The end was the beginning

We did not have that many miles to Chicago, but we did want to see one more amazing Route 66 attraction.  It was in the little town of Wilmington, Illinois.  It is called the Gemini Giant and is next to the recently closed Launching Pad Restaurant.  It seems to me that he is the cousin of Paul Bunyon.  While we were there we met a man who had driven  from Los Angeles.  He had an accent that seemed to be from Australia.  He was very excited to be there and maybe more excited than us.  Just think, grown men from different parts of the world excited to see a 20' tall statue of a guy with a space helmet on.  

After the Grmini Giant, we set the GPS for Lake Shore and Jackson street in downtown Chicago.  That was the beginning of Route 66.  We made it to downtown just fine, but it took just as long to find a parking space as it did to drive.  We parked and walked looking for the famous intersection.  It took some looking but we finally found the official beginning of Route 66.  So that beginning was our ending.  What an amazing 7 days that will be etched into my memory for decades.