Throughout the summer, we’ll be sharing weekly installments of a Route 66 travel journal written by association member Joe Razumich. It’s his entertaining account of a recent road trip from his home down Route 66 to Rolla, Missouri for the 75th anniversary of the iconic Munger Moss Motel. On his adventure, Joe passes through Illinois so you’re sure to recognize many of the places he mentions. So, without further ado, here’s Joe!
Sit back and enjoy a Journey Joe travel adventure. Is Journey Joe a real person? Well, not really. But he’s as real as any nickname, any stage personality, any thought or collection of travel experiences that any roadie might have. The real “Joe” is Joe Razumich, a lover of cars and the open road ever since his childhood, growing up around the corner from a hot rod shop, a busy Broadway, and a railroad track. But really all Real Joe does is drive. And put gas in the tank. And put Mr. Suitcase, Mr. Duffle Bag, Ms. Cooler, Mr. Road Atlas, etc., collectively known as the “Inanimate Objects,” in the trunk or behind the passenger seat. Or, to put it another way, Joe loves to drive. Journey Joe loves to write about it – and take you, Dear Reader, along for the ride.
Thursday, June 17, 2021. Day 3. Part 1.
There is one unalterable, inescapable truth associated with historic motor courts. The ghost cigarette. It’s in the atmospheric ether, always and forever. Doesn’t matter whether the place had gone “no smoking” twenty years ago, or last month. And it peeks out from that spirit world into the living world, when you step out of that shower in that tiny steamy bathroom. Not that I’m complaining, Dear Readers. I used to smoke, so I’m part of the force that created the spirit. No, I’m not complaining, I’m just noting it as a statement of fact. It’s one of those things you expect and accept as part of the vintage lodging experience.
Free Breakfast in just a few minutes, in this delightful old motor court with its uncommon lobby space, will be coffee and sugar fists. Most people call them muffins or donuts; I call them sugar fists.
The blueberry sugar fists were tasty. I’m proud to say I made it through the morning with only one. And then we were on our way, saying goodbye to the Carlinvilla Motel.
It was top down for the morning driving session, before it got oppressively hot. We cruised through the south-lands of Illinois 66, stopping for an hour or so at Henry’s Rabbit Ranch. Henry is doing well and his spirit is intact, just recently reopening his place after being closed for a year.
Neither one of us had been to the Chain of Rocks bridge in a few years, so we decided to pay a visit. Lulu showed me the “road to the bottom”, where you’re at river’s edge and can take a good picture looking up at the bridge. We wandered around the sparsely populated parking lot and took our various pictures and selfies. It was while we were taking pictures there, that this really really strange thing happened…
Follow along with Journey Joe’s travels! Click to read the following entries in this series as they’re published.