As I Like It: 66...Going on 66.

Travelogue of a weekend of cars, highway and history through the historic Route 66.

Seeing the numerous links for the annual celebration of the old US highway I66, him and her blocked the weekend of May 3 and May 4.

Visit to the I66 Happened on Sunday due to other unplanned activities.

However a one day of the trip along the old highway should be enough if you are going on a quick hop of each county fair.

Starting from the twin city of BLONO(Bloomington and Normal), the drive was pleasant for the afternoon. Starting in the afternoon after a heavy brunch, Towanda was the first stopover about 30 min away.

Stopped by on seeing a board which read " flea market". It was mentioned in some articles that they recreate the days when the highway I66 was in use. True.

The stalls were set up on a small ground with a live band strumming out songs at one end.

Stopped by a stall at the entrance where an elderly citizen was selling wooden shapes of birds and animals.

Next stall had some hand crafted bracelets and curios. There were wood painted crafts which looked cute.

The visit to this stall did not end with just a window shopping. Purchases included a couple of bracelets for the little nieces back home.

Another interesting stop was by a stall that sold hand knit shawls for little children. The ladies had a story to tell about the stuff in the shelf. Like the muffler that a retired kindergarten teacher used to knit. She used to give it to the children annually. And now that she has retired she decided to knit some for the flea market this year.

If all this seems like the place full of things only for "her", here are a few stalls that were purely for "him"..... Complete set of John Deere automobiles in metal. Prototypes that were quite close to the actual sizes I felt!

Another interesting place and story was that of the silver dime circulated during the civil war.. Those were on sale and interestingly the ones during the war cost more while the coins just printed (coined) a year later cost a little less. Here the purchase included a 50 cent coin bought for 8dollars .

The music band played on with three musicians on the guitar and another dude on the drums.

While some of the visitors relaxed under the trees with a lemonade, some grooved to the songs.

Every town along the route 66 has carnivals set up to welcome the summer.

We drove then on the peaceful two way highway to the next pit stop only to see that that they were winding up on the dot.The drive was lined with some vintage car displays along the route.

One of the notable stops is Pontiac. As the name suggests, a must see here is the Oakland Pontiac Museum. Maintained by a group of enthusiasts, the place has a wide range of the brand of automobile with a history to tell. There is no entry fee and one can walk into the well maintained museum which also has some interesting souvenirs. Photography is allowed inside the museum. For HIM- Lots of clicks possible here.