We had breakfast at the Union Station Hotel, where the train station had been. It's a beautiful building inside and out. On our way out of the hotel, the lights suddenly went out in the main lobby. After 15 or 20 seconds an amazing video began on the ceiling. It is advertising the new aquarium which will open next year adjacent to the hotel. Here is a link to the video. It's about 5 minutes long and fascinating to watch. Union Station Ceiling Video
We departed St. Louis later in the morning, and took the I270 bridge over the Mississippi into Illinois. Today would be our shortest drive. Our first stop was the Chain of Rocks Bridge. It is one of the more interesting bridges in America, with a 30-degree turn midway across a mile-long bridge more than 60
feet above the Mississippi. This view is from the Missouri side showing the booth where tolls were collected. The tolls paid for the bridge.
A Little History:
The bridge’s colorful name came from a 17-mile shoal, or series of
rocky rapids, called the Chain of Rocks beginning just north of St.
Louis. Multiple rock ledges just under the surface made this stretch
of the Mississippi River extremely dangerous to navigate. In the 1960s,
the Corps of Engineers built a low-water dam covering the Chain of
Rocks. That’s why you can’t see them today. Back in 1929, at the
time of the construction of the bridge, the Chain was a serious concern
for boatmen. If you'd like more details about the bridge and why it has the bend, here's a link to the National Park Service's website about the bridge:
Arriving from the Illinois side, there are two options: take a dirt road down to the river, or stay on the paved road to the beginning of the bridge. The dirt road took us down to a parking area at the river at the south side of the bridge.
We went back down the paved road to the start of the bridge. We met 3 men who were traveling Rt 66 and walked out to the midpoint with them. One of them took our photo as we stood on the Illinois-Missouri border - one foot in each state. The views below are looking south: the river, and two pumping stations just south of the bridge.
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| Approaching the bridge from the Illinois side |
It was Memorial Day. Heading toward Springfield IL, finding open gas stations and restaurants along Route 66 was a problem. We passed Stacy's Route 66 Cafe in Litchfield IL, known for its biscuits and gravy: Closed.
We finally found Jubelt's Bakery & Restaurant, also in Litchfield. It was open for business and stopped for lunch.
The food was fine and the baked goods looked fantastic. They have special cookies for Route 66 and the Cubs.
Also, on the wall was an example of the signs seen along the old road.
A Little History: 
We went back down the paved road to the start of the bridge. We met 3 men who were traveling Rt 66 and walked out to the midpoint with them. One of them took our photo as we stood on the Illinois-Missouri border - one foot in each state. The views below are looking south: the river, and two pumping stations just south of the bridge.
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