It’s been a while since I have been able to write about a fresh road trip, so I’m excited to share with you our Route 66 road trip to the Pink Elephant Antique Mall found 30 minutes outside of St. Louis, MO and along Route 66. To be more specific, it is located at 908 Veterans Memorial Drive in Livingston, IL. Simply take I-55 (Exit 37).

But, before I get into the fun, I want to share three important road trip tips while traveling during COVID-19.

Road Trip Tips During COVID-19

For starters, make sure that your vehicle has been properly maintained, especially if you are headed off the beaten path. For automotive care essentials, visit East Coast Hardware.

Next, be sure to wash your hands, and use sanitizer, and or gloves, especially if you are leaning up against props for photos and shopping and touching things. Keep a stock of essentials in your vehicle, so that you are always prepared.

Lastly, if you are doing anything indoors, be sure to wear your mask for your protection and safety, as well as the protection and safety of others.

With all of that being said, you can still have an awesome time while road tripping, just use safety precautions.

Why I Wanted to Visit

Now, let’s get to the details of the Pink Elephant Antique Mall. Some years back when I was researching places to visit while on Route 66, the Pink Elephant Antiques Mall was one of the places of interest – only we never actually made plans to visit.

However, a few weeks back a last-minute road trip to St. Louis brought us to this Mother Road gem. Our original intentions were to drive to St. Louis to spend a few hours at America’s Incredible Pizza and spend the night at the Angad Arts Hotel – which we did.

It was in route there that I noticed the large pink elephant and realized it was what I had made a mental note of some years ago while scrolling Roadside America.

Roadside America

If you are unfamiliar, Roadside America features a host of travel tools and guides to unusual attractions, tourist traps, weird vacations, and road trips. This blog has made several contributions over the years such as visiting the John Dillinger museum and grave. I’ll also be including a bit of this post.

Aside from that, let’s talk about what you can expect to see at the Pink Elephant Antique Mall.

What to Expect

For starters, we went very early in the morning and nothing was opened. This was actually fine with me because I really wanted to go to take photos of all of the oddities and determine if I wanted to make another trip back during operating hours.

And, the verdict is….Yes!

Whimsical Attractions

Yes, I want to go back during operating hours. I’d like to return and take more fun photos on my camera. My camera died just as we reached our destination, so I ended up using my phone for photos. Nothing is wrong with camera phone photos, but there’s just nothing like having legit camera footage. Who can relate?

In addition to the photos, I’d also like to come back and have ice cream at the diner and sit outside at the ice cream dining set. It’s so colorful and whimsical! I absolutely love whimsical attractions – just like our day trip the Jungle Jims.

Oddities to See

After viewing various blog posts and photos floating on the internet, I learned that sometimes the statues are switched out. For example, I saw Alvin and the Chipmunks in one post, but when I visited, they were not there.

I also noticed that the diner lady gets her clothes changed from time to time. How adorable is that?

Nevertheless, we were able to see many of the oddities such as the green UFO house, the pink elephant, the diner waitress, the giant cycle, etc. I’m sure they have names, I just don’t know them, yet.

Route 66

In addition to the fun statues and photo opps, there are so many mentions of Route 66. I love it! I found it on the side of the trailers, on the side of the building, and sprinkled throughout the grounds.

Final Thoughts

I’m so excited and grateful that I had the opportunity to stop here and wander around for a bit. I’m actually writing it down to visit again before the summer comes to an end. Stopping here for ice cream, shopping, and taking photos would make the cutest road trip photo album ever.

Wouldn’t you agree? Just be sure to take safety travel precautions along the way.