Savannah Bound-- Part 5: Where's My Gate, Cell Phones

April 3

I am on Concourse D and had seen at Gate 49.  It was at the end of a long hallway which then split and went in two directions.  I looked at a sign which told which gates were where.  But, no Gate 49.  One direction said Gates 36 to 48 and the other sign said Gates 51 to 58.  Walked around a bit, but didn't find any Gate 49.  Looked at my ticket again.

Oh, Gate 47.  I now knew where my gate was.

I had worked up a hunger and since there is very little food on the planes anymore, I went to a place and bought a $7 giant bagel with cream cheese.  Very filling.

I found out that my flight had been delayed 44 minutes.  No problem with my connection however.  Still had plenty of time in Atlanta.  Pretty much all Delta flights go through Atlanta.

So, I missed reading my book that I had somehow misplaced and sat at the gate watching people.  Everyone was on their cell phones.  But one guy was on a smart phone, but put it away and pulled out a book to read.  Whoa!!  What's this?  Then I saw he was charging his cell phone but evidently had a backup plan.

More and more people showed up and soon they announced that there was going to be a problem with carry on storage and they would check your carryon through to your destination with no charge.  I volunteered my piece.  However, my glasses were in it and I found that to be a problem when I got to Atlanta.  Everyone had carryon luggage.

--Still in the Airport.  --RoadDog

Savannah Bound-- Part 4: Now the Fun Starts

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3rd

Left the bookstore and quickly encountered the TSA security check in line.  Again, no line and had to produce my driver's license and begin disrobing.  Off came the belt, shoes, wallet, everything in my pockets, my sweatshirt, cell phone and then came the full body scan.

I tell you, it is enough to discombobulate you.  And it sure did.  I was able to sit down and redress and get everything together, but wait a minute.  Something is missing.  Where is that book I just bought?  Checked all over.  No book.  Went back to the TSA check in line and after awhile got someone's attention as to my plight and was told they would ask the other agents.  Waited a while and no response, so asked another one who said they had not found it.

Little did I know at the time, but this was the very beginning of happy times in the airport.  Just as I had feared.  

With a sad heart at my loss, I started down the hallway to my gate.

--RoadDog

Savannah Bound-- Part 3: So Far, So Good and a Good Book

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3rd

At first everything went well at the Milwaukee Airport, even though I had to do some looking to find the Saver Parking Lot, but eventually did and got my ticket and there was a bus waiting right where I parked and took me and a couple other people to our check-in areas on the lower level.  I got off at Delta and approached the check-in, worried that I would have a line or have to mess with those kiosks.  I am not very good at kiosks.

There was no line at the counters and walked right up, gave them my name and they gave me both boarding tickets I would be needing today.

So far, no problem.  Even my suitcase was proper carry-on size.  

I went up the escalator and there was a place I was hoping would be there, the Renaissance Book Store that I remembered from previous flights out of Milwaukee.  This is an old-time bookstore selling all sorts of used books, especially two whole sets of shelves on Civil War books.  And, I had plenty of time to look for a book.  I bought a $12.50 book and the life and times of Charles Read, CSN, who had quite a distinguished career in the Confederate Navy.  It was titled "Sea Wolf of the Confederacy."

Now, You just Don't Expect to Find an Old Bookstore at an Airport.  --Old B-R'er

Savannah Bound-- Part 2: Snow and a Good Deal

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2024

So here I am getting ready to drive to the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.  It is named for Army General Billy Mitchell who was raised in Milwaukee and was an air power advocate for the military.

And, what a day to be heading up into the skies.  It started snowing heavily around 3 am and continued all morning, eventually amassing around 3 inches on the deck railings by the time I left.  It then proceeded to snow the whole way until I got to about 15 miles from the airport.  Sloppy driving, but at least no road accumulation.

I did some last minute packing and found that I could get all my clothes into what I hoped could be considered a carry-on piece of luggage to avoid the $35 extra to check in a larger piece. Even then, I felt I had a good flying deal at a $317 round trip price.  At first I had considered driving, but after I paid for gas, eating, as well as a motel room both ways that would about equal the plane flight.  Not to mention the wear and tear on the car for the 3000 miles.

--RoadBird

Savannah Bound: Back on the Plane

From April 3 to April 9 I visited my sister and her boyfriend in Pooler, Georgia, outside Savannah not too far from the Savannah International Airport.

