Windy City Road Warrior ToursIf your Roadie travel plans include a visit to Chicago, take advantage of my knowledge gained through years of research! Our guided tours can help interpret the shared history of Chicago, the highways, and the other forms of transportation used as the United States grew through the 19th and 20th centuries. Click here to view or print a Motor Coach Tour Flier including current 2008 Schedule and Prices Click here to view or print a Walking Tour Brochure including current Prices |
 |
"Get Your Kicks on Route 66" Motor Coach ToursNew for 2008! Windy City Road Warrior has partnered with Windy City Connection to bring you Route 66 from Chicago to Wilmington in the luxury of a modern Motor Coach! After boarding the motor coach, we travel to Chicago’s “route center,” a crossroads that was the starting point of 66, as well as 9 Illinois state highways and 3 other US highways. The “route center” also served traffic for the Pontiac Trail, the Dixie Highway, and the Yellowstone Trail. We will enjoy a 1-hour walking tour in Chicago as we discuss the connection between the commerce of Chicago and the success of Route 66, which became the most traveled cross-state highway in Illinois. The tour will follow Route 66 out of Chicago and through Cicero, Berwyn, Riverside, Lyons, McCook, Hodgkins, Countryside, Indian Head Park, and Burr Ridge. Along the way, Dave will discuss such historic sites as Douglas Park, the Castle Car Wash, Hawthorne Works, Henry’s Drive-In, Hofmann Tower, Stinson Airport, and the Wishing Well Motel. We will then enjoy lunch at historic Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket in Willowbrook, Illinois. | |||||||||
 |
Following lunch, the tour will continue on Route 66 southwest through DuPage County and then south into Will County. We will get off the bus for a short walking tour of Downtown Joliet, including a view of the Rialto theater on the original alignment of Route 66 through town. We will walk past vintage buildings built of Joliet limestone and visit the Welcome Center and Gift Shop at the Joliet Historical Museum. Guests re-board the coach and continue to Wilmington where there is time to enjoy shopping or perhaps take in a cool one at the local pub (previously a bank) before heading home on the most direct route. Tour Inclusions: | |||||||||
 |
2008 Tour Dates: | |||||||||
 |
The motor coach will depart from Woodfield Mall (except where noted) in Schaumburg unless the tour is exclusive for your group. In order to book this tour as an exclusive, you must have a minimum of 35 guests. The motor coach will pick you up at a pre-determined location convenient for your group. All tours operate on Saturday.
Tour Times: 8:30 a.m. -- 5:30 p.m. (Chicago Departure 9:30 a.m. -- 5:00 p.m.) Cost: $89.00 per person Note: A minimum of 35 people is required to operate this tour. If the minimum is not met, a full refund will be issued. Checks, Master Card and VISA accepted. This tour is operated by: Windy City Connection, Inc. 869 E. Schaumburg Road, Suite 163 Schaumburg, Illinois 60194 Please call Windy City Connection at 847-534-6550 to reserve your space. Click here to view or print a Motor Coach Tour Flier including current 2008 Schedule and Prices |
 |
East Loop Walking TourThe East Loop Walking Tour includes a discussion of why Jackson Boulevard was chosen to be the original route of US 66, and will include information about the historic buildings to be seen on Adams, Jackson, and Michigan Avenue between LaSalle Street and Lake Shore Drive. |
 |
Highlights include: Architectural history of the Chicago Board of Trade, LaSalle Street Bank Buildings, John Root's Monadnock and Rookery Buildings, the Marquette Building, the Railway Exchange, and more... A look at why there would be no route 66 if not for Chicago... A look inside the lobbies and public spaces of the buildings, including an atrium designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (depending on building hours)... History of U.S. Transportation, from the early explorers through the Waterways, the Railroads, and of course, the Highways... Tours usually last about 2 hours and we travel about 1 mile, no stairs. Group and Individual Rates Available. Interested? Click Here to e-mail me, or Click Here for contact info! Click here to view or print a Walking Tour Brochure including current Prices |
 |
West Loop Walking TourThe West Loop Walking Tour includes information about the historic buildings to be seen on Adams and Jackson between LaSalle and Clinton Streets. |
 |
Highlights include: Architectural history of the Insurance Exchange, the Brooks Building, the former headquarters of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and the Chicago Northwestern Railroads, the Sears Tower, Union Station, and more... A look at one of the oldest bridges still in use along Route 66... A look inside the lobbies and public spaces of the buildings, including a post-modern Palm Court (depending on building hours)... A visit to a place where the whole history of US transportation can be visualized, from the waterways, the railways, and of course, the highways... Tours usually last about 2 hours and we travel about 1 mile, some stair-climbing. Group and Individual Rates Available. Interested? Click Here to e-mail me, or Click Here for contact info! Click here to view or print a Walking Tour Brochure including current Prices |
 |
Narrated Driving ToursIf you would prefer to drive portions of Chciagoland's famous US Highways, including 66, 32/34, and 41, rather than walk, arrangements can be made for me to accompany you in your vehicle to provide narration concerning the sites and history. |
 |
Highlights could include: The oldest church still standing in Chicago, Greektown, and Chicago's former garment and warehouse district, all in the West Loop community area of Chicago... A look at the gothic Cook County Hospital, inspiration for the TV show E.R., and a ride through the Tri-Taylor neighborhood, featuring unique architecture and a memorial to veterans of the Viet Nam war... A ride through the Lawndale community area, home to the classic Castle Car Wash, stately greystone apartment buildings, and the industrial site that was once the Western Electric Hawthorne Works... |
 |
A ride through the town of Cicero, home to Henry's Drive-in, and through Berwyn, where the suburban car culture still lives on 66... A drive along both of the alignments of 66 through the village of Lyons, home of the landmark Hofmann Tower, with side trips to see remnants of the I&M Canal and bridge sites of the state highway that preceded 66, Illinois Route 4... Rates will vary depending on the length of tour desired. Please note that I cannot provide a vehicle or a driver. Interested? Click Here to e-mail me, or Click Here for contact info! |
