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The Launching Pad, Route 66, Wilmington, IL (2026)

06/05/2026

These Five rainbows made me stop each time.

Not just to look, but to live inside the moment. To witness them and feed them with my full attention, my breath, my quiet thanks.

They came years apart, different skies, different seasons of my life, and yet I remember each one like a prayer I never forgot how to say.

The time. The date. The way the air smelled. How my chest felt too full to hold it all.

Each time they found me, they left me with the same soft, stubborn truth echoing in me:

There is still time.
You are not too late.
There is still time to make a beautiful life.

Even now.

Especially now.

Tully 🌈🌈🌈

06/05/2026

I never planned on owning a restaurant.
And then I did….

For 36 years I sold insurance. I was an insurance and financial broker. My passion was cars. I was a Jay Leno kind of collector without the garage or the bank account, but I had nine cars in my collection and I loved every single one of them.

In 2017, before we bought the Launching Pad, we wanted to be as debt-free as possible. So I started selling them off, one by one, to help fund the dream.

Over the last ten years they’ve all gone.

The Volkswagen Passat went.
The ’71 Plymouth RoadRunner went.
The Nissan 350Z convertible went.
The Porsche came and went.
The 1992 Acura came and went.
The Plymouth Prowler went.
And more…..

And today, I said goodbye to the last touch point I had with the restaurant years — my Acura NSX.

I’ve been holding this off for a while. I finally cleared my pallet of every vehicle that tied me to that chapter so I can have a clean break and move forward. It has not been easy.

I found a great buyer. A real car enthusiast. This NSX is one of the most sought-after JDM cars on the planet and he got a low-mile, excellent example. Of course I took pictures and video, because it feels like sending a child away. If you’re a car person, you know exactly the gut feeling I’m talking about.

I more than doubled my money in five years, but it’s not about the money. Driving back from the car shipper, watching that Acura hit I-80, I felt gutted.

As I was following the car hauler, we drove past the VFW in New Lenox - I’ve had many wonderful fish fries with my late wife, my father, my family, and it was such a setting with the sun going down and me realizing the full circle of life

But it’s part of the plan for some exciting news I have coming up. And no, it will not be food or restaurant related. I just have some loose ends to tie up first.

As of today, I have nothing left as a touch point or memory vehicle from the last ten years tied to the restaurant. The break is clean.

I’ve shared stories of positivity, heartbreak, and moving forward with my chin up and pride intact. I will not be continuing anything additional Route 66 related, restaurant related, or Launching Pad related. That was a five-year period that in my mind can never be replicated. It was a God-given gift for that handful of years and I’ll always embrace it.

I will say this: I’ve always worked hard for anything I’ve obtained. Nothing has ever been handed to me. Now I have a new roadmap and a new game plan, and it’s just going to take moving a few pieces of the puzzle to put it all into play. It’ll be my last hoorah.

I’ll keep posting, but less and less as time goes on. June 26th of this year will be the 10-year mark, start to finish, with a new bridge to carry me over until my last endeavors.

This morning I was savoring a Bavarian cream doughnut and Kona coffee feeling on top of the world. Tonight I’m gutted. That’s life. And yes, I cried.

Tomorrow’s a new day, and I’ll be one step closer to where I think I should be and where I want to be.

Great things to come- Amen.

Thank you for riding with me.

Tully

06/04/2026

I’ve been eating healthy for the last half year and I’m down almost 45 pounds. I’m wearing a size 30 waist in my pants now. It’s been a long road of being cognizant of what I put in my mouth and actually meaning it.

This morning something incredible happened. I can’t announce it yet, but it’s a total life-changing event, and for once it’s positive, not negative.

After I got the news, I did what any responsible adult would do. I drove straight to the donut shop -I hadn’t been there since November of last year.

I walked in and joked to the crew, “Why isn’t there a missing person poster of me on the wall? Have you seen this man?”
First thing they said was, “Oh my gosh, we miss you and you look great! Where have you been?” They thought I might’ve already moved to Nashville, Tennessee and they were so happy I was still around.

I ordered my old go-to: large Kona coffee with two creams and a Boston cream filled doughnut.

Normally I’d stand there breaking down the decision, second-guessing every calorie like I’m negotiating a peace treaty with my own stomach. Today I didn’t.

The news was so incredibly positive and uplifting, I had to celebrate somewhere, and the bars weren’t open at 10 AM. Wink.

So Fleckenstein’s won by default.

I brought it home and enjoyed that doughnut in the garage tinkering around with the cars. Then I walked out to the gazebo to finish sipping on my wonderful coffee, which is liquid gold, and to enjoy an incredibly beautiful day here in the Chicagoland area. I can’t believe I’m actually taking time to breathe and enjoy it, and it feels so damn good.

I love this Facebook community on the Launching Pad page. All I have to say is that doughnut went down so good, this coffee is so smooth, and the sun is so warm and inviting today but not too hot, not too humid, and the birds are chirping away like they’re on payroll.

I haven’t felt this way in such a long time. Endearment. I could really get used to it.
Why does it take us so long in life to sit down and realize we’ve had the remote control the whole time? We can hit pause whenever we want and actually embrace the moment around us. I finally hit pause today.