This was the first time I had been on a plane since at least 2011, nor had I been on them much before that.  However, in the 70s, 80s and 90s Liz and I often flew to destinations.  Liz became uncomfortable flying and stopped and I later joined her when it seemed to me that the airlines had stopped being nice to their customers and, of course, the obstacle course you had to go through to get out to the gate going through the TSA checkpoints. 

Kind of made me feel like the folks going through the Nazi checkpoints in the WW II movies.  Plus, you had that full body scan and almost had to disrobe.  No shoes, no belts, no keys, no wallets.  A regular no shirt, no shoes, no service thing.

Plus there was the the extra charge for luggage enacted as well as all the food you get in regular seats.

I hate lines and crowds.  I avoid them as much as I can.  And then there is the question of what you can have in your luggage, especially in the pills and toiletries department.  Also, a whole lot of it is done via smart phones, something I am learning but not good at.

Scared at the Airport.  --RoadDog

Quite the Story Behind the Gemini Giant-- Part 3: In Case You're Wondering Why They Are Sometimes Called 'Muffler Men'

Businesses along Route 66 and other roads needed a way to stand out among the competition so many bought large fiberglass statues for advertising.  The statues, including lumberjacks and cowboys, eventually became roadside attractions in their own right.

They later earned the nickname "Muffler Men" from the founders of the travel website Roadside America.com, who had seen some of the roadside giants holding car mufflers.

A former owner of the Wilmington, Illinois restaurant, The Dairy Delight, later renamed The Launching Pad during America's Race to Space, bought the Gemini Giant in 1965 where it remained, said Joel Baker, founder of American Giants, a company dedicated to finding the statues and sharing their stories.

--RoadDog

Quite the Story Behind the Gemini Giant-- Part 2

Ryan Jandura huddled with Gregory Peerbolte, CEO of the Joliet Area Historical Museum in Peebolte's office during the March 20, auction of the Gemini Giant.  Jandura had already raised $60,000 through a GoFundMe page and preparing to chip that money in if the cost of the statue went above the museum's budget from a state grant.

The museum found itself outbid when the price went over a quarter of a million dollars.  It got down to just about 20 seconds to submit a higher bid.  With just 4 seconds remaining, they were able to have their final bid of $275,000 accepted.

That's how close Route 66 came to losing the Gemini Giant.

I'm sure glad some private collector didn't get him.

Very Thankful He Remains in Wilmington.  --RoadDog

Quite the Story Behind Saving the Gemini Giant in Wilmington, Illinois

From March 30, 2024 AOL, Chicago Tribune  "Wilmington unites to save 'iconic' piece of Route 66 history-- the 30-foot Gemini Giant statue.  'It was pretty crazy'  by Rebecca Johnson.

And we all owe a huge thank you to Ryan Jandura of Wilmington, Illinois, and the Joliet Area Historical Museum for saving it.

They were locked into a high-stakes, high-value online auction.

"The item up for grabs-- which eventually sold for $275,000-- wasn't jewelry or a painting.  It was a 30-foot statue of an astronaut  wearing a helmet and carrying a rocket, a fixture of Route 66  tourism-- that until recently stood in Wilmington since the 1960s.

"For Jandura and others, the Gemini Giant has personal and historic significance, and they didn't want a private collector taking it out of the far southwest suburb."

--RiadThankful

Route 66's Iconic Stops

From the March 24, 2024, "On the Road:  Iconic stops on USA's Route 66" by Prannay Pathak.

I always enjoy these lists.

**  Bob's Gasoline Alley in Cuba, Missouri.  All the gas station stuff you'd ever want to see.    I haven't personally seen it, but went looking for it once.

**  Gemini Giant in Wilmington, Illinois.  We know about the situation there.

**  Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch in Oro Grande, California.

**  Oatman, Arizona  Home of the Burros With Attitude.

**  The Blue Whale in Catoosa, Oklahoma

**  Pops in Arcadia, Oklahoma  Can't miss it with that giant neon pop bottle outside.

--RoadDog

Update on the Wilmington Gemini Giant-- Part 2

Earlier this month, Holly Barker, owner of the Giant and the restaurant, said she was only auctioning off the Giant and its trademark rights.

The auction started Wednesday with an opening bid of $100,000.

The Joliet Area Historical Museum placed the winning bid at $275,000.  The purchase was made possible through a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Guided by the American Giants Museum in Atlanta, the Giant was carefully taken down, protected and transported offsite for temporary storage.

