Looking for Route 66 Craft Beer in Illinois-- Part 2: Miskatonic Brewing and Will County Brewing

Some more places for craft beer along and near Route 66 in Illinois.

**  MISKATONIC BREWING COMPANY

1000 N. Frontage Road, Unit C, Darien

This is an H.P. Lovecraft-inspired brewery for fans of horror and the macabre, plus if you like small-batch beer.  This is hidden in an industrial area just off Route 66.

They offer upsome of the finest brews along the Mother Road.

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**  WILL COUNTY BREWING COMPANY

1142 Jefferson Street, Shorewood

Over 16 craft beers on tap, including cider.  Easy to find from Route 66. Wide selection of revolving beers along with a large bar, tasting room and visible production area.

--RoadDrinker

Along 66, July 2020: Palmer Hotel in Afton Burns. Park It Right Here Times

I get these stories from the Route 66 News site, your best source for any and everything you can want to know about our Mother Road.  I just write about the stories of most interest to me.

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JULY 2--  Fire destroyed the long-closed Palmer Hotel in Afton, Oklahoma.  It once featured hot and cold running water in EACH room and electric lights throughout the building.  And, all for the cost of $2 a day.

It is believed to have opened in Mid-March of 1910.

It was just sitting there slowly deteriorating every time we saw while visiting the Afton Station across from it.  Poor Afton.  Hope something can be done to stop its slide into obscurity, especially now that the Afton Station is gone.

JULY 2--  New Mexico imposed a 14-day quarantine to all travelers entering from other states.

Definitely doesn't help Route 66 tourism, but these are trying times.  (Oops, must take a shot.  Whenever you hear a news cast or commercial with any words and then the word "times," you have to take a drink.)

Real Challenging Times These Day.  (Oops, another shot.)  --RoadShot

Somonauk, Illinois in 1867 The Half-Shire Men Got Drunk

From the MidWeek  (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1867, 153 Years Ago.

""Somonauk is a smart little village situated about three miles west of Sandwich.    It has seven fine churches, but two saloons; three good grain elevators; a fine agriculture depot; two lumber merchants, one of whom sold over one million feet of lumber last season.

"There is a fine large brick block; a good hotel kept by a well-known landlord, John M. Goodell.

"We noticed some drunkards in town but they were Half-Shire men who had come over to buy up votes and not meeting with good success had drunk up their own whiskey  and were too drunk to get home."

Now I imagine that Half-Shire story would be an interesting one to know more about.

--RoadDog

Why I'm Here and Not in Indy Now-- Part 2: Thursdays It's American Legion, Main Street and a Band

THURSDAYS

The Indy 500 experience is everything I had hoped it would be and more.  It is now a 4-day drinking party.  When we first started going, Sue and Paul were still teaching, but got off Fridays and now that they are retired, we leave Thursday mornings and get to our RV spot at the American Legion, right across the road from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where the race takes place around 1 or 2 in the afternoon.

After setup, we walk over to downtown Speedway (the track is in Speedway, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis).  There has been a lot of urban renewal to the downtown and it is turning into a fun destination on its own with lots of restaurants and bars.

It is best to go there on Thursday as it gets really crowded Friday and  Saturday.  We especially enjoy going to a craft beer place and sampling.  Plus, there is a new Irish bar which we went to just a couple hours after they opened for the first time.

We walk back to the RV, on the Speedway Post 500 American Legion grounds and cook out and have a few more drinks before walking across the lot to the Legion and enjoying a band.

You Sure Can't Beat the Convenience.  Right Across the Street From the Indy 500.  --RoadDog

Drunk Driver Outside of Sycamore in 1942?

From the March 29, 2017, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1942, 75 Years Ago.

"It is fortunate that some person who was winding all over west Route 64 late Sunday afternoon that he never arrived in Sycamore.  Police had formed a welcoming committee for him at the gateway to this community.

"Someone telephoned the police that an auto was weaving over the highway and that the actions indicated the driver was ill or drunk.  Whoever the erratic driver was he never arrived in Sycamore."

Drunk Driving Even Back Then?  Probably the Police Wanted to See If He Had His Seatbelt On.  --RoadDog

Hot Spots for Spring Break: More Cold Places

MONTREAL

Snowy and chilly doesn't make it with me, but CNN rank the city as one of the world's top nightlife cities  Plus, lots of places to drink and a drinking age of 18.  There are also several major universities located there.

Not me.

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND

My buddy Kevin would no doubt like to go here since his family came from there.

Another cold weather spot, called theNightlife Capital of the North.  Only a five-hour flight from the east coast.  Music's big here.  drinking age 20.

Let's See, Cold and Staying Up past 11 p.m., Not for Me.  --RoadDog

Looking For Mardi Gras Here In Northern Illinois

We spent the afternoon searching for something even remotely like Mardi Gras here along the Illinois/Wisconsin border and didn't find a whole lot. We did see one other guy with beads, but that was it. Some people didn't even know it was Mardi Gras.

First stop was at the Snuggery on the Fox River in McHenry which was advertising a Mardi Gras party with beads (none that we could see), but they did have some mighty fine Hurricanes for $3 apiece so had a couple. Also had a Chain Crawl coupon we needed to use before it expires on March 31st. Spend $10 and get a free order of what we regard as the best beer nuggets anywhere, (complete with marinara and garlic butter dipping sauce).

Then, it was into McHenry where we stopped at Cork Screw Pointe for a fantastic muffeletto sandwich, one of the best we've ever had. But, no Mardi Gras, despite having one of Louisiana's finest offerings in the sandwich.

Next stop was the new Buffalo Wild Wings in McHenry (or BW3 as we old-timers call it). The bartenders were impressed with our beads and Mardi Gras shirts, but other than that, no celebration. We did play NTN on the new pad boards. That will take some getting used to.

Then, across Il-31 to Twisted Moose. No Mardi Gras there, but they were getting ready for the BlackHawk game (a big deal complete with red flashing lights, air horns and "Chelsea Dagger").

Last stop at O'Leary's in Ringwood. Several years back, they had king cake, but, sadly, not tonight.

We Did Get What We Could Out of It. --RoadDog

What Exactly is a Crawl?

It's like the Bourbon Street Crawl or Duvall Crawl. It is when you pick a street or road and start barhopping along it. This would hold true for most colleges or tourist spots where a lot of bars are located in a short space.

I know we have done the Green Street Crawl in Champaign, home of the University of Illinois. We even got carded and THEY WERE SERIOUS ABOUT IT as we found out.

A couple years ago, we did the Cumberland Crawl (US-70) in Knoxville when Northern played Tennessee and almost beat them. Had a great time drinking with our niece and nephew and other Vol fans.

To be properly done, you start a crawl walking and perhaps end up crawling before you're finished for apparent reasons.

Probably the hardest is the Duvall Crawl from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico and Mallory Square. At one time, there weren't a lot of places at the Atlantic end, but the bars have spread to it, so it is even harder.

By the time you pass the Bull, Ricks and get to Sloppy Joe's, you've had a few cocktails.

Oh, yes, must not forget the crawl around the square at Put-in-Bay, Ohio.

Feets don't fail me now.

Probably Getting Too Old to Crawl...Nah!! --RoadDog