I’m not ready to share what the news is just yet, but I will soon. Getting that good news, no, better news, no, amazing news can set the tone marching forward.

And we all deserve that, each and every one of us.

Tully

06/03/2026

Sitting out back at the Illinois house today and it hit me hard.

21 years I’ve been shaping this yard into an oasis. Two gazebos. A covered deck. Trees and beds that started as basically nothing when Nancy and I bought the place.

It’s perfect. And for about the last 10 years I’ve barely sat under any of it.

That’s the joke on me. I built a place for rest and then forgot to rest. The birds, the rabbits, and the neighbor’s cat have all enjoyed this yard more than I have. I think the ceiling fan knows my name but it’s not sure how to pronounce it.

I’m changing that now. I’m out here on purpose. Coffee in the morning, fan spinning overhead, trees doing their thing. I’m trying to soak up every last minute I can get, like I’m making up for lost time with an old friend.

Someday soon another family will get to enjoy this backyard.

I hope they love it half as much as I do. I hope their kids run barefoot through the grass. I hope someone falls asleep in a chair and wakes up with a little drool and no regrets.

Until then, this is still my place to be still.

The lesson I’m learning late is simple. Don’t wait 21 years to sit in the thing you built. If you’ve got a chair, a porch, a patch of grass that makes you breathe easier, go sit in it.

Today. Not when the work is done. Not when life slows down. Today.

I’m catching up, right here, right now.
I sure wish Applegate was still around to see the beautiful gazebos and covered deck because if she was, I guarantee you one thing she’d be drinking an ice cold beer and I’d be enamored by my Southside Gal.

She would be proud of all the hard work, and she’d probably roll her eyes and say, “Finally, you sat down.”

And I know she sees it all. I can feel it.

Sometimes you just have to stop in your tracks and breathe and live in the moment and that’s what I’m doing today, with a lump in my throat and a smile on my face.

I’m certain once this house is sold the reality of leaving will be difficult. It will feel like saying goodbye to a part of me. But I’ll leave knowing I finally stopped long enough to love it while it was still mine.

Tully

05/31/2026

It was Thursday, August 25, 2017 @ 9:35 AM.
That was the exact moment Wilmington found me and I found Wilmington, Illinois.

It was top down in the little convertible, Will County boy my whole life, and for the first time ever I was actually driving INTO Wilmington, Illinois. Still have the picture of that exact moment and is the first picture in this post..

I’d heard the name Wilmington my whole life. Passed the sign a hundred times. Never stopped. Never had a reason to.

Then I came around that curve and there he was. The big green Gemini Giant. You know the story. We did what every normal tourist does. We slammed on the brakes, pulled over, took the picture, and laughed at ourselves for acting like we’d just discovered the moon.

That was the beginning.

Fast forward to this morning. I was sitting at Mimi’s Café with a coffee, and it was one of those pretty mornings that makes you feel grateful just to be upright and breathing. I thought, why not. I took a slow walk and a slow drive around Wilmington and started taking pictures of all the things I’ve driven past for years without really seeing them.
I know I didn’t cover every base. I missed plenty. But I got enough.

And here’s the truth I kept thinking about while I was out there with my camera: Wilmington is a quiet little town with a big heart. It doesn’t shout for attention. It just is. Honest storefronts, friendly faces, history on every corner, and that wonderful small-town feeling that you can’t manufacture.

I’m 62 now. I know my days are numbered, and I know there will come a time when I won’t have the opportunity or the wherewithal to make this drive again. That’s not self pity, that’s just math and mileage.

So I wanted to really see it today. Really embrace it. Through the lens, through my eyes, and now through yours.

If you’ve never taken the time to just drive through a town you think you know, do it. Roll the windows down. Stop for the statue. Take the nostalgic iconic Rte 66 photo. Have the coffee. Say hello to a stranger.

Because one day you’ll realize the places you kept meaning to visit were waiting for you the whole time.

Wilmington, thank you for the memories. Thank you for the morning. And thank you for reminding an old Will County Illinois kid that it’s never too late to fall in love with a town that’s been right next door your whole life.

I don’t have the convertible anymore. These days I’m in the red Acura, still driving 25 in a 35 because I’m too busy looking at everything. If you see me, give me a honk or a wave. I’m certain there’s a few of you that want to give me the finger. Oh well, all applications accepted.

I never pretended to be perfect. I never pretended to have all the answers.

The one thing I did do was be human and transparent and do the best I could with what I had. I took the chance and in life that’s the thing many people don’t wanna do.

In the coming weeks I’ll make my final trailblaze out of town at sunset. I’ll look in my rearview mirror one last time and I hope I see more than taillights. I hope I see that big green giant now standing in South Island Park next to the Kankakee River, no longer at the curb where we first met, but still standing guard over the town like an old friend who knew me before I knew myself.

I hope I see Mimi’s Café still glowing in the morning light, and the quiet streets I walked today with a camera in my hand and gratitude in my chest.

