and obviously it's a nice little, uh, stopping off point to get [a] couple of photographs [of] Route 66.

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Jose [Zaeda]: Pretty cool. You know, if there's one thing you wish you could learn about Route 66 while you're here, what would that be?

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Adam: Maybe how long it took to build, how long it took to lay the road out, when did it actually stop being the main route? Because I know you've got different highways now.

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Jose [Zaeda]: Yeah, yeah, the interstate system replaced the highways. Uh, officially it stopped being a thing in the '80s, Route 66, so um. You know, America does have a big culture of, uh, road trip traveling. Is that a thing in England?

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Adam: Uh, yeah, yeah, well, it's it's becoming more and more popular now. Er, especially as there's a lot of people buying like motorhomes, camper vans, traveling up, up to Scotland and then going over into Europe. Um, yeah, there's a — the road trip scene is getting bigger and bigger now.

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Jose [Zaeda]: Do they look to America for how to do it right?

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Adam: Absolutely, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. It seems like most [shows] that are coming over to the UK at the minute, they're all kind of American.

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Jose [Zaeda]: Um, do you give it your own little, uh, English swing? How do you make it?

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Adam: Yeah, of course, we do it in an English style. Do you know what I mean? It's not all American, but, uh, yeah, I mean, um. We like to, uh, if we go in a camper van on a nice holiday, we've got a little dog — like, take the dog with us. And do you know what I mean, make, make a holiday, go and visit friends. Um, but yeah, it's, uh, it's a cool thing to do.

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Jose [Zaeda]: Of course in Chicago a lot of good food here. Uh, anything you're going to be trying for the first time?

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Adam: Oh, absolutely. So this, this lunchtime we're off for a beef sandwich, yeah, um, and then. Uh, we were up the Sears Tower [to] see for sunset, which was fantastic. Um, yeah, we've got, we've got quite a few different food bits planned. Um, nice [riverwalk], stopping off, little like shrimp tacos, stuff like that, yeah. Honestly, mate, it's a beautiful city. So I've been to New York twice, uh, first time in Chicago. I think Chicago is just as cool as New York, but more chilled. It seems a bit more relaxed than New York. Yeah. [The people] were better than — yeah, yeah, I'd say so, yeah.

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Speaker 2: My name is Sam. I'm from, uh, Scottsburg, Indiana. Uh, John from Salem,

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Jose [Zaeda]: Indiana. So my compliments to your Corvette, uh, absolutely stunning. C4 — I think is the best generation. That — that's besides the point. Um, but so are you guys doing Route 66?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, 100th anniversary. Uh, we've been planning this for, uh, a while, and, uh, we've been to the end, been a few places in the middle, but we want to come [to] the beginning and and take it in — take Chicago in, Illinois in — because there's a lot of historic Americana and and sites that we want to see, and we may not have the opportunity to do it again. So we're here and and, uh, we're gonna make the best of it, you know.

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Jose [Zaeda]: So, um, I take it the C4 then is the, uh, your, uh, car of choice to, to do

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Speaker 2: the trip. I love Corvettes. Uh, I, I've always loved Corvettes my whole life, you know, and I figured I'm gonna take my old Corvette out and, and, and do something historic and meaningful to, to enjoy the ride. Now, it's it's got a few little problems, but you know, we've we've already driven 300-some miles and found a few headaches along the way, but we're going to do it, you know. It's part of the adventure, part of the journey.

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Jose [Zaeda]: Uh, America's sports car on America's mother road. So, um, now tell me about your T-shirts because I see, um, they look custom made. Um, I, I believe that's both of you on Route 66.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we had those made. I had a family member make shirts and I was like, we gotta do something to commemorate the, the journey, you know, uh, so we can look back and be like, you know, we've done it — all right, uh, we went the extra mile. And, um, you know. It, it, it's going to be something that I hope to show my grandkids one day and be like, look at the adventure and the fun that we had and, and kind of pass that, that along to them so that they'll go and do things like this and enjoy life.

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Jose [Zaeda]: God willing, if your grandkids do something similar, um, what do you think the journey would look like for them?

