Route 66

To read about our trip down Route 66

2007-07-04T20:10:00.000-05:00

Go to the June 2006 archive!

Jealousy is an ugly thing

2007-05-04T17:54:00.000-05:00

I came into the office Wednesday morning and I had a voicemail from my parents, left at 5:38 Tuesday evening. Why they didn’t call my cell phone I don’t know, but that’s neither here nor there at this point.

Here’s the transcript of the important part:

“Just wanted to let you know...it’s a long story but we just had a lady tell us that, ‘Oh you don’t want to stay at the Wigwam...’ in Holbrook, you know. (To mom) Because of what? Because ‘It’s musty and stuff.’ She says ‘You want to stay up at’ some fancy La Sperado [sic – it’s the La Posada] something up in Winslow for 80 to 120 bucks a night. We figure we can go to the grocery store and buy air freshener. I was just calling you to see what your opinion of it was. Must’ve been alright, you didn’t discourage us. So ok, have a good week! This is Tuesday afternoon and it’s 2:40 Arizona time so we should be in Holbrook in about 20 minutes. Bye-bye!”

I know my parents are not high maintenance at all and they did make that comment about buying air freshener, so I was fairly confident they would stay at the Wigwams. But still...it sure was a long couple of hours while I watched the clock and waited until it was an acceptable hour for me to call them. We finally connected and they told me that they did, indeed, stay at the Wigwams and found them delightful.

It turns out they had arrived in Holbrook rather early in the afternoon and decided to venture on ahead to check out Winslow so they wouldn't have to stop there the following morning. They were in a shop in Winslow when they had that conversation with a proprietor. Despite that lady’s negative opinion, they backtracked to Holbrook to spend the night. My mom, who is one of the most mild-mannered people around, said she had an urge to stop by that store when they went back through Winslow so she could give that lady what-for!

Now it’s Friday night and we spoke about 45 minutes ago. They’re at the Wigwams in Rialto. I keep having to give them pep talks that they’ll be able to drive to Santa Monica without any problems. They’re driving it on a Saturday morning. It’s just a regular city street with four lanes and traffic lights. But some people (um, person) in this family tend to get a little jumpy in traffic (See also: Amusing stories about my dad backing into someone at a toll booth outside Chicago) and I think this certain person has visions of chaotic freeway traffic with people randomly shooting each other. I’m supposed to set my alarm for 8:45 tomorrow morning so I can wake up and pray for them. :-)

On Jeopardy recently

2007-04-28T21:42:00.000-05:00

I forgot to post this...Route 66 was a category on Jeopardy recently. And it really was a category about the Route, unlike another Route 66 category they had a year or so ago that was just about things related to the number 66. (Alex, I'm still pissed off about that, you tease.)

$400
Car lovers go to San Bernardino, home of the Route 66 Rendezvous festival, in this state.

$800 (Read by Neil Patrick Harris)
If you get your kicks on Route 66, come visit this city, my hometown and also home to a minor league baseball team, the Isotopes.

$1200
Take a detour to the Meteor Crater and “don’t forget Winona” in this state.

$1600
“Well it winds from Chicago to L.A.,” but you’re at the end of the road in this beach city on the Pacific.

$2000
Go down to Missouri and see this largest city between Chicago and L.A. on Route 66.

They did not get the $1600 question and I'm pretty sure they only reason they got the $800 question was because one of the contestants was from that city.

Suffice it to say, the $1200 question caused me to shout, "No! Skip the Meteor Crater! It's a sham! It's a tourist trap!"

We're remembered!

2007-04-28T21:15:00.000-05:00

Another call from mom and dad tonight. They're enjoying an evening at the Blue Swallow. The owner is still working on the fountain that was newly discovered when we stopped last June. It seems he needs one more glass block for the fountain, and perhaps a little more repair work and hopefully it'll be ready to go!

But the real highlight of the day (for...um...me) was that they stopped for pie at the Midpoint Café. And they started talking to the staff about their daughter and her three friends who came through last June. And locked their keys in the car. Although the lady who helped us wasn't working today, he said that they were familiar with the story of The Four Girls and the Keys. My dad went out to the van and retrieved their printout of the blog so the employees could read all about how we *heart* the people of Adrian, Texas. It's my understanding that there were some good chuckles about our little mishap. Ah well. It's nice to bring joy to people. :-)

Interestingly enough, I was just looking at some of the other Route 66 Web sites and saw that Ron had also recently posted about the Rialto in Joliet. It seems that within an hour or two after mom and dad left the theatre, that Midwestern storm came through and caused part of the sign to fall.

Mom assures me she's keeping a journal of the trip, so sometime after they get back to Iowa we'll transcribe it and post all about their grand adventure.

They're seeing Amarillo...

2007-04-27T21:52:00.000-05:00

Mom and dad called to check in tonight. They're in Amarillo. Here's the trip so far:

Sunday: Chicago to Lincoln
Monday: Lincoln to St. Louis
Tuesday: St. Louis to Cuba
Wednesday: Cuba to Joplin
Thursday: Joplin to OKC
Friday: OKC to Amarillo

They're planning to stay at the Blue Swallow tomorrow night, Santa Fe on Sunday, Albuquerque on Monday, The Wigwam on Tuesday, Williams on Wednesday, Needles on Thursday and then three nights at the Rialto Wigwam.

Sunday evening they stayed at the Redwood Motel in Lincoln, Illinois. Dad said it was a nice mom 'n' pop place. Monday evening they checked into a hotel in Mitchell, Illinois, went back out to walk the Chain of Rocks bridge (jealous!), then went back to the hotel, checked out, drove across the river and found another hotel. My dad said the first hotel was a little sketchy, complete with deadbolts that didn't work. They skipped Ted Drewes this time, but living in Iowa it's not like they can't make a jaunt down to St. Louis some other time.

Tuesday morning they visited the Museum of Transportation, which they thoroughly enjoyed. After that they drove on to Cuba and, coincidentally, ended up at the same Best Western we stayed at. They tried the Wagon Wheel, and after talking to a lady at the Best Western, I think we know why it's so hard to get in there. The BW lady said the WW has a lot of weekly guests and doesn't necessarly cater to the overnight Route 66 traveller. That's the feeling I got when I tried to make a reservation there - it was impossible. It's too bad, but I guess it gives them a steady income.

