ROUTE 66 #VANLIFE TRIP 🇺🇸 2600 miles from Chicago to LA. History, culture, sites, Class B RV tips 🚐

So it brings me to downtown Chicago 7 a.m. on a Sunday morning it isn't the Art Institute it is wait for it yes the beginning of Route 66 downtown Chicago we are headed to Los Angeles California and once you go along for the ride let's jump into it super excited to have you along for the ride and this is gonna be a ride my name is Scott welcome to Go Small Live Large let's hit the first few miles of Route 66 as we leave downtown Chicago Route 66 here we are at the Cindy Lynn Motel yes Cindy Lynn Motel originally opened with 18 rooms renting for six bucks a night it was built as the last hotel before getting into the city of Chicago they've had a few renovations since and that sign has probably seen some better days and probably had more neon originally nonetheless Cindy Lynn Motel got the first famous sign on our trip what makes Henry's important here is that they've been serving hot dog service in the 1950s and that's the original sign still on Route 66 just outside of Chicago Henry's would love to see that at night right all neoned up by the way it's a meal in of itself sorry to interrupt your current programming but just want to talk quickly about what is this Route 66 thing all about why is it important to me why might it be important to you what we plan to do and not do and the resources that we're going to bring to bear so we stay on track why Route 66 well it's the mother road probably the most famous roadway in North America probably even on the planet started in 1926 took many years to build and while officially no longer exists from a road standpoint road numbering system type standpoint there is lots of places where the historic Route 66 is called out and new pavement is overlaying and why am I doing this I just adding travel to the channel we've been doing a lot of learning and sharing on the van and things about the van and RVing but not a whole lot on travel so this is kind of a new experiment for me so I'm begging your patience as we go forward what I am going to do is show you some of the sites not all of the sites there's really too many put out the big things that get my attention that you might want to see as well and point out some things that are kind of odd and quirky using this book and we're going to point those out as we go along but it's a big trip ladies and gentlemen if you don't know Chicago to LA is 2,600 miles and it's a really big project and what we want to do also that's very different is invite you along to caravan so me and some crazy like me whether you have a van or not can go on certain segments of the route 66 with me we will post those on my website point-to-point the first one is Pontiac Illinois to Springfield Illinois which is about a hundred mile segment and we're going to do a roundups and maybe even a Vanbury that would be a camp out as I call them along the route we got plenty of places to do this I think and so just stay stay stay tuned into the website that's we're going to what's fascinating here is that there's so many resources on route 66 and I was struggling to even know where to start and we had an audience angel right here point out this app we're gonna be using this app it's called route 66 navigation pretty basic not sure I missed that it is a paid-for app fairly expensive it's about $50 that'd be five zero dollars for this app but it is really giving really good navigation from where I am to where I want to go points of interest along the way and I found it to be super useful and we're putting up pictures as we go along the route so you can see those and we'll put all the resources down below in the show notes and again is this just kind of a big experiment why do I even want to do route 66 it's been on my boyhood bucket list forever why I love cars I love road trips I love America I love Americana I love mid-century so much of this is the neons and some of that kind of stuff in the crazy architecture clear up to the 50s which is definitely mid-century and then the 60s the Eisenhower Interstate Expressway freeway system bypassed a lot of these so they're really kind of ghost towns in many cases or great memories that have been reinvigorated and that's what is interest me in this thing so give it a thumb up if you get anything out of this sure appreciate that and subscribe to the channel if you're into travel if you're in a route 66 if you're into American history if you're into rumming around in an RV working from the road things like that subscribe to the channel we got a lot coming up let's keep going all right a couple days ago we started and left off with this sign here which is the 1950s original sign route 66 but guess what I picked up a hitchhiker look at this yes my partner Kyle is joining me for the first week on the road route 66 because it's a meal in itself yeah let's get one pointing out the sign right here route 66 takes a turn on Harlem Avenue in Ogden excited super excited route 66 route 66 Luke route 66 just a few miles outside of Chicago is McCook Illinois this is the sign that's been here since 2013 installed by the owner of this place to bring people like me and you to stop and take a picture of his sign and maybe stop him for a bite but cook Illinois how funny is that let's keep rolling get your kicks on route 66 this is get your chicks on route 66 look at this awesome sign began here 1940s 50s 62 interstate passed by which is what we've just gotten off of which is interstate I 55 so it kind of overlays you'll route 66 fortunately this place is still going we're gonna go inside and check it out and just love this sign I wish we could see it at night so cool Delray's chicken basket let's check it out inside so we have to ask the chicken fried chicken aficionado how was the chicken at chicken basketball I could say that I don't like it but look at my plate it's pretty awesome what made this guy famous is he was an adaptation of the muffler man kind of doing the with the welders helmet up here see that so kind of adaptation of the muffler man he's the Gemini Giant here in Wilmington Illinois so it made the polka dot famous is started in 1956 I started a school bus business got really good and kind of moved the business inside I don't see the school bus on the grounds anymore but the polka dot it's pretty good we're trying out a malt pineapple flavored malt when's the last time I had a malt comment below what a cool place so we're looking at is a trolley car that ran on rails it was actually a turned into a diner in 1932 parked out on the route 66 operate until 1939 feeding weary and hungry motorists been moved to this location here take a look they're pretty cool love it when history is preserved this building could talk huh and if this building over here could talk our two cell jail built in 1906 never housed any desperadoes or gangsters but did house hobos and vagrants overnight because in the 1930s the townspeople did not want hobos and vagrants wandering around looking for work they want them in here in the evening and then they'd let him out in the morning to go find work pretty basic stuff how about that black tank route 66 Gardner Illinois pretty cool this is a good example of interstate travel over here two lanes either direction versus route 66 one lane in either direction how much more peaceful this is versus how hurried this is this is actually outside of Gardner Illinois and it parallels interstate 55 we are southbound on route 66 headed to Dwight and a Pontiac so while this is being considered route 66 you can see the paved road right over here elevated pretty broken up my speculation is that is actually the original route 66 this interstate 555 over here Pontiac so that concludes our first few miles out of 2600 as we left downtown Chicago at the start sign heading into Pontiac Illinois about a hundred miles outside of downtown Chicago just an amazing great first trip learning this together how can I convey these cool things quickly concisely we're gonna be working on that together comment below interesting what would you like to see more of less of we're learning together have you been on route 66 I'm headed out of Illinois into Missouri shortly so send me your points to not miss along route 66 in Missouri next video you're gonna see is Pontiac Illinois an amazing museum an amazing artist and that amazing artist is really famous for route 66 because Bob Waldmeier lived in his van and his Skoolie as he covered route 66 back and forth over the decades he was an amazing artist look at the this quality of work he did all with ink and pen and I can't wait for you to see his bus learn a little bit about story truly an inspiration to people like me so you learn about Bob we're gonna meet some of the posse as we caravan from Pontiac Illinois to Springfield Illinois big video coming up don't miss it subscribe to the channel until then we see you soon journey on