Earlier this year, the Wilmington City Council approved plans to reimagine the entrance to South Island Park, which sits directly along Route 66, adjacent to the city's historic downtown and along the Kankakee River National Water Trail.

So Glad to Get the Giant Out of There.  --RoadGiant

Update on the Gemini Giant in Wilmington, Illinois

And, good news.

From the March 25, 2024, Daily Journal  "Gemini Giant sells for $275 k, will remain in Wilmington."

I was sure hoping it would remain in Wilmington.  Nothing like entering the town from the north and seeing that giant guy.  To me, it has always meant, "You're on Route 66!!" And, so it will be, but in a different site.

It has stood watch since 1965 at the former Launching Pad restaurant.  Sadly, that place has proved a no-go and out of business.

The Giant was purchased last week for $275,000 at auction and DONATED to the City of Wilmington.  The city plans on placing it alongside a planned  Route 66  monument at South Island Park by late spring of this year.

I was sure hoping Wilmington would get it.  It belongs in Wilmington.  

--RoadGiantFan

Things to See in the Northwestern Illinois Area

I was given a copy of the Northwest Quarterly magazine because of an article on Civil War Round Tables, but upon reading that article, I looked at the rest of it and there are many things in it of interest to those of us who like to go places, especially places in history.  It's just something about Road Tripping Through History with me.

The magazine focuses on things located in the northern part of Illinois with side trips to Wisconsin.

The most recent one had a page with information about three interesting things to see.

**  Garrison School Lofts in Rockford, Illinois.  How'd you like to live in an old school that opened in 1887.

**  DeKalb County's Civil War Memorial (Illinois) in front of the court house.  A statue to Union soldiers, dedicated in 1897.

**  The Riviera in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, right on the shore of Geneva Lake.  Unique architecture dedicated in 1833.

--RoadDog

What Is On a Proper Chicago Dog? (Hint: Ketchup Is Not One of Them)

In the last post I wrote about one of my favorite foods, he corned beef & cabbage.  Here is another one.

One of my all-time favorite things to eat (but without sports peppers).  Give me a good ol' Chicago Dog.  Our local Home Depot is mighty mean as they have a hotdog stand at the exit which has gotten me quite often.

Hey, just that wonderful smell.  You know.

Then that first bite.

Your "proper" ingredients:

Kosher pickle spear

Celery salt

Yellow mustard

Sport peppers (well, not for me)

Neon relish

Diced onions

Fresh Tomatoes

Now, I have never quite understood my wife Liz's hot dog choice:  a plain hot dog, maybe with a squirt of ketchup.  And she is a Chicago native, born and grew up there.)

Oh Well.  --RoadHotDog

Finally Got My CB&C

The first two attempts I made to get cb&c (corned beef & cabbage) dinners this past Saturday ended in failure.  No cb&c for me.  Sadly, this is the only time of the year you can get it.  I sure wouldn't mind if I could find a place to get it year round.

Plus, I have a particular way I want my cb&c.  Each fork full needs to have equal parts corned beef and cabbage.  Plus I like a bit of medium horseradish on it.  And, of course, the whole thing needs to be liberally peppered.

I also like to have the mini potatoes, cooked onions and carrots and a piece of rye bread heavily buttered.

But, the third attempt proved to be the charm as I got a heaping plate full of cb&c at Saylor Mick's in Spring Grove and yesterday, the actual St. Patrick's Day, I got another plate of my beloved at the St. Baldrick's celebration at the Fox Lake American Legion.

So, Two for Four's Not So Bad.  --RoadCorned

When Irish Eyes Weren't Smiling So Much

The Day before St. Patrick's Day and I still haven't had any corned beef & cabbage (cb&c).  Not that I haven't tried.  I am now 0 for 2 in attempts.

First I went to the Lake Villa (Illinois) St. Patrick's Day celebration.  Sadly, by the time I got to the VFW, they had sold out of cb&c.

Then, I drove to Johnsburg with intentions to get cb&c at Sunnyside.  Yesterday, I had stopped in and seen them advertising what I was looking for.  Unfortunately, I hadn't noticed in the fine print that it was being offered at Cullom Knoll over in McCullom Lake near McHenry and not at Sunnyside.

The woman who owns Sunnyside also operates Cullom Knoll.

So, so far no corned beef and cabbage for me.  But, in a few minutes I'll be heading over to Saylor Mick's in Spring Grove and I understand they have cb&c.

Here's Hoping.  --RoadLessCornedBeef