The day began early, with the annual Walk for the Cure, led by Shana Martin. We walked out to Lake Michigan, to the War Memorial. Lake Michigan is the largest lake in our country, which is totally enclosed by the continental USA.

The HDSA Research Forum featured three doctors who updated us about different stages of research: basic research, translational research, and human clinical trials. They had some very interesting information to share.

Had lunch with Sherri, her mom Marge, and her Aunt Leona. We went to Mo's Irish Pub. I had Irish stew, served in a little black pot.

I was pretty tired, so I decided to skip a session in deference to a nap. Didn't really sleep too well. Went downstairs to photograph the Phase III Hunt-Dis Memorial Quilt, while it was hanging, but alas, it had been taken down about 1/2 hour before the Exhibit Hall was scheduled to close.

Got dressed up for the Reception, NYA Silent Uction and Generation 2000 Gala Awards, Dinner, and Dance. I wore the same outfit I wore at Kevin and Erin's wedding last year. Charlotte wore the same outfit she wore in San Diego at the first HD convention she attended in 2001. The Silent Auction closed right before the dinner; I didn't bid on anything. Dinner was OK; salad first, then carrots, twice baked potato, and some kind of chicken and mushroom. Dessert was a spice cake. Average fare.

The dance is always the high point. "We are Family" is always played, and researchers, people with HD, youth ... everyone enyoys a great time celebrating. I danced a few dances with Steve Ireland, including the Electric Slide, the Twist, and 2 slow dances. He had promised me a dance last year, but didn't keep his promise, but this year he outdid himself. Thanks, Steve!

Got to bed about midnight. Sherri enjoyed dancing with Dr. Anthony Lechich, MD, the medical Director of the Terrance Cardinal Cook Nursing Home in New York City.

With love from the city of breweries,

Marie

Woke up about 6:00 am - didn't sleep well.

Showered, then took my first trip down to the van, to start loading. Got 1/2 pint milk for my cereal. Ate breakfast, then took a second trip to the van. It was so handy having the van parked across the street!

Attended the Interfaith Service. Enjoyed the sharing of testamonies of what the Lord is doing in the lives of folks in the HD Community.

The informal Continental Breakfast and Roundtables were one last opportunity to visit and share. Got in one last visit with Marian Michener, Joan's sister. Also got to visit with Elizabeth Penziner, whom we missed in Iowa City, due to her other commitments.

Barbara Boyle's closing remarks included the invitation to participate in the Convention next year, which will be in Oklahoma City. Hmmmm ...

Bid fond farewells to those we saw, then attempted to get on the I-94 East. Lots of construction and closures of on-ramps. It took 45 min. but we finally found a way. A traffic back-up slowed us down, but we finally made it to Sandwich IL, to the home of Dave and Sue Hodgson. It is pretty rural here, and they live in a manufactured home subdivision called Wildwood.

Two of Sue's sons (Bob and Buddy, and his family) and two of Dave's daughters (Kate and Emily, and her husband) joined us for hamburgers. Nice to get to know them. Unfortunately, Sue got sick, and spent the evening in bed. Hope she feels better in the morning.

Tomorrow we start the last leg of this year's ride, the Illinois portion of Route 66.

With love from Sandwich ("The Fair City"),
Marie

Slept pretty well last night; up at 6:00 am. Usual breakfast - my homemade granola, 1/2 banana, and milk.

Dave drove the van into downtown Chicago, pointing out various sites like a tour guide. Passed through the town of Oak Park, where Ernest Hemmingway, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Edgar Rice Burroughs had homes. Passed the Rush Medical Center and Cook County Hospital, which are in the IMD (Illinois Medical District). Passed "The Spaghetti Bowl" where the I-90, the I-94, and the I-290 all intersect.

Finally made it to the starting point of Route 66, at Adams and Michigan Ave. A nice photo op, courtesy of Dave. Excitement mounted as it began to sink in that it was time to ride again, at the starting point of the USA's most famous highway. When Route 66 was commissioned in 1926, the whole length through Illinois was already paved.

Found the sign which said "Begin Historic Route 66." Rode under the EL tracks, with imposing views of the skyscrapers, including the Sears Tower, the tallest building on US 66. Took in sights, smells, and sounds of the Windy City. Traffic really wasn't too bad; no narrow escapes. Route 66 is very well marked, especially for a highway which technically doesn't exist since its decommissioning.