Wednesday they stopped by the Munger Moss and were able to go inside and see some rooms. They are definitely up for a trip back to Lebanon so they can spend the night. Sounds like they spent a nice amount of time chatting there, too.

Although the 66 Drive-In at Carthage was closed, they said they stopped by and had a really nice conversation with a gentleman who works there. He told them all about the theatre and the business and it sounds like they really enjoyed it.

Tomorrow they'll hit the halfway point. I hope they get a slice of pie!

Mom and dad hit the road

2007-04-26T20:43:00.000-05:00

Mom and dad are on the route! They stayed outside Chicago on Saturday night, drove in on Jackson Sunday morning and headed back out on Adams. I told them they had to check in a minimum of once a week. They called from Joliet Sunday afternoon.

They stopped outside the Rialto Theatre to take some pictures and were approached by a gentleman who said he was the engineer. He offered to take them inside and give them a tour, an offer they gladly accepted.

I told them that's what they have to look forward to for the next 2,300 miles: Friendly people who go out of their way to make your trip special.

So if you're along the route, keep an eye out for Don and Marsha from Iowa. They're on their way!

Mile 1139/Now it's fractured into many new numbers

2006-10-03T18:39:00.000-05:00

I didn't realize we've been posting so much that our Mile 1139 picture got bumped off the front page. We want to make things as simple as possible for our Marlboro friends (because, let's be honest, we want to get rich and famous). I'm a little disturbed that the downsized version of this picture makes me look like I have a tremendous overbite, so I'm posting a slightly larger version because I am a vain and shallow person. Really! It's just a big, toothy grin!

Scroll down to the next post to see my reasoning behind my answer to clue #39, the "fractured into many new numbers" question.

In other news, a little bird tells me the winery is now able to ship to some states. If you're at all intrigued by our talk of the new Tassel Ridge winery (official wine of our Route 66 trip!), you should call them up and ask them to ship you some wine, particularly the Iowa Nouveau and the In the Dark (or the Prelude and Brett's Blush if you're a white/rose person). Down below you'll see a few pictures of me and Ann dishing out samples at the Iowa State Fair. It's darned delicious and I'm convinced if I get enough people to buy it, Bob will give me a lifetime supply.

Interesting happenings from 1937

2006-09-27T22:04:00.002-05:00

Jim asked, "What about I 25 through Sante Fe and Albuquerque? I found references to that."

This is why I think this is a hard question to get a definitive answer to! My answer is still five, though. Here's my reasoning. Route 66 up through Santa Fe and down to Albuquerque was the pre-1937 route. So I-25 didn't really bypass Route 66...it bypassed itself in 1937 when they changed it so it ran from Santa Rosa directly to Albuquerque, and then I-40 bypassed that section.

Thoughts?

It's a small world after all

2006-09-26T20:24:00.000-05:00

Joe and Sandy! I hope you stop by again before you head off on your trip. I wanted to tell you that when you posted, I thought I recognized your names from somewhere, and after a little investigation, it turns out I'm not crazy. (Yay!) We actually met at the fair last year. You know my father, Don, from the postal service, and I believe you've even stayed at my house during RAGBRAI!

All together now...it's a small world after all!

Have a wonderful trip!

Two weeks, six weeks, eight weeks, a year

2006-09-25T11:46:00.000-05:00

David - Thanks for stopping by and posting. We did our trip from Chicago to Santa Monica in 8 days. I know some people out there are aghast that we moved along so quickly, but we're young and not necessarily drowning in vacation time and/or money, so we worked with what we had. I feel like we still saw nearly everything we wanted to see, so if 8 days is all you can manage, it will not be a waste of your time.

If I had to do it again, though, I wouldn't do it in any less than two weeks. I think my parents are looking at taking a month to six weeks (this would certainly allow you to do many side trips to attractions that are slightly off the Route).

One thing that did catch me off guard - because we're Midwesterners, we planned longer days across Illinois and Missouri, figuring "Eh, we've seen Illinois and Missouri a million times!" But there seemed to be a lot more Route 66 attractions along the first several hundred miles of the Route than you might find in, say, New Mexico. Just something to keep in mind.

I hope you'll stop back and let us know how your plans are going!

Now it's fractured into many new numbers. How many?

2006-09-24T11:37:00.000-05:00

First off, we are so excited that Joe and Sandy stopped by to visit the site and left a comment. Ann and I had a great time chatting with you at the Iowa State Fair and I hope you'll come back when you've finished the next leg of your trip and give us a recap. We want to know where you stopped, where you stayed, what you ate, who you met - all those good details!

Second, Jim is my new best friend. Thanks for posting and please come back again! Really - all you Marlboro types, we're very happy to help out and happy to see so many people visiting the site. I hope someone will report back and tell us how the contest goes. When is it supposed to wrap up?

With regards to clue #39, I'm guessing they're talking about major interstates, so the answer is five: I-55, I-44, I-40, I-15 and I-10 all bypassed Route 66.

Any chance you've seen a video related to the contest that features interviews with road trippers?

And o-rings? Like NASA?

Unfortunately Sherrie has been swamped with work and grad school lately, but we'll keep bugging her to post about her re-visit to New Mexico and Arizona. I did hear from her that eating at the Route 66 Malt Shop in Albuquerque was another stellar experience. *drool*

We can see you!

2006-08-30T05:44:00.000-05:00

So just in the past couple days we've had something like 200+ people visit the blog. They are obviously not a very chatty bunch, but we know they're here. Hello Mr. United Airlines employee! Hello Ms. USDA employee! Good luck, Mr. Oklahoma DOT employee! (I find it somewhat amusing that someone who lives in Oklahoma and actually works for the DOT would need to Google this answer?) Ah well. Maybe one of them will win the million dollars and throw us a fiver or something.

I talked to Ms. Sherrie a couple of days ago. I don't want to steal her thunder, so I'll let her post about her return to Route 66 when she gets back from vacation. It sounds like she's having a great time and I'm quite jealous of her eating experience.

At 1139 you'd be half way there. Send us a photo of the sign proving it.

