Normal-Bloomington to Lincoln

Leaving the Normal-Bloomington area it was off to Springfield, the Capitol of Illinois and the location of the Lincoln Presidential Library and everything Lincoln. Passing through another nearly non-existent town of Shirley and arriving at Funk's Grove most famous for Maple Sirup.

I also kept having this question in my head – why do they spell syrup with an “I”? Here's the answer.

They also have a Nature Preserve which is a nice spot to visit.

Although it claims to be the mid-point in Illinois, I found my mileage to be different. Maybe they are counting the Interstate mileage. They are, however, the nearest place along the Route to be considered a mid-point.

Although the first spot I stopped had some wonderful sights with the old buildings and gas pump, if you don't have a desire to buy some Maple Sirup/Syrup, I didn't find Funk's Grove Sirup production worthy of a stop. Even talking with the woman there and stating that I was 'doing' Route 66, she offered no knowledge/facts that makes it worthy of a stop – but don't miss the first stop for Funk's Grove.

From there it was through McLean and on to Atlanta. Where you get to see another 'Paul Bunyan' holding a hotdog. The Oasis Palm cafe has been closed but is due to reopen shortly. Apparently it (the town actually) receives some funding from the State of Illinois and the previous operators of the cafe weren't as receptive as some members of the town council wanted – what to serve, what to price items, etc. I can understand this as you can't run a profitable business in such a manner. Hopefully the new operators of the business will do well.

There was a delivery truck parked in just the right place to prevent me from getting a good picture of this mural.

The old library is built as an octagon. Quite interesting structure.

From Atlanta it was off to Lawndale, which even in the 40s in J.D. Rittenhouse' book garnered only a mention that it was there. And then finally in to Lincoln. I stay at the 'Camp-A-While' camp grounds. Definitely not a destination campground, but for the price, it has everything you need for a night or two. Soft green grass to set up on and a hot shower. Arnie and Barb, the proprietors were extremely nice to me. Ashley, one of the residents was also very nice as Arnie and Barb weren't there when I arrived. They offered a ride in to town for a hot breakfast, and Ashley stopped by to see if anyone had given me a ride to the grocery and anywhere else I might need. And, when I mentioned to Arnie that I needed to find a bike shop for a specific tool (pedal wrench), while he didn't have one, he offered me the use of what he had to see if I could make use of it. - and I had success. In turn, Arnie had gotten a couple of folding bikes and asked if I knew anything about the shifters. After a few minutes of adjustments, I had the one giving him a problem shifting smoothly for the first time.

In Lincoln itself....