Saw the Castle Car Wash with its unique architecture. Rode through Cicero with its Henry's Drive Inn (It's a Meal in itself), into Berwyn with its lighted glass-block "entry" sign and US 66 banners. Turned onto Harlem Ave. and Joliet Road. At about 14 miles, we had to load up the bikes, because Route 66 is covered over by the I-55. We enjoyed the rest. Dave pointed out the Electro Motive, which makes 90% of the engines for diesel locomotives and also Montana Charlie's Little America Flea Market and the White Fence Farms, which serves fried chicken. Since it was about noon, we decided to stop for lunch at the Veterans Woods Forest Preserve. We started riding from there, past the Illinois State Police District 5 Hdqtrs. Passed the entrance of the Statesville Prison, which was immortalized in "The Blues Brothers."

Stopped for a soft serve ice cream cone at the Rich and Creamy on Broadway. Thanks for treating us, Dave!

Crossed into Joliet on the Ruby St. Bridge. Joliet was originally named for Shakespeare's Juliet, but the town became named Joliet after it was mistakenly assumed to be named in honor of early French-Canadian explorer Louis Joliet, who visited the site in 1673.

Stopped to view the 1926 vaudeville Rialto Square Theatre. Quite imposing. I noticed signs for US Hwy 6 and US Hwy 30 (The Lincoln Hwy) again. the Lincoln Hwy was chartered in 1913. Carl Fisher, the man who built the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909, was the prime mover. The route from New York to California was 3,389 miles long, through NY, NJ, PA, OH, IN, IL, IA, NE, WY, UT, NV, and CA.

Dave led us to the home of Diana Ray and her son Todd. Diane lost her husband Marshall to HD about a year ago. Showered and rested while Diane drove Dave back to Sandwich, since Sue was too ill to drive out and pick him up.

When she returned, she took us to dinner a the Golden Corral. Yummy food choices.

Found a huge statue of the Joliet Jackhammer's mascot at the Silver Cross Minor League Baseball Field.

Back to the Ray's. Visited with Diane some, mostly about her life. Her late husband Marshall was a drummer. He went to Robert E. Lee High School with Ronnie Van Zandtz in Jacksonville FL. Van Zandtz started the Rock band Lynard Skynard, named after the Coach at their high school. The coach had harassed these musicians because of their long hair, and he got a famous Rock band named after him. Marshall played drums with this band before they became famous.

Once more, with feeling, love from the Mother Road,
Marie and Charlotte

Route miles - 40
Charlotte and Marie - 28.29
Road change - 34 cents

Diane led us out of Joliet, to Hwy. 53. Charlotte rode first, as far as the "Gemini Giant" 20 ft. tall fiberglass statue, resplendent in his green space suit and huge helmet, and cradling a toy rocket in his hands, which says "Launching Pad" on it. That is the name of the restaurant in Wilmington. There are 3 of these statues. Should see another tomorrow in Atlanta, as it was moved from a drive-in in Cicero.

When I was riding, I passed the Exelon Nuclear Generating Station.

Before getting to Gardner, I stopped at the historic 1928 speakeasy called the Riviera.

In Gardner, I was able to see the two cell jail, adjacent to a park. There was a plaque in this park, honoring Rev. Chris Christiansen, a Norwegian Pastor from Gardner, who was instrumental in aiding the Allies in WWII. He shared his knowledge with the US Navy Dept. and that helped in the victory in Feb. 1943 in Operation Gunnerside. This story was made into a movie called "The Heroes of Telemark."

On to Dwight "Welcome to Dwight, Eat Stay and Play in the friendliest town in the USA." Stopped at the restored gas station, which had been Becker's Marathon Gas Station, but now Texaco station. It was built in 1933 and was the longest operating service station to pump gas on Route 66. Also passed Route 66 Tire & Auto, with its display of old gas pumps and signs, and Federson's Pizza Garage, former car dealership but now a restaurant. Got some neat photos of the memorabilia. Last stop in Dwight was lunch at the Lions Lake Park.