2006-08-25T11:29:00.000-05:00

Get yer Mile 1139 pictures here! Seems that the title of this post is the actual wording of the clue in the contest, so I’m going to post it to make sure our little site keeps popping up at the top of those 1139 Google searches! Because, as noted below, we’re publicity whores who love it when people visit our blog. Y’all can say “Hi” when you stop by, you know! Don’t be a stranger...and good luck in the contest. Scroll on down to get the picture you need.

In other news, Ann and I ran into some Route 66-ers at the Iowa State Fair earlier this month. Ann was wearing her purple Route 66 t-shirt and that ignited a good conversation with a nice couple who are driving it section by section. We gave them the blog address, so hopefully they’ll stop by and check it out, too.

Lucky Sherrie will be paying a visit out west soon, with plans to visit Albuquerque's
Route 66 Malt Shop while she's there. She may be able to swing a trip to the Snow Cap Drive-In on her vacation, too. I think we're all insanely jealous that she gets to visit the Route again so soon after our trip!

Mile 1139 - Need a picture of the midpoint of Route 66?

2006-08-21T07:18:00.000-05:00

Thank you to hightek irish lass for explaining the mystery of Mile 1139 to me! If you need a picture of the half-way point of Route 66, please go here.

After reading her comment below, I'm starting to think that we didn't have our identities stolen by those guys in Arizona, and perhaps the video they shot of us was for real! So if anyone else stops by who happens to be doing this contest, let me know if there's an accompanying video that includes any of the four women you see in that half-way point picture!

(To read about that adventure, go here)

Edited to add: Found this one, too! (Yeah, we're publicity whores, what can we say?)

Mile 1139?

2006-08-18T16:04:00.000-05:00

Someone needs to enlighten me before I go crazy! A bazillion people have found our blog recently because they've Googled "Mile 1139." Is there some other significance to Mile 1139 (Ooooh, are they a hip new boy band?) or was there recently a clue on Treasure Hunters or Jeopardy about the midway point of Route 66?

Inquiring bloggers need to know!

Get incredibly excited over children's movies and F1 racing stars? Read on!

2006-08-08T11:51:00.000-05:00

I know I'm very late with all this, but I went to see Cars over the weekend. I knew it would be leaving the theaters soon and I planned it as a fun solo activity on Saturday. I was happy when my friend Dan volunteered to come and we got in for absolutely free (something about the theater not being up to code for handicapped people--hey, free admission is free admission).

Here's a recap--
Misty eyed moments: 3
Times I wished I was back on Route 66: well over 12
Excited shouts when Michael Schumacher made an appearance: 1
Animated pointing at the screen and saying "Oh, I've seen that/been there!" to my very patient friend Dan: at least 30

We both loved it. I liked the racing part, the story that didn't try to hard, and the charm of the small town, plus all the Mother Road nostalgia. Dan (who's Canadian and doesn't know a lot of the history of Route 66) is a convert and said that he'd definitely do the trip. Since the theater was relatively empty, I got to exclaim loudly about things, and laugh really hard when Luigi and Guido dressed up in their Ferrari gear and when they turned their noses up at the Piston Cup.

I'm going to get the soundtrack and probably purchase the DVD when it comes out. It can join my vast collection of Pride & Prejudice, Alias seasons 1 and 3, LOTR and the Metallica documentary.

But what a fantastic reminder about the treasure of small towns, the importance of supporting local business and the absolute gems of people that are in your life every day. And hopefully it will get more people interested in the Route--it sure did the trick with one Dan Brown!

I'm a ridiculous nerd

2006-08-04T11:18:00.000-05:00

OK, I wanted to use my jackrabbit picture as my blogger profile picture (it's a fan favorite here in the office, I know it's going to be in a sermon at some point) so apparently I have to upload it myself and then link to it in my profile. Whatever.

I have this as my default picture on mySpace for right now and must share a funny comment from one of my high school girls:

this is very cute. i think you will have a nice life together. lol.

Dave is not America's Next Top Model

2006-07-08T17:05:00.000-05:00

We went camping up in the mountains of Virginia over the weekend. Camping means cooking pancakes over the fire which means it was time to break out the Funk's Grove Maple Sirup.

Or it would have meant it was time to break out the sirup if Dave and I hadn't had this conversation earlier in the week:

Sara: You must've made pancakes when I was in Iowa last weekend.
Dave: Yeah.
Sara: I noticed the maple sirup has been opened.
Dave: That's what maple sirup is for!
Sara: Gosh! Just because I gave it to you as a gift doesn't mean you get to use it however you want!

Just kidding. I'm glad he enjoyed it, and there was still plenty left for the weekend. I tried to get Dave to model using the syrup, but it didn't go so well. He tried to blame it on the fact that he didn't have the right training as a child, to which I responded, "Shut up, Jade."

The sirup was delicious - I can't wait to buy more. The weekend overall was relaxing and fun - and I felt a little special about the fact that within the space of a month I've driven Route 66 and hiked a wee bit (a verrrry wee bit) of the Appalachian Trail.

A sentimental sap goes to see "Cars"

2006-07-08T16:29:00.000-05:00

So, the funny thing is that right until we went on our trip down Route 66, I didn't even realize that "Cars" had a Route 66 theme. I think maybe Jennifer mentioned that the soundtrack was being released while we were on the Route and that it was supposed to have multiple versions of the song on it...which left me thinking, "Huh? I thought this was a NASCAR flick!"

After our trip, when I read Ron's guide to the movie, I got very excited about seeing it in the theatre. So, Friday night the 30th, Dave and I headed over to the Raleigh Grande for the 8:30 showing.

Two random sidenote stories first.

1. We decided at 7:40 to see the 8:30 show. I bought our tickets online and then we hightailed it out the door so we'd have time to stop at Jersey Mike's for subs before the show. We walked in the door at Mike's and three of the employees were standing behind the counter. We approached. "We're out of bread!" one of them bleated. What? Out of bread? Apparently with the holiday weekend, lots of people were having reunions and they were eating subs. Lots of them. I asked if they still had wraps. "Yes!" they responded happily. So wraps it was. Yay.

2. After printing out our tickets at the movietickets.com kiosk, I decided that after my spicy chicken/jalapeno wrap, I really needed some Milk Duds. I asked the price at the counter and the guy said $3.25. Sure! I'll take some! And then I dug around in my purse and produced..........$3.17 cents. No joke. I told him to forget the Milk Duds. He asked how much money we needed and I sheepishly responded "Eight cents." He spotted us a quarter, which made me happy, but I felt like a complete moron. Oops?

