US Highway 12 in Illinois.

A Bit of Nostalgia and NTN

We had planned to go to visit the graves of Liz's parents at Memory Gardens in Arlington Heights, Illinois, on Saturday. but the weather wasn't very good, so decided to go today.

We drove US-12 from Spring Grove to Des Plaines, a trip we've made many times over the years. While living in Palatine in the sixties, we often went to St. George & the Dragon (now Idols) at the corner of Dundee and 12 and the nearby Village Inn (now a chicken wings place) for pizza. Across 12 was Skrudland's, a film developing store (for those old Instamatic cameras).

A big hang out for us high schoolers was Randhurst Mall (now being partially torn down) at the corner of 12 and Il-83. This was one of the first indoor malls in the United States. Students from all over Chicago's Northwest suburbs went there to see and be seen.

During the summers, we would pile a bunch of kids into a car and drive northwest on US-12 to Honey Hill Beach in Wauconda (now a condo development). Now, that was a great time, especially the king of the raft encounters and the giant slide. Then, soaking up rays listening to the latest tunes being played over the intercom. Those were some great times. The night crew at Burger King would go there for the morning and afternoon, and then be really worn out, much to the owner, Bob Galloy's dismay.

One of the Original 1926 Roads. --RoadDog