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Speaker 2: You know, we were talking about that like, uh, we have, you know, gas stations in old neon and stuff that's, that's iconic and historic now. What will 50 years from now look like, you know? A McDonald's that is so modern — look, you know, like in a bygone era that has passed away, and, and, uh, they'd be like, oh, look, look at how old it is. And things will be, you know, so much more futuristic. Maybe robots will be going down Route 66 and taking people on the journey. But we want to do it now while we still have it, and, uh, we're we're just glad we're we're here to do it.

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Jose [Zaeda]: We're just out having fun and, uh. You know, we've been friends forever and we've done a lot of trips together and it's just another notch on, uh, one of our adventures. What's your go-to snacks for a road trip? We just eat whatever whenever, you know, our

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Speaker 2: go-to snacks,

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Jose [Zaeda]: uh, whatever's quick and easy. We're we're

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Speaker 2: looking for historic sites along the way. You know, something that people have really enjoyed and and said, hey, stop here, stop there. You know, maybe like corn dogs or a Chicago dog, but something that is representative of the road and the people that, that live and work here.

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Jose [Zaeda]: Any particular highlights along the route that you've experienced worth pointing out? We're just getting started, really. We, uh, we went to see AC/DC last night in Notre Dame Stadium. So then we come up there and I took him to New Buffalo because he's never been there before and there's an old classic ice cream joint called Oink's there. It's been there forever, so it wasn't open, but we just went through there and now we're here. So our next stop is on the road.

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Speaker 2: You see some of the Gemini Giants and things along that line, you know, something that has that old Americana feel, you know.

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Brian Mackey: Thank you again to our producer Jose for catching those voices, and thanks to those willing to share their stories at the start of Route 66 in Chicago. Meanwhile, I too was recently in Chicagoland for a tour of the old Joliet Prison. You'll hear that in a few minutes, but outside the gates, I caught up with another couple traveling Route 66. They'd begun that morning taking on the challenge of navigating downtown Chicago in an RV.

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Cameron: My name is Cameron, and this is my wife Michelle, and we are from San Diego, California. What are you doing out here? We are experiencing Route 66, something that's been a dream for both of us. Where'd you start? At the beginning point in Chicago at, uh, well, we took four days from [San Diego] to drive here on [I-]10 to Chicago

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Brian Mackey: on the interstate,

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Cameron: the modern way and now we're going back.

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Brian Mackey: We just

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Cameron: yep, and we have three dogs that are waiting for us to come, and we started this morning at 7 o'clock.

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Brian Mackey: What are you planning to see? So we're an Illinois show. What are you planning to see? Do you have any must-dos on your Illinois part of the

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Cameron: itinerary? We're trying as much as we can, yeah, as much as we can. We stopped at [Steak 'n Egger]. We did [Steak 'n Egger]. We did what was it — the creamery, yeah, yeah, the one with the Blues Brothers on top, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, and then, uh, we, we're just going by attractions. We went to the starting point in Chicago [in] a motor home. Luckily it's a small one, you know, but that — but this was on our list for sure. We wanted to come by and at least see the prison and stuff.

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Brian Mackey: What's your impression? Have you

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Cameron: been inside yet? No, you can't go in there. [There's] a special they got a special going on too, but you know it looks really gruesome. It was a bit intimidating. I don't — he was telling me when I was in there that the the stones were cut by the original 50 prisoners — prisoners, yeah — that were transferred over, 47 men and three women, yeah, and that, that it holds like 1,500, 1,000 or something. It's a lot. Yeah, but of course they overcrowded.

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Brian Mackey: So last question, what is it about Route 66 that has, like, [captured] the public imagination? OK,

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Cameron: so my parents got divorced when I was real little in 1960 — [19]56 something, yeah, it's OK. So my mom, um, took — uh, I have a brother and a sister, older — they took us in a U-Haul van. At that time they didn't have like windows in the back[,] it was just a van, and we came out from Chicago all the way out to California in a U-Haul van. It was my, my 15-year-old brother and my mother taking turns driving, and me and my sister and my grandma and furniture all piled in the back of the van. And I was, uh, when I was little — I mean, we were driving the route because I know they went Route 66. I would hear these [oohs] and ahs and stuff, right, but I couldn't see anything because, you know. So this is kind of like going back to relive this, you know. I wanted to see what all the oohs and ahs were about. So, 60 years later — yeah, exactly, you know. I know it's a weird story, but it's, it's absolutely true.