Anyway - on to the important thing. The movie!

I don't think I would have gotten half as much enjoyment out of the movie if I wasn't familiar with Route 66. I'm glad the theatre wasn't very full, because with each shot I'd gasp a little and lean over to Dave and whisper, "That's supposed to be __________!" (A little disclaimer: I am not normally a movie talker. But this one definitely called for whispering!)

It took a good 20 minutes for me to get Dave to understand what was going on with the Cadillac rock formations.

"See that? It's supposed to be like the Cadillac Ranch!"
"What?"
"There in the back...oh shoot, it's gone now." *pause* "There!"
"Where?"
"In the rock formations....oh shoot, it's gone." *pause* "See! They look like Cadillacs!"
"What?"
"The rocks! They look like Cadillacs buried in the ground!"
"Huh?"
"Like the Cadillac Ranch!"

This went on forever. Boy, you'd think he hadn't read the blog at all. :-)

One thing I did realize: Even though I have a bad habit of assigning human emotions to inanimate objects (See the Figment story), I never fully bought into the idea that it was cars that were the characters in the movie. I don't know. Maybe it's because I really don't get attached to cars too much. Cars are cars (to quote Paul Simon.

But I did thoroughly enjoy the little things like the Cozy Cone Motel, the Glenrio and the U-Drop Inn. And that brings us to the part about how I'm a sentimental sap. At one point in the movie, there's a scene in which the cars tell how their town wasn't always run-down, and when Route 66 was alive and kicking, things were much different. I may have gotten a little sad. I may have, um, leaned over to Dave and whispered, "I'm so lame! I'm crying!" And, um, I wasn't lying.

What it really made me wonder is this: I'm 31 years old. I am completely enamored of Route 66 and can't wait to drive it again. My fabulous friends who came along are all in their late 20s and early 30s. We seemed to be a bit of an anomaly along the road - definitely younger than the other travellers we saw. So I'm wondering how many other young people there are out there who care about Route 66. It's the same feeling I get every time the oldies station stops playing a few more 50s songs and starts playing a few more 70s or *gasp* 80s song. C'mon! I love Buddy Holly and early Ricky Nelson! Don't take them off the air! (Dear Oldies Station: Kokomo came out when I was in junior high in the 80s. I realize it's by the Beach Boys, but that doesn't make it an oldie. Thank you.) As the baby boomers get older, are there enough nostalgic Gen X-ers and MTV Generation people to take their place? Are you guys out there somewhere?

I actually saw something on a Web site the other day about one of the places along Route 66 and how it would be nice if a renovation-minded person would buy it and I thought, "Hmmmmmm...we have some money saved up....."

Anyway...afterwards Dave said he enjoyed the movie and I said, "Enough to drive it now?" He replied, "Well, not the whole thing." Did you hear that? I think I can put my plan of doing short weekend stretches along the Route into action. I brought that up and Dave said that maybe he'd be interested in doing the stretch around Flagstaff, since I keep raving about how beautiful it is. Baby steps.

In conclusion - I found the movie amusing enough on its own, but it was the little inside jokes that really made it worthwhile for me to see it in the theatre. I laughed, I cried, it was better than Cats. It made me want to drive the Route again and again.

Alas, poor antenna ball, we hardly knew ye

2006-07-05T21:54:00.000-05:00

We also picked up a Route 66 antenna ball, which causes our somewhat flimsy antenna to wildly flail back and forth in the breeze.

Curses! I was just reading back over the blog tonight and saw this sentence. Well, I hope whoever rented the Montana next enjoyed the antenna ball and the CDs Ann and I left in the console. Hope they like the crooners!

ob·ses·sion - Compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea

2006-06-28T11:45:00.000-05:00

Figment and I flew to Iowa this past weekend for my cousin's wedding. My parents received the Route 66 materials they ordered from Amazon, so we spent some of the weekend flipping through their books (among other things, they ordered the new 3rd edition of the Route 66 Adventure Handbook, which seems to be significantly expanded from the 2nd edition). Their plan is to take a month to do the Route, so an average of about 100 miles a day with some extra days for side trips and general whimsy. I'm eyeing the Flagstaff-to-Santa Monica section and thinking, "Hmmmm...I could take a week and do that part again!"

I'm also been scheming that perhaps I could trick Dave into driving the road one weekend at a time. We fly into Chicago on a Friday night, fly out of St. Louis on a Sunday night. Come back a few months later and fly into St. Louis and then out of Tulsa. Tulsa to Amarillo, Amarillo to Santa Fe, etc. etc. Think he'll catch on?

We are planning to see "Cars" on Friday night. Perhaps that will be the push he needs to realize that this is the greatest vacation ever.

The homecoming

2006-06-22T19:28:00.000-05:00

What I saw when I walked in the door tonight:

Ooooh, check the return address!

Break out the scissors...

Figment!!!

We have a joyful reunion. He doesn't seem too pissed off at me. And tomorrow he gets to fly to Iowa!

Random thoughts, disappointing realizations and moments of clarity

2006-06-13T10:39:00.000-05:00

Random thought 1: I strongly advise anyone over the height of 5'10" to be prepared to squat in the shower to get their hair wet. As the tallest in our party (at a mere 6'0"), I frequently found the hotel showerheads to be designed more for the shorter members of society. I almost felt like sitting down in some of the showers in order to get completely under the shower spray. Apparently people travelling the Route were shorter back in the day, much to my chagrin. However, I practiced knee bends and my calves are now in excellent shape.