I hope I see the faces of the people who waved back, the storefronts that have stood longer than I have, and the version of me from August 25, 2017 who had no idea that pulling over for a statue would change the way he looked at a town forever.

And from his new spot by the river, I hope I see a sparkle in his eye. I guess you had to be in the trenches to understand how I think and feel that.

If I get that moment in the mirror, I can go in peace. Because I won’t really be leaving Wilmington at all. I’ll be taking it with me.

Tully 🚀🚀🚀

05/31/2026

My time in Illinois has gone from years, to months, to now just weeks, and soon it will be gone for good. So this morning I drove down to Wilmington for one of my favorite cups of coffee. I am down to my last few visits.

I will be seeing Ray after he gets home from church. That is the plan. Coffee first, friendship second, and trying to squeeze every last drop out of these final days before the moving trucks make it official.

It is such a quaint and comfortable place. You can sink into a real chair, look at all the cool art on the walls, and actually breathe for a minute. If I had known about this little spot back in the day, I would have practically lived here. I would have had my own mug with my name misspelled on it and a permanent indent in the cushion.

It is 8 AM, the sun is shining, and I am sitting here trying to memorize the view. The coffee, the quiet, the people I have known forever. I am trying to take it all in before Illinois becomes a rearview mirror.

Even though this is bittersweet, I am looking forward to a mountain top view I have spent 25 years planning and building. There is also a twist to the story I hope to share soon.

If you see me at the coffee shop for the next few Sundays around 8 AM, pull up a chair. Buy me a cup of coffee or let me buy you one. Tell me a story I have already heard. I will pretend it is the first time. I’ll even try to bring Ray down a time or two.

If you have noticed I have been posting less and less, it is because I have been very busy tying up loose ends. I am going to miss this little town of Wilmington more than I am letting on.

My guess is once I’m out of Illinois I’ll probably never be returning again after spending 62 long years here. So I am racing and embracing the memories.

And if I’m still around today while the antique shops are open, I’ll try to pick up a nice little Momento as a reminder of this quaint little community. I sure do miss Sam from the Trinity Knott antique store in town. 🙏

Oh yes, and how can I forget? I am going to be visiting a GIANT ole friend of mine this morning…

Look at the little Statues I bought in the gift shop at the coffee shop. Cannot wait to add them to my little collection - well Giant collection. 😉

Tully.

05/25/2026

𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝟔𝟔 / 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐚𝐝 𝐓-𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭

I need to share something difficult, and I want you to hear it from me first.

Back in March I announced a commemorative T-shirt — 166 shirts for 100 years of Route 66. One-time run, pre-sale only.

𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐧𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞, 𝐈 𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐥𝐝-𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥: 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥, 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐬, 𝐙𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞, 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐦𝐨, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐬. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.

I initially had confirmed orders of 166 Shirts, but we ended up with 92 paid orders. The design was done and the printer was ready to go.

This week I was notified of a licensing issue regarding the Gemini Giant image used in the design. Out of respect for the current owners and curators of the statue, I will not be producing that design.

𝐌𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞.

I was Co-Owner of The Launching Pad from 2017–2022 and thought my history there allowed me to honor it with one final shirt for the hard-core fans. I was wrong, and I take full responsibility. I’ve already removed all listings and notified the printer. No shirts with the Giant will be made.

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭:

If you ordered a shirt, you’ll receive an email from me 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐲 with 2 options:

1. 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝 — no questions asked. Reply “REFUND” to the email.

2. 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 — Launching Pad based, no Giant image. Mockup to be emailed.

𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤-𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬:

- A limited edition Launching Pad sticker: 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟕–𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

- An actual piece of Route 66 pavement from in front of The Launching Pad, secured during recent road work

This will be the final Launching Pad item ever produced. No new orders will be taken.

𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡:

𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐨𝐫 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐑

I want to make sure everyone’s taken care of.

𝐈𝐟 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 so no orders get missed. I’ll process all responses as quickly as I can.

To the 92 of you who trusted me: I’m sorry, and I’m grateful. The Launching Pad closed in July 2024. This was supposed to be the period at the end of the sentence.

I respect the current caretakers of the statue, so I’m stepping back.

Thank you for understanding,

Tully Lee Garrett

([email protected])

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐲.

05/23/2026

This place is one of my staples when I’m out and about or on vacation.

I’m back at the Opryland Hotel and popped into the Cracker Barrel next door. Last time I was here? December 27, 2017. I had to check my phone to believe it — where does the time go? Did someone hit fast-forward while I wasn’t looking?

Steak for the second time this week… my cardiologist and my taste buds are gonna have a meeting about that later. Worth it.
There’s just something about this corner of Nashville.

Tonight I’m catching up with my longtime friend Mark Milner, and we’ll be sipping some good Tennessee whiskey and solving zero of the world’s problems. That’s the plan.

Hope y’all are having an amazing Memorial Day weekend. Hug somebody you love, and if you’re near biscuits — eat one for me.

Tully

05/22/2026

How cool and rare is this Rocket!

#1 Of #1

Gifted to us by Whitmore Ace Hardware 2018.

Tully 🚀🚀

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