Route 66: Day 2
Yellows and oranges this time of year through Illinois and Missouri topped off with the notorious haze. Just as I remember, I lived here as a child. Every now and then the amazing flocks of little blackbirds fill the sky, and of course old oil pumps seized or chugging away..
Illinois has done an amazing job, maintaining the route, artisans, shops and motels keep the spirit of Route 66 alive and well .
I must admit I got a little giddy when I started seeing all those old signs advertising everything from lodging to Cheerios up and down the small town roads . All screaming from a time when the automobile was king of the road.
But like the big cities, the small towns are full of mopeds, bicycles, scooters electric, and foot powered. Diversity is much different than it was when the plans were first mapped and the highway pieced together.
So much changed and so much has not . St. Louis had so many signs of the days gone by, great blues, rock and opera musicians. Many of the old bars and music houses still standing.
I found East St. Louis to be very difficult after all these years watching that city. Little has changed for the better: it has just continued to decline. Truly a city where urban gentrification has not caught on.
I didn’t have the heart to take the big bridge into St. Louis again. I was just there last year on a vacation. Instead I followed rural roots that meandered into and the area I lived for six years as a child.