Moments of Clarity
About halfway through our trip, I realized that if you are fanatical about any of the following, you will absolutely ADORE Route 66:

Restored gas stations. I know little about vintage gas stations, but we stopped at many of them which have been restored, and most of them were downright adorable. At our first gas station stop, Nathan explained some of the oil pumping techniques, so we were able to smartly identify such objects in the other numerous towns we stopped at. Some had the history of the station posted in windows, others were notable due to their architecture (U Drop Inn), and for the random duck attacks (Red Oak II).
Bridges. I'm a history geek, not an architecture one. But I do know about pony trusses now and how unique certain bridges are on the Route. And they are lovely. I especially liked the one in Kansas and Devil's Elbow. I'm sure I'll like the Chain of Rocks bridge in St. Louis once I go back and see it in the daylight. I know if I was really into bridge architecture/engineering, I would be in hog heaven on this trip.
Neon signs. Our guidebooks (or maybe it was just Jerry) pointed out cool neon signs along the way, some of them being restored (Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari), others just pointing to empty lots (Asuza drive-in). But if you have a photographic eye and a love for old neon signs, this trip will give you a treasure mine of material.
Frontage roads. I realize that there's not a lot of people who are real hip on the Frontage Roads, but if there's someone out there, please go on Route 66. You'll love it! It almost became a chorus in the Montana as we would cross the interstate and then turn on (everybody now) THE FRONTAGE ROAD!

Of course, this is not to say that if you do not enjoy these items that the trip is awful. Quite the contrary--you'll learn more about things like bridge trusses and still have a fantastic time. I'm just saying if you're a huge fan of any of these items, you'll definitely love this trip.

Disappointing realization: Paul Shirley is now back in Kansas City. As the only single person on the trip, I was hoping to either meet a park ranger or happen to run into Paul Shirley while in Santa Monica (because the odds of that are so high in a city of thousands of people). I even told Ann to keep an eye out for anyone who was 6'10" while we were out. We saw no one who fit that description.

For those blissfully unaware, I do have a bit of a cyber crush on Mr. Shirley, who played basketball for Iowa State, various teams in the NBA, and now writes a bitingly clever and funny column on espn.com and was in LA writing and producing a sitcom pilot loosely based on his experience in the NBA. As one of my more sane friends pointed out, I probably wouldn't have had the courage to actually talk to him if I did spot him somewhere, so it's probably better for all involved if I just admire from afar.

And Becky, if I do end up with Paul, you can have Keith Murphy. I promise.

Random thought 2: I was completely and thoroughly charmed by Santa Fe. Northwest New Mexico was a lot prettier than I thought it would be, and driving through Santa Fe right after a bit of rain was truly wonderful. All the adobe buildings, the downtown plaza, no bugs, cool evenings, desert flowers, I truly fell in love. All the street names were in Spanish, so I felt right at home. We all agreed it was someplace we'd love to return to and spend more time exploring museums, wandering the streets and sampling more food. It's one of the oldest cities in the country and I look forward to returning there someday.

People are nice in L.A.

2006-06-12T13:31:00.000-05:00

We let ourselves sleep in a little on Saturday morning, figuring that no matter when we hit the road, there would be traffic, so we might as well be well rested. We bid farewell to the Wigwams around 9:30 a.m.

Foolish optimists that we are, we called the Viceroy and told them we'd be there around noon and asked if we could check in early. Foolish, foolish girls!

Our first intended stop was Bono's Restaurant, but as we pulled into the turn lane in front of the restaurant, we noticed that it was undergoing some sort of renovation/construction, so we kept on going. We kept an eye out for some of the other vintage businesses along the way as well, taking note of the Sycamore Inn, the Magic Lamp Inn, Wolfe's Market and others.

We set our hearts on Flappy Jack's Pancake House in Glendora for brunch. We had about a 20-minute wait (I tried to sweet talk them by telling them we had just driven Route 66 and they seemed quite impressed, but not enough to move us to the top of the list), but it went by quickly and it did give us a chance to stretch out on the front lawn and enjoy the California weather.

Perhaps because we were on a regular four-lane city street and not the freeway, and perhaps because it was Saturday morning/early afternoon, the traffic was no more hectic than any other city in America. It took us a while, but it's not like we were sitting there cursing the L.A. traffic. I believe Tom Snyder encourages people in his book to just hop on the freeway at this point, and if you've already driven this stretch before I can see his point, but if you haven't done it, please stay on the Route. It's well worth doing once.

We made a short detour to stop at one of my personal meccas, Dodger Stadium. The original plan was that we would come into L.A. on a night when the Dodgers were in town, but it just didn't work with our schedule. Thankfully, the Dodgers are pretty cool about letting people come inside the stadium gift shop and into the upper deck. The highway patrolman and the security guard who directed us to the right parking lot were both unfailingly polite and made us feel so welcome there. I had to exercise a lot of self-control in the gift shop - I managed to walk out with just a long-sleeve t-shirt.

We caught a brief glimpse of the Hollywood sign and lots of glimpses of people celebrating gay pride weekend as we made our way to Santa Monica. It seemed sort of surreal to finally be there and be done with the trip!

We pulled into the Viceroy around 3 p.m. and the valets were like a SWAT team - four of them rushed up and opened all the doors of the van. They loaded up our multitude of bags onto a luggage cart and we checked into our room. Now I have loved every hotel we stayed at along the way and I'm looking forward to doing this trip again so I can stay at more of the famous vintage lodgings, but the Viceroy was sweeeeet. We had a room on the top floor overlooking the ocean. The maid brought us chocolates. The bathroom was huge and luxurious. It was definitely the right way to end the trip!

After taking a few minutes to relax, we headed for the pier and the beach. We walked north from the pier a little, playing a couple games of "Retrieve Ann's Flip Flops from the Ocean" along the way and one unfortunate game of "Watch Ann's Sunglasses Get Swept Into the Ocean After Retrieving Her Flip Flops." We walked back to the pier and stood out there watching the people and the ocean for a little while before making a jaunt up to the nearby ped mall to investigate restaurants for dinner.

My friends Marci, Laurie and Lynn met us at the hotel at 6:30 and we walked up to Café Crepe on the ped mall for dinner. I can't remember what everyone else got, but I had a spinach and feta crepe that was everything I hoped it would be and more. While at the restaurant, we were introduced to the concept of needing to get tokens to go to the restoom. I guess it's to prevent people from coming in off the street and using the restaurant's facilities? You have to get a token from an employee and then you can get into the bathroom, as Marci informed us.

After another short walk around the ped mall, we went back to the hotel and spent the remainder of the evening just chatting and hanging out. When the rest of the Route 66 girls started feeling a little tired, Marci, Laurie, Lynn and I retired to the lobby of the hotel. Apparently the Viceroy is some sort of scene for wannabe hipsters who want to see and be seen? ("What's the difference between a wannabe hipster and a real hipster?" Dave asked. "If I like them, they're a real hipster. If I don't, they're totally a poseur.") They stayed a little bit longer and when they left, I knew I should go to bed because I was tired...but when am I going to have the chance to observe a scene like this? So I wandered around the pool area, watching with amusement as everyone tried very hard to be beautiful and interesting.

