August 2nd, 2021 … Summer of Fun continues! Day 6 Route 66 Caravan – St Charles, MO

Just before we started to move out the caravan, one of the motorhomes would not start. Charlie tried to do a quick fix with a power booster to the battery, but the issue was more than a dead battery. So, we got the rest of the caravan off and down the road. Thanks to Lynda & Erick for acting as the Tail Enders, while we worked with the dead coach!

Charlie & Jack just changed fuses on this coach yesterday, because she had no tail lights. Now, her headlights come on and the battery light on the dash, but no crank, no nothing …. After tracing down a few different issues, without much luck, Kathleen was thinking she was going to have to be towed somewhere. We started calling around and got no help. Jack & Charlie kept searching. Glenda started reading each fuse size and location from the owner’s manual and we found an error. Fixed the error and WOW … it started! Success is so sweet! So, our little caravan of three rigs hit the road and we were only 30 minutes behind the rest of the rigs!

Mary Harris Jones, aka Mother Jones, was born in Ireland and immigrated to Canada, as a result of the Great Famine. Later she settled in Memphis, Tennessee, where her family died during the Yellow Fever Epidemic. Then, she moved to Chicago where her business was destroyed by the Great Fire in Chicago. Talk about surviving adversity! Then, she became a prominent labor organizer. Mother Jones co-founded the Industrial Workers of the World. She became known as "the miners' angel" and the "grandmother of all alligators." Mother Jones died in 1930, before working people had the cash and free time to take vacations on The Mother Road. But the elaborate grave monument of the gray-haired labor activist can be glimpsed from Route 66. Mother Jones lived to be 100, and spent her Golden Years fighting for the rights of the laboring class, particularly miners. She's buried in a miners cemetery with the victims of the "Battle of Virden," one of many miner vs. mine owner mini-wars at the turn of the 20th century. Her memorial shaft -- by far the largest in the graveyard -- is flanked by life-size bronze statues of a miner and a factory worker.

You can’t miss a big pink elephant on the roadside! Although the purpose of the Pink Elephant Antiques Mall is to sell antiques, it has developed a separate reputation as a repository for retro-roadside statuary and buildings. This is thanks to mall co-owner Dave Hammond who, according to his wife, "likes weird, odd things." Dave's son reportedly prowls the “interwebs” searching for his dad's next prize.

The mall opened in 2005 in Livingston's former high school, and brought along two statues from its previous location in Benid: a 24-foot-tall Beach Dude and the Mall's namesake Pink Elephant. Both briefly appeared in the 1990 horror film "Flatliners". In 2006 a 14-foot-tall Muffler Man was acquired, and displayed indoors until 2010, when he was moved outside and painted with a Harley Davidson t-shirt. 

In 2009 the Mall added a Twistee Treat cone-shaped ice cream stand, which Dave supposedly found in pieces in a ditch in Pennsylvania. In early 2010 a saucer-shaped Futuro House became part of the outdoor collection, and in 2017 the mall unveiled its newest vintage treasure, a fully restored Uniroyal Gal, outfitted like a waitress, standing next to the big ice cream cone.

The Pink Elephant Antiques Mall collection may be unmatched for its diversity of statues and structures. Business is evidently good; Dave's shopping spree has been going on for over a decade.

Along an access road to Highway 55, near Staunton Illinois, we saw a large amount of Classic Cars. The sign boosts 600! We learned that Country Classic Cars started as a weekend hobby for a Midwest farmer. He soon found his passion for classic cars and trucks turn into a growing business. The owner worked as a mechanic for several years before becoming a farmer. Not only did he have the knowledge but also the desire to take classic cars, fix them, and sell them to others that dreamed of owning a classic but did not have the time or expertise to make it happen. Once this idea caught on, Country Classic Cars realized that this passion had a potential to become a way of life. The next step was obvious; when a piece of land along Interstate 55, just off the path of Historic Route 66 became available, Country Classic Cars made the move by acquiring the land which has plenty of room for not only a large display of classic cars and trucks, but also a garage/service area, inside showroom, and a historic gift shop.

Caravanners enjoying the sites of historic downtown St Charles and its City Center, thanks to our hometown tour guides, Willard & Eileen (who still own a home in St Charles, although they reside in Orlando FL now!

Yankee had set up a catered meal at Sundermier RV Park for us. It was catered by Frenchtown Catering Company, a premier caterer located in Frenchtown of the Historic District of St. Charles, Missouri. They started operating the business in 1994. They offer high quality, home cooked selections for your event.

We enjoyed the choice of Rolled Roast Beef in gray or Chicken Piccata. The salad was an artichoke salad and the pies were homemade! At Frenchtown, they don’t stand behind a “set-in-stone” menu; they tailor the options to best meet your needs. I think or selections were fantastic!

After dinner, we enjoyed an evening of fellowship, fun and games!