California 2021:
Day 1 - Chicago, IL

	Sunday, October 31, 2021: After handing out candy at a very entertaining and busier than usual Halloween trick-or-treat, we said goodbye to our excellent neighbors and drove away at 6:30 PM, headed north toward Chicago.
	For dinner, we ate leftover pigs-in-blankets from a batch that we made a few days earlier and washed them down with a Caffeine Free Diet Coke and a Diet Sprite. Delicious.
	Just before 8:00 PM, we passed through the Fowler Ridge wind farm northwest of Lafayette. It was very spooky to see the red anti-collision lights blinking on the more than 350 windmills in the area.
	We knew we had planned correctly when we arrived at the Skyway toll bridge and there was almost no one there. We had purposely planned to get to Chicago on a Sunday night to try to avoid the heavy downtown traffic, and it looks like it worked.
	Several of the buildings appeared to have been lit specifially for Halloween. The entire skyline looked quite beautiful.
	We drove up an uncongested Michigan Avenue, pleasantly surprised by the lack of traffic.
	This is why we were here. This is the start of Route 66, and we were going to drive the entire route from Chicago to Los Angeles. We had seen this same sign when were were here in 2020.
	There is another Begin Route 66 sign on the other side of the street, just so you don't miss it.
	We took advantage of the almost non-existent traffic, with Tom staying in the van, and Debbie getting out to take closer photos of the signs.
	At the end of the block, on the corner of Adams and Wabash, is the location of the very first Route 66 sign in Illinois.
	We continued west on Adams Street, crossing over the Chicago River.
	We drove past quite a few interesting statues on the streets, including this fish/anchor which was part of Greektown's Fun and Fanciful Fish exhibit, one of two we noticed, ...
	... and this one, which was part of the newest Greektown exhibit, called Hello Helios! We saw at least four or five of these but didn't get good photos.
	We were surprised and delighted to find that Route 66 was well marked. We had been worried that it would be hard to follow the route since it was no longer an official US highway.
	We continued west from downtown, noting all of the Route 66 emblems incorporated into the various town signs, ...
	... and business signs.
	We loved the "Welcome to McCook, Illinois" sign in the style of the famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign. We should be seeing the Las Vegas version of this sign later in this trip, if all goes according to plan. (We did!)
	Even the Joliet Road sign has the Route 66 emblem on it. Well done, Illinois.
	We arrived at Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket in Willowview, Illinois around 9:30 PM. One of the reasons we left home when we did was so that we could get here to see this very sign while it was still on. Route 66 is famous for its neon signs, and this one did not disappoint.
	We were in our hotel, Delta Hotels by Marriott, shortly before 9:00 PM. We watched the most recent episode of the Great British Baking Show before going to sleep. Day 2 >