I spent a few minutes talking to a couple of young Iranian men. They had both moved to America within the past 10 years to "pursue the American dream." They weren't familiar with Route 66, so I tried to give a brief history, but at 1:30 in the morning I think their attention spans were somewhat limited.

The hotel staff started closing things down, so I hit up the bartender for one last club soda with lime and asked him why people come here to hang out. His answer? "I have no idea. It's been four years and they still pack this place. I don't know why." He asked what brought me there and we talked about the trip a little bit before I retired to the room around 2 a.m.

Boy, did 6:45 ever come early! I made the mistake of hitting snooze and we ended up being a little rushed. The valets brought the car around, with bottles of Evian in each of the cup holders. We drove down Lincoln Boulevard to the Budget drop-off at LAX and said our goodbyes to the good old Montana (with a comment that they may want to change the oil!) before hopping on the shuttle to the terminal.

I flew out to Atlanta at 10:20 and the rest of the gang flew to Milwaukee an hour or so later.

So that's the nuts and bolts of our trip. I'm anxious to get a little free time to kick back and really think about the trip - what I learned, what I liked best, what I will definitely do and not do next time (there must be a next time). My parents are talking about doing the Route and Ann's mom wants to do it with one of her girlfriends, too. I don't know if I'll be able to let them go without me!

It's hard to believe it's over. After all these years of talking about it, we finally did it. And if I had the chance, I start all over again tomorrow.

I cry over found dragons, too!

2006-06-12T13:29:00.000-05:00

All is well! Figment is at the Hill Top in Kingman! The woman I talked to said they accidentally washed him with the sheets, but otherwise he's a-ok and will be on his way to North Carolina soon.

Why yes, I do cry over lost dragons

2006-06-12T10:56:00.000-05:00

I've finished resizing and uploading pictures from the final day, so I'll try to post those sometime yet today.

My flight landed in Raleigh around 10:40 last night. The luggage finally made it to the carousel around 11:20 and we headed home. Almost exactly at midnight, I walked into the bedroom to go to bed and about had a heart attack.

I confess, there are two stuffed animals who regularly share our bed. One is Pledge the Cow, a gift from Dave from a few years ago. The other is Figment, a stuffed dragon I bought at Epcot during a family vacation in the 80s. Since then, Figment has travelled all over the United States and Europe with me. He's my little travel buddy.

We can all see where this is going, right?

I walked into the bedroom and saw Pledge sitting on the bed and that's when it hit me: I was sure Figment wasn't in my backpack anymore. I ran back out to the living room and dumped the contents of my backpack and my duffel bag onto the floor. No Figment. The last time I remember having him for sure is Thursday night at the Hill Top in Kingman.

It was only 9 p.m. their time, so I called the Hill Top right away and was told I need to call back after 10 a.m. their time today and talk to housekeeping. I called the Rialto Wigwams and the Viceroy as well, just to be sure, and they said nothing had been found.

So I think he's in Kingman, Arizona, and I'm anxiously biding my time until it's 10 a.m. there and I can call.

Not only is this distressing because Figment has been my travelling companion for so many years, but I also have a bad habit of assigning human emotional capabilities to inanimate objects. So even though Figment is just a pile of material and stuffing, I imagine him out there in Arizona wondering where the heck I am and why I left him behind and it makes me all sad. After we got into bed, I had to have Dave remind me that Figment isn't wondering where I am because he's not real.

So everyone please pray/keep their fingers crossed/send good vibes that Figment is, in fact, safely in the care of the housekeeping staff at the Hill Top and that he'll soon be making his way back to me in North Carolina.

Hero worship in San Bernardino

2006-06-11T18:36:00.001-05:00

Friday morning we hit the road around 8:30 a.m. again. If we hadn't, we'd probably still be driving the Oatman Highway! Ann did a tremendous job of driving and we were content to cruise along at less than 15 mph and enjoy the scenery.

Just before we started on that section, we took one final group picture, so if anything happened to us, you'd at least know we made it as far as Cool Springs! The 1926 Mobil station is absolutely adorable. The woman who was working there said that a burro had been born near the station earlier in the week, but we never did see any burrows or sheep roaming around along the road.

We headed on past Ed's Camp, noting the saguaro cactus along the road. Very few families seem to live in this area, which is why we were greatly amused when Sherrie pointed out a sign advertising a garage sale. In her words, with such a small number of people around, why don't you all just bring your junk to one person's house and exchange it?

A short distance beyond Ed's Camp we pulled off to the side and climbed up the rock steps to see the seep at Shaffer's Fish Bowl Springs. Just past Sitgreaves Pass, we came around a corner and saw a vehicle pulled off to the side, going the opposite direction. We were going so slow that it was easy to stop when she rolled down her window as we approached. She leaned out and asked if this was the road to Kingman. We affirmed that she was headed towards Kingman. She asked how far it was and we told her it had taken us about two hours to get this far, although we had made a couple stops along the way. As we pulled away, Jen commented, "Is she really driving through the desert without a map???" I like getting off the beaten path as much as anyone, but in a desolate environment like western Arizona, I don't think I'd do it without having some idea of where I was going!

As we headed down from Sitgreaves Pass, we saw an old car that obviously hadn't made one of the turns and joked that this stretch of road would be a killer if you had to drive it for driver's ed. Almost on cue, a driving school car came up around the corner towards us. I don't know who I feel sorrier for - the student or the instructor!

Next up was Oatman. We stopped to eat some frybread at the Olive Oatman Restaurant and Saloon and we took a couple pictures with the resident burros, but overall the town just reeked of Tourist Trap. We soon piled back into the Montana and tackled the final stretch to California.

Just after crossing the Colorado, we stopped to get pictures of the stone Route 66 billboard and the old bridge, which now supports a gas pipeline.