On to Odell "A small town with a big heart, where everybody is somebody." Came across a tunnel under Route 66, which was used from 1926 - 1946, when traffic was so congested that it became necessary to build an underground passage to safely cross church goers and school children. In 1947, with the advent of the 4-lane by-pass 2 blocks West, the tunnel was no longer needed, so it was filled in. Final stop in Odell was the 1932 classic Standard Station; it was restored by volunteers and the Illinois Route 66 Association.

On to Pontiac, which gave its name to the original Chicago-St. Louis road, the Pontiac Trail. Saw a restored painted barn advertising Missouri's Merrimac Caverns some 240 miles away!

I rode an extra 12 more miles, since Day 25 looked awfully long, like 85 miles. We will ride some extra tomorrow, too, to cut that number down.

Got some film developed at Walgreen's, got the oil changed, did a little grocery shopping before showers at the parsonage and fixing tuna salad for dinner.

Three more days on "The Mother Road." Am enjoying the flat prairie riding, and we have had a tailwind.

Route miles - 66
Charlotte - 36
Marie - 30
Road Change - 1 cent

Woke up early, so got on the road a bit earlier than usual. Charlotte rode first, to the far side of Chenoa (Hwy 24). I then enjoyed my ride, which paralled the I-55. North of Lexington, there is an abandoned stretch of 66 called "Memory Lane," which is open for hiking, biking, and to cars once a year. Opposite Memory Lane, I found a paved bike path alongside the road. Drove through Towanda, which has "Dead Man's Curve," a 90 degree turn. The townspeople have made good use of a portion of the abandoned westbound lanes of the former 4-lane 66, by creating a Walking Tour along the defunct roadway. It is entitled "Historic Rte 66 Illinois - A Geographic Journey". All 8 Rte 66 states are honored, and "Burma Shave" signs. Flyers are even printed in various languages!

Pressed on into Normal (home of Illinois State Univ.) Adjoining Normal is Bloomington (hometown of M*A*S*H "Colonel Blake", the actor McLean Stevenson, who grew up here, as did his kin Adlai Stevenson.) McLean is the name of the county here. This town is the world's sole source for "Beer Nuts."

A highlight of today was Funks Grove Maple SIRUP. That is the preferred spelling when referring to the product made by boiling sap. "Syrup" was defined as the end product of adding sugar to fruit juice. We met Glaida Funk, who now owns the opertation with her husband Steve. His ancestors started the maple sirup business in the 1820's.

Stopped briefly in McLean, home of the Dixie Trucker's Home. It was the first truck stop on Route 66.

On to Atlanta IL, quite a lot to see. Saw "Bunyon's Statue," a brother to the Gemini Giant. In the 60's, about 150 of these fiberglass statues were produced in Venice CA. They were designed to hold automobile mufflers, and originally used as attention getters as "Muffler Men." In 1965, Hamlet Arthur Stephens swapped the muffler for a hot dog. The statue stood in front of his restaurant in Cicero IL. Stephens purposefully misspelled "Bunyon" to avoid infringement on "Paul Bunyan." In 2003, after 38 years of operation, Stephens sold his business, but wasn't sure what to do with the giant statue. Although he had been offered $10,000 for it, he decided to loan it to Atlanta, through the efforts of the Preservation Committee of IL Route 66. Looked at the 1908 Octagonal Library/Museum and the 40 ft. clock towe, which is hand wound every 8 days. Also enjoyed the yellow water tower with a giant smiley face painted on it.

Last town for today was our destination, Lincoln, a town originally called Postville, but re-christened "Lincoln" by Abe Lincoln, before he became a nationally known figure. After showers at the local rec center, we made ourselves at home in the youth room of Zion Lutheran Church.

With love from the Land of Lincoln,
Marie and Charlotte

Route miles - 70
Charlotte - 37
Marie - 30
Road change - 11 cents

On the road again ... at 7:00 am, knowing that we had a long day ahead of us, but we didn't know how long.

First stop was the "Pig Hip Museum" in Broadwell. Ernie Edwards & his wife Frances served thousands of Pig Hip Sandwiches from 6-16-37 to 9-9-90.

Williamsville is home to "The Old Station" open 24 hours a day, except when closed. It's open when here, closed when gone.

