1st Winged Rally

[Bubba and Mary Houser]

It was a long trip to Litchfield from SouthEast Alabama (three couples) and we did some sightseeing on the way, we visited Elvis's birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi, ate lunch at his favorite diner, Johnny's Drive-in only a block away, then up to Jackson, Tn for the night. The next morning across the Ohio River up to Metropolis, Il to visit Superman and get a teeshirt. Then up north to the most corn I have ever seen. In the middle of the corn was Litchfield, Il. We checked into the motels and then registered for the rally. We discovered besides the six in our party that several more couples were there from Alabama. We were unable to sign up for any planned riding, so we struck out on our own to "get our kicks on Route 66". Our first endeavor was up to Springfield to visit with old Abe Lincoln. The weather was not great but we risked rain anyway, it was very hot (like Alabama weather), so a little rain would be a welcome relief. We avoided rain till we got to the entrance to Lincoln's tomb. The caretakers came out as we pulled up and told us that we were under a tornado warning, a normal occurrence back home, but insisted that we come inside of the caretaker's house. We made some new friends as the tornados whirled around Springfield. The graveyard was actually closed, but because we had traveled so far they allowed us to go into the tomb to take a few pictures. The next day the mayor declared Martial Law and no movement in the City. We were fortunate to visit when we did. It was so bad that we were in a traffic jam for 4 semi's having blown over on the interstate. We spent the next few days visiting sights along Route 66 all the way down to St. Louis, Mo. We would like to thank everyone that helped to make an enjoyable rally, we know it is a lot of work and underappreciated effort. You made it as enjoyable as could be. Everyone that we met was so polite and friendly that we will sign up for next year and visit some more "Kicks on Route 66".
Bubba Houser