We topped off the gas tank in Needles and made sure we had plenty of beverages and salty foods. (Earlier in the week, Sherrie shared that she had read somewhere that it's essential for you to have salt in your body in order for it to be able to process any water you take in. Except she was driving as she was telling us this little factoid and I think she got a little distracted, and so the story ended with a warning that without salt we could drown in a bathtub. There was a silence until one of us piped up, "I'm sorry, what was that about drowning in a bathtub in the desert?" You probably had to be there, but it was quite funny at the time, and led to a week's worth of jokes about salt and bathtubs in the desert.)

Well stocked with beef jerky, Corn nuts and Gatorade, we left Needles (after a brief interlude in which we couldn't figure out how to get on the road and ended up driving off onto the shoulder and in a circle around a hitchhiker - poor guy, he probably thought we were going to pick him up and we just drove around him and drove off!).

Because the temperature was ranging from 97 to 110 degrees, we voted against joining the other travellers who have constructed their names out of rocks by the side of the road. Our first stop was the Shoe Tree. Unfortunately, we didn't have any extra shoes of our own to add.

Every single one of our guidebooks recommended stopping at Roy's in Amboy. Every. Single. One. We pulled into Amboy and drove up to the café, which looked pretty darned closed. At the same time, a man came out of the café and drove towards us on a golf cart, so we rolled down the window and asked him if the café was open. He looked at us as though we were completely addled and said, "Um, no." He said he did have water, if we wanted some of that. We politely thanked him and drove on (if by "politely" I mean that as soon as the windows were rolled up, we slagged on him for being such a jerk to us).

With Roy's off the list, we drove on to Ludlow and stopped for a tasty lunch at the Ludlow Café.

We slowed down to view many of the Route 66 ruins along the way to Barstow, but kept on moving. I guess by the time we got to California, a restored gas station or an abandoned business needed to be pretty darned special to get our attention!

We made it to Barstow just in time to spend a few minutes at the Route 66 museum. They had some interesting exhibits and a nice gift shop.

Unfortunately we got to Helendale a little too late and the Exotic World Burlesque Museum was closed. I guess that will have to wait until next time! We did stop at the Bottle Tree Ranch and made one last bridge stop as well.

Then it was time for the final stretch into San Bernardino and Rialto. I had no idea the landscape would be as beautiful as it was. The mountains were so scenic - not at all how I imagined it. As mentioned earlier, the Wigwams in Rialto are very nice now. Not the Ritz-Carlton, but very pretty and clean for a Wigwam! You can tell they've all recently been repainted and that they're being taken care of now.

The agenda for the night included an Inland Empire 66ers game. We arrive a few minutes after the start of the game, found our seats and indulged in the advertised $1 tacos. If you ever have a chance, check out a game here. The stadium has distinctive Southwest architecture and the tacos were to die for. We ate a few to start, and then made ourselves promise that we would wait until the 6th inning before deciding whether to go back and get more (we did).

On our way back from our second taco run, we actually ran into some locals who go to college in little Oskaloosa, Iowa. What are the chances of that?

Early on in the evening, there had been a call at the plate and the opposing manager had come out to argue the call and had been ejected from the game. At the time, we joked about how those arguments are always so melodramatic, and the opposing manager sure did get into it.

I always buy a program at minor league games because I like to read the front office staff bios and see if I know anyone from my short stint in minor league baseball. Unless I'm blind, the 66ers don't have staff bios in their program (Note to 66ers: Can you do somethinga bout that?), so I put the program away and didn't look at it again until later in the game. That's when I noticed that Brett Butler was listed as the opposing manager.

Brett Butler! Growing up as a Dodger fan in Iowa, I loooooved Brett Butler. He and Orel Hershiser were two of my favorite players - he was undoubtedly a stellar lead-off hitter and I admired him not only for his skills but for coming back after throat cancer and for his grace and dignity.

Ann and I made a run down to the bullpen and talked to one of the players to confirm that it was indeed Brett Butler. He said that Brett was probably hanging out in the locker room after being ejected, but we could catch him on his way to the bus after the game.

I really wanted to meet him, but I was a little nervous, too. He'd been ejected from the game, his team lost - he might be in a bad mood and what if he wasn't really as nice a guy as I believed him to be? I don't like finding out my heroes are really jerks (which is why I don't like to hear anyone's stories about meeting Paul Simon!).

We quizzed the bus driver and he said that he didn't think Brett Butlet would punch me in the face if I approached him, but he might be in a cranky mood. Cue anxiety. I also felt bad for making Jen, Ann and Sherrie wait on my account, but Ann was happy to wait with me and Jen had her knitting and Sherrie had a new book from the Barstow museum, so wait we did.

He finally came out of the locker room and approached the bus. I walked up to him and said, "Mr. Butler?" He stopped. I told him that growing up in Iowa, I had been a huge fan of his and I really admired him and just wanted to tell him that. He put down his bags, shook my hand and asked my name. Ann and I introduced ourselves and we started chatting. He apologized that we had to wait so long for him and apologized for getting ejected for the first time in his career on the night we were there. He asked if we were coming to any of the other games this weekend and graciously allowed us to take pictures with him. He seemed really interested in our trip and was wonderfully polite and conversational. Wheeeeeeee! What an exciting way to end the day! I thanked the girls over and over again for being willing to wait - what great friends, huh?

With one minor "Oops, wrong turn...hey, we're on the freeway!" moment, we made it back to the Wigwams and enjoyed a good night's sleep before setting off on the final 70 miles of the trip.

From Chicago to L.A.

2006-06-10T20:21:00.000-05:00

We made it!

I'm sitting in the lobby of the Viceroy Santa Monica relaxing before we go out for dinner. I forgot to bring the camera down with me, so I can't upload pics right now, but I thought I'd let everyone know that we made it. It took us about five hours to drive the final 70 miles, but by golly, we've seen the L.A. area and we had some awesome pancakes along the way.

Our hotel room is phenomenal. My friend Angela set us up and we have a gorgeous view of the ocean. After checking in, we walked down to the pier and then walked along the beach for a while.

More to come later!

Almost there!

2006-06-10T11:17:00.000-05:00

We're getting ready to hit the road from Rialto to Santa Monica. I can't believe we're so close! Yesterday was a great drive from Kingman, through the scary steep stretches and down through the desert and then into San Bernardino and Rialto. We'll try to post pictures tonight if there's time. The Rialto Wigwams are beautiful - the guidebooks that say they've been restored are spot on.

