Old Route 66

After finally getting our mail, we headed across the Mississippi River into Illinois.  We were traveling to Springfield, Illinois about 2 hours down the road.  It was an easy ride over flat plains and cornfields.  We were staying at the Double J Campground on old route 66.

We once again, found a restaurant to try out from the book Roadfood.by Jane and Michael Stern, the Cozy Dog Drive-In.  Invented during Word War II by Ed Waldemire when he was stationed in the Air Force in Texas, the corn-clad, deep-fried pup was originally called Crusty Cur and was a big hit with flyboys at the Amarillo PX.  After the war, Waldermire's wife convinced him that his wiener needed a more appealing name, and in 1946, they opened the first Cozy Dog (so christened because no one eats a single, lonely one.)

We had the family basket included 4 cozy dogs and a large order of (freshly cut) French fries. Delicious!!  Lots of 66 memorabilia, worth stopping for, even if corn dogs aren't your thing.