Major stop in Springfield, the capital of Illinois. Went to the Lincoln Tomb and the State Capitol. The tour was interesting, although our guide seemed pre-occupied. Saw paintings of Everett Dirksen and Adlai Stevenson, famous sons of IL. There are 59 State Senators and 118 State Representatives. The Capitol Bldg. has a grey metal cupola, not gold like many other Capitol Buildings.

On the way out of Springfield, saw the last of the giant "brothers" in IL. This one is the Lauderbach Giant at Lauderbach's Tire & Auto Service. These days, he holds an American Flag.

Took the older alignment of 66 out of Sprinfield, Hwy 4. Passed through Auburn (which had a 1.4 mile stretch of brick road), Thayer, Virden, and Girard before taking the Farmersville Rd back to the newer alignment of 66. Basically it's just a Frontage Road alongside the I-55.

From Lincoln to Mt. Olive ended up being 100 miles. We only covered 53 by bike. I really should have planned 6 days riding from Chicago to St. Louis, not just five. Had a headwind much of the day, which slowed us down, plus the 2 hours of touring, and lunch. We had banked about 23 miles extra in the last two days, but we still came up short. Oh well ...

We are staying in Mt. Olive with a semi-retired pastor and his wife, Jim and Harriet Leidholdt, both in their 70's. They were referred to us by the Frankes, a couple we stayed with in Frankfort KY during the 1999 ride. Harriet prepared a wonderful beef roast, mashed potatoes, corn, and green beans for supper, plus lemon merangue pie.

Hard to believe that we just have one more day of riding tomorrow.

Route miles - 100
Charlotte - 30
Marie - 23
Road change - 1 penny

With love from the land of Lincoln,
Marie and Charlotte

Up bright and early, eager with anticipation for what the last day of this year's ride will bring.

Harriet made one of those egg, sausage, bread, and cheese breakfast casseroles. It was delicious. I got the recipe from her for inclusion in my next project, which will be a "Bike for the Cure" cookbook.

Jim lead us back to 66 and out to the Mt. Olive Cemetery, to the tomb of "Mother Jones," an early union labor activist lady. She died when she was 100 years old.

Stopped at Soulsby's Shell Station, which has been restored. It was a Shell Station for all 65 years of being in business.

Henry's Rabbit Ranch & Route 66 Emporium in Staunton was an interesting stop. There were many VW Rabbit vehicles in various states of repair and disrepair, and also a statue of a rabbit on a trailer.

Fairly easy riding today, through Hamel and Edwardsville.

We rode on Hwys. 4 and 157 until we finally got to the Chain of Rocks Road. I rode the first five miles, and had to wait for the train to pass at Mitchell, near the Luna Cafe. It has quite a storied past, with visitors like Al Capone, and ladies of the night.

Finally caught up with Charlotte about a mile from the IL terminus of the famous Chain of Rocks Bridge. The bridge is named after the limestone ledge that cuts across the river, just South of the bridge. It is one mile long, 24' wide, and opened in 1929, when motorists were charged a 5 cent toll to cross the Mississippi River on Route 66. The bridge was almost demolished in the 1960's but was saved from that fate in the 1970's. In 1999, it re-opened as the world's second longest pedestrian and bike bridge. It is owned by the City of Madison IL and leased to the Trailnet organization. We were very familiar with this area, as Sherri, Charlotte, and I were there in 2004.

Charlotte and I rode across the bridge to the Missouri side. We were disappointed that no one was on the other side to greet us. Our St. Louis contacts didn't come through. After a couple of photos, we started back to the IL side.

It is with mixed emotions that this year's ride is now history. Here are the mileage and road change totals:

Route miles - 1578
Charlotte rode 873 miles
Marie rode 575 miles
Sherri rode about 600 miles
Shana rode about 293 miles
Road change - a paltry $1.63 But, at the HDSA Convention, Steve Wolf donated $20 and our hostess Diane Ray gave me quite a bit of change, too.

Not sure of his much money was raised. With two very successful pig roast events (one in Kearney NE and one in Lewiston ID) we are pretty sure this year's total will be our best ever. I will send a report on that a bit later, because money is still coming in.

Thanks to all who supported us financially, with accommodations, with prayers, etc. God bless each of you; you have blessed us!

With love,
Marie