Route 66

We woke early in the morning, gathering our things, sharing a bathroom and talking about the events of the day ahead.  It’s Saturday morning and we are on our way to Clinton, Illinois, but first a short trip down part of Route 66.  There appears to be only one problem.  We don’t really know how to get to Route 66. 

We stop at a gas station for gas and I declare, “I will buy a map!”  My sister Janyn says, “but we don’t know how to read them”.  I reply, “but we will learn”.  I go into the minimart and there it is…the map section.  They have lots of different maps.  I don’t know where we are or know anything about counties.  How do I pick a map that no one knows how to read that will be of major value to us.  I do the thing that makes sense.  I buy the most expensive map. It costs $4.  I bring it back to the car and my other sister, Sue, looks at me like I’m from mars.  She used to drive a truck.  She knows about maps.  She knows roads.  She can get us there.  I defend my map!  Okay, maybe we don’t need this map although it is a fine map.  Throughout the trip I insist on keeping the map.  But, in the mean time, I revert back to my smart phone!  That is where I’ll figure it out.  Sue is quiet, keeping her negative thoughts in check.

Somehow, Sue miraculously got us to Route 66, most of which was pretty mundane, although there were wonderful old barns . . . and lots of cornfields; the fields of dreams.  I keep commenting, “Everything is so green”.  As a drought conditioned Californian, anything that doesn’t resemble dead is a wonder of nature. 

 We are looking for Funks Grove.  There is a Sirup farm there.  No I didn’t spell syrup improperly; they did.  Actually, I looked it up and there is a difference:

“Syrup is an alternative form of sirup.  As nouns the difference between syrup and sirup is that syrup is any thick liquid that is added to or poured over food as a flavoring and has a high sugar content also any viscous liquid white sirup is (obsolete) a thick and viscid liquid made from the juice of fruits, herbs, etc. boiled with sugar”  HUH???  Oh well.

We stopped for lunch in Atlanta.  It is a nice little town filed with signs about all the historical Route 66 memories they hold dear.  I imagine the town once bustling with people and old cars.  Today, there are memorabilia shops, restaurants and a museum.  Unfortunately the museum is closed, but I did take a picture of the Christmas tree in the window.  No, I have no idea why there would be a Christmas tree in their window in July, but isn’t that fun!

Of course we had to take pictures of the "famous" hot dog man.

We walked through a couple of shops and ate lunch and were on our way to find what is referred to as “a sirup so good you will want to drink it straight”.  We are headed to Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup. We drove through beautiful forest.  We stopped to tour an old cemetery.  There were many emblems honoring civil war casualties.  Many of the headstones were buried within trees that had grown from the ground nudging them so that they appeared to be one with the tree.  Janyn felt the need to get out of the car and photo bomb this picture.  I'm not sure why, lets just say she is the youngest of us and arguably the most immature.  Or, maybe she's just happy.

A short drive later we arrived.  It was a small shack with signs warning drivers to watch for their pets.  We walked inside the shack, which barely held four people and there was a woman behind the counter.  She immediately poured sirup into a cup for us to taste.  That really looked pretty disgusting, but after one sip I changed my mind.  Yes, this could be a drink!  

I may never spell sirup correctly again.  Rich and thick, I have never had sirup that tasted this good.  My only problem was deciding how many gallons to buy!  And sirup candy too.  She cooks the pure sirup down into a thick base, set in little leaf molds and cooled into an amazing sugary confection.  As a sugar aficionado, I am in heaven.