I grew up in San Diego, California. I never really went anywhere, and I woke up this morning and we were at, um, Willow — Willow, Willow Springs, a campground over there in the RV, and I'm just like, I'm in Illinois. I'm not in San Diego. It was like, wow. So it's, you know, we had some issues, you know, on the way out, nothing bad, and it's been a really wonderful experience so far. It's been really fun.

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Brian Mackey: Yeah, I heard somebody once describe that as type 2 fun, which is not fun while you're experiencing it, but it'll make a good story.

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Cameron: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's it exactly. Give me 24 hours — go, that was fun. Yeah, you. Find a way to rationalize it. From downtown — downtown was — and I knew, I knew, I said, you know, it's — yeah, I knew it's like, it's going to be crowded, it's going to be packed and the big buildings, the Wi-Fi kept going out and it would say turn left and they kept changing and, and — oh yeah, GPS doesn't work too well. No, it doesn't. And we have — I have a cousin and, and I've never met, so we met up with them yesterday, yesterday. And, uh, we told them we were — we were driving into, into Chicago with the motor[home], and they're like — both him and his wife instantly like [started] praying for him. [They're like,] you're not [serious]. They didn't even, like, look at each other. They just did it. I was like, oh, I said, I go, it can't be that [bad]. But we did it. We did it and we got the beginning photo, the photo of the sign, the Route 66 sign. I got it.

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Brian Mackey: Welcome on behalf of The 21st Show here in the 21st state. Welcome to the rest of Illinois.

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Cameron: Thanks. Well, thank you. Safe travels. Enjoy the journey. Thank you.

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Brian Mackey: And again, we'll continue exploring Route 66 after the break. When we come back, more on the old Joliet Prison. Our program's on tape for the hour today, but we'd love to hear your Route 66 experiences. Call our voicemail line at 217-321-[2121]. That's 217-[321-2121]. This is The 21st Show. Stay with us.

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Cameron: Get your [kicks on Route 66 — St.] Louis[,] Missouri, Oklahoma City [looks,] New Mexico.

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**Flags for Human Review:**
- **[00:00:58] / [00:01:02]** — Producer's last name transcribed as "Zaeda." Verify spelling of Jose's last name.
- **[00:01:02]** — "Patoria, Ohio" is unclear. No known Ohio town by this name. Possible mishearing; verify original audio.
- **[00:01:02]** — "the San Francisco ridge" transcribed as "the San Francisco [Bridge]." Verify intended reference (e.g., Golden Gate Bridge).
- **[00:01:02]** — "Teraine" is an uncommon name spelling; verify against original audio.
- **[00:04:46]** — "a nice little uh stopping off point to get some couple of photographsgin" — "photographsgin" appears to be a transcription artifact. Rendered as "a couple of photographs." Verify original audio.
- **[00:05:51]** — "mostsws" appears to be a transcription artifact. Rendered as "most [shows]." Verify original audio for intended word (possibly "shows," "trends," or another word).
- **[00:06:29]** — "nice riverwa" appears to be a truncated word; rendered as "nice [riverwalk]." Verify original audio.
- **[00:07:49]–[00:07:53]** — Conversation appears split mid-sentence across two speaker segments (Jose [Zaeda] and Speaker 2); verify speaker attribution in original audio.
- **[00:09:35]–[00:09:52]** — Conversation appears split mid-sentence across two speaker segments (Jose [Zaeda] and Speaker 2); verify speaker attribution in original audio.
- **[00:11:12]** — Cameron references driving on "10 to Chicago"; rendered as "[I-]10." Verify intended highway reference in original audio.
- **[00:11:51]** — "steak and Eggert" / "steak and egger" rendered as "[Steak 'n Egger]." Verify business name spelling.
- **[00:15:43]** — Voicemail number given as "217-321-21" in original transcript, which is incomplete. The repeated number given as "217-300-2121" differs. Both have been rendered as "217-321-[2121]" and "217-[321-2121]" respectively, flagging for verification. Confirm correct number with station.
- **[00:16:09]** — Final segment appears to be Cameron singing or reciting lyrics from "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66." Lyrics are partially unclear and truncated; rendered as best approximation. Verify original audio.