It was a nice, quiet trip traveling up historic old Route 66, dodging AROUND I-55

as much as possible. Traveling up from the St. Louis airport, in a rented Chrysler

 Sebring Convertible, was the ticket. Seeing part of the old, little towns, was the

 best part of the ride. This Mt. Olive Shell station, caught my eye....

Further up the road, was another eye catcher, and I HAD to turn

around, to see what was wrong with the top...

TAR, I think... to seal the top. Yep.. it is a convertible. Nobody

was home, so I did not "snoop" around. Anyway, I continued on to

 Springfield, Illinois, for the 2006 GALAXIE NATIONALS. Arriving

downtown, and seeing barricaded streets, I parked, and walked a

couple of blocks more. I rounded a corner, by a bank, and THIS...

is what I saw...

THEN... I heard this RUMBLE... nothing ever sounded so sweet.

The owner of this next car, brought this baby to life......

The PILOT, of this rocket ship.... is a female.........

And yes.. there was an ORIGINAL there too...

Soon, it was time to go to the BANQUET, and when I arrived there,

everyone who was someone, was arriving in style...

And others, had already arrived...

No matter where you go, RED... seems to be a popular color....

Many came from FAR away...

The banquet was a wonderful success. As a matter of fact,

 Larry and Beverly Wake, and their group, of the MIDWEST

 GALAXIES CHAPTER, along with Scott Grubb and his family and

group, of the RIDE THRU TIME GALAXIES CHAPTER, did an

 OUTSTANDING job in preparing the 2006 GALAXIE NATIONALS,

with the ROUTE 66 Cruise Festival. The next morning it was time to

go, and early in the morning, I found this black beauty, still asleep

in the parking lot of the hotel....

So was this one...who was FAR, from home...

 Well, it was about time to head back south. I started my desent

back down Rt. 66, and staying on the old road, more so, than the

 trip up. Upon arriving to the Missouri state line, I remembered

seeing an old, narrow bridge, south of the interstate. I exited

 right after crossing into Missouri, and found myself right at the

 old bridge, then turned left, and into a park. This old bridge,

 was from the original route of Route 66. It was closed, when

 the interstate was built, for years, but not anymore...

I had a couple of hours left before my departing flight, so I decided

to use one of them here. It is a mile to the other side, back to

Illinois. No motorized traffic allowed, as this bridge is now used for

jogging, walking, and biking. So I started across...

This is some of the ORIGINAL, vintage items, one might see,

along their journey of Rt. 66, back in the day. When I reached

the center of the bridge, and looked south, I saw something on the

horizon. Can you see it? The gateway to the west, is visible. It is 

just under the "EAT" sign, and to the left of the gas pump. I made

it to the other side, and started back. The view to the north, reminds

me of progress...

The foot traffic was also made very safe, for the youngsters, as well

as anyone older, being careless. The sides and netting, were added

 for that reason...

After completing the 2 mile, round trip walk, of the famous, and

historic Rt. 66 Illinois, Missouri bridge, it was time to head to the

rental car office, and airport. This concludes, MY trip to the 2006

GALAXIE NATIONALS, in Springfield, Illinois. I hope that YOU, may

attend one of our national, or even a REGIONAL meet, somewhere

in the country. I hope you have enjoyed the tour. Sincerely,

     Wayne Haynes, FGCOA Lifetime member #52.....

     Galaxieland Chapter, Founder, Director, member #1....