Day 3: October 29, 2015 Ready to Confer Comment via blog

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I started the day with a return to Litchfield for a look inside the building I'd photographed last night. Opened in 2013, the Litchfield Museum & Route 66 Welcome Center both impressed and disappointed me. The disappointment was my own fault. The museum in on Historic Route 66 and its construction and opening was a popular topic in Route 66 circles. Because of that and the "Route 66" in its name, I thought of it as a Route 66 museum. Not exactly. There are Route 66 related displays but the emphasis, as it should be, in on Litchfield history regardless of its Route 66 connection. The result is a very nice local museum.

In Staunton, Illinois, Henry's Rabbit Ranch is very much Route 66 oriented. The two visitors that were already there when I arrived were also very much Route 66 oriented. One was Steve Rider whose garageum I had visited on my most recent road trip. The other was Brenda St Clair from Akron, Ohio. Another Ohioan, Dave Wickline, arrived just a few minutes after I did which gave Ohio a clear majority. Everybody knew everybody and a great visit followed. That's Little Red and Rich in the first picture, Brenda, Rich and Dave in the second, and Brenda, Rich, Steve, and Dave in the third. We are all outside in the third picture so that Rich can show us what's under the hood/trunk lid of Bob Waldmire's old Volkswagen. The commemorative plates on the car were produced by the Route 66 Association of Illinois as part of their 2011 Motor Tour.

The next stop was at the Wildey Theater in Edwardsville which is where practically all conference activities would take place. I checked in at conference registration, reconnected with old friends, and met a few new ones. I drove twice as far as I should have to find the motel, reached half of the official conference pub crawl spots, and pretty much ignored this journal. Lack of updates usually means I'm busy and more often than not means I'm having fun. It definitely did this time.

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