Some highlights from yesterday, until we can get the full recap posted:
- The absolutely charming stone Cool Springs Mobil Station
- Traveling along at a racing 12 mph through the steep, windy roads of western Arizona
- Not a higlight: Oatman. We found it rather off-putting and depressing. But the fry bread was good and the burros are cute!
- Seeing the Colorado River. Ann says that we always thought the water in the Raging River at Adventureland always looked fake, but surprisingly, some rivers are that strange blue-green color.
- The shoe tree
- 110 degrees!
- Not a highlight: Roy's Café. Hey buddy, when all our guidebooks say it's open and we should stop, don't look at us like we're mentally deficient when we ask you if it's open!
- The gorgeous mountains into San Bernardino
- A perfect night for an Inland Empire 66ers baseball game
- And the capper of the night, meeting one of my childhood baseball heroes (For those of you who know me well, it's wasn't Orel, but it was a very close second!)

We're movie stars! Or suckers.

2006-06-09T00:45:00.000-05:00

It’s always a good morning when you wake up in a Wigwam! We certainly enjoyed our accommodations last night.

Today was our earliest morning yet. We actually hit the road by 8:30! As we passed the post office in Joseph City, we pulled over and I hopped out to mail a postcard to my grandpa. I had a couple to mail, but I figured I’d mail one from one location and the second from another location and maybe they’d get there on separate days? Anyway, I hopped back in the van and looked at the second postcard and realized that it had no address on it at all yet. Which made me think, “Uhhhhh, did I put the address on the postcard I just mailed?” It either has absolutely no address on it at all, or it might be addressed to his name, the retirement community he lives in, and the town. If it’s the latter, here’s hoping a kind postal employee in Joseph City will help me out and send it on its way.

Our first stop of the day was the famous Jackrabbit Trading Post, where we picked up more souvenirs.

From there it was on to Winslow for the Standing on the Corner statue. It’s still fenced off from the fire in 2004, but is fun to see nonetheless. I had to exhibit quite a bit of willpower to avoid buying another t-shirt at the store across the street.

We stopped at the Meteor City Trading Post to take our picture with the World’s Longest Map of Route 66. It's hard to see, but there was a bit of an issue with me beating the timer again. I'm sprinting as fast as I can towards the Catoosa Whale!

After that we drove on to the next exit and headed south of the route to actually see the famed meteor crater. Seeing as how we had driven through the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest for $10/vehicle yesterday, we had high hopes that the meteor crater would be somewhere between $3 and $5 per person.

$15 per person! We were lightly hopping up the stairs when we all looked up and saw that sign and stopped dead in our tracks. Call us cheap Dutchmen, but we decided that $60 for the four of us to look at a hole in the ground was not in the cards. Back on the road again, where for absolutely free when enjoyed a spirited sing along to “Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore” on the radio.

We pulled off to see the abandoned Twin Arrows next. They’re still standing, but looking a little less arrow-ish as parts fall off.

Not too long after this, we ran into a storm. It went something like this:

11:15:00 Ran into fierce and noisy hail storm.
11:15:15 Contemplated pulling over until storm passed
11:15:30 Told Jen she could pull over if she wanted to.
11:16:00 Drove out of storm. Felt relieved that we were not sitting on the side of the road like idiots

11:38:00 Drove into baby hail storm. Scoffed at it and drove on.

It rained off and on for a good part of the day, but luckily it never affected our plans.

As we drove through Flagstaff, we contemplated that this would be the perfect place for us to buy a campground when we all retire sometime around 2040. It’s so wooded and beautiful! We decided that if we had been driving down Route 66 during the Depression, we would’ve said phooey to California once we got to Flagstaff.

We took the gravel alignment past Bellemont, one of the biggest treats of the day. We pulled off near the Auto Tour sign just before Parks and set off hiking down the out-of-use 1931 alignment towards the Spring House that used to pump water for the nearby campground. On the way back, we detoured through the woods to pick up the even more decrepit 1921 alignment.

The hike was a nice break to the day. Believe it or not, after all this time together in the van we still haven’t run out of things to talk about. Topics of discussion on the hike included:

1. If we bought a campground near here in 2040, we could also buy a 1920s- or 1930s-era vehicle and give little tours up and down this stretch of the road.
2. Imagine the pioneers who settled the west in wagon trains, going maybe 10-20 miles a day. If they had veered 18 miles round trip the wrong direction off the path to go look at Volkswagons buried in the ground, that would’ve been two wasted days! (Any discussion of the errant Lonely Planet map is followed by Sherrie declaring, “Lonely Planet can burn!”) (Ok, to be fair, aside from that Texas map, the Lonely Planet book is quite handy and packs a lot of information into a small book.)
3. Jennifer really should marry a park ranger. Hey, we’ve got a blog. Let’s see if we can find a single park ranger for Jen!
4. How does a road go from being paved to being gravel? Do they dump a bunch of gravel on top of the pavement, figuring that as people drive over it, the gravel will break up the pavement and it will all mix together? (Dave? Clarification?)

The four of us were in Williams together just over two years ago, so we didn’t spend a lot of time here. We took our picture underneath the same Route sign we used two years ago, and then headed out of town, noting with amusement that perhaps we should retire to nearby Cataract Lake. (“There is no lake. There’s just a sheet of blue plastic. Look at it shimmer!”)

We chose the Snow Cap Drive-In in Seligman for lunch, a very good decision. The hamburgers were incredible and the fries were perfect. As we were sitting there, a group of four guys was eating and milling around the site as well. After our meal, we asked one of them to take our picture in front of the car next to the Snow Cap.

That turned into a conversation about how they are working on An Internet Film Project for a Well-Known Company That We Are Not Allowed to Talk About and suddenly we were signing releases and confidentiality statements and being interviewed on film about our trip. We figure either there really is a film project, or they just came up with a really elaborate scheme to steal our identities. Just to be on the safe side, we surreptitiously took their pictures and wrote down their license plate number.

We made really good time today (I guess leaving at 8:30 helped!), and after a stop to take our picture next to a giant Tiki, we cruised into Kingman before 6 p.m. We took a dip in the pool (admiring the Best View in Kingman) and then drove downtown for a delicious dinner at the Hotel Brunswick.

Tomorrow: California!

This post brought to you by the Ladies' Temperance Society

2006-06-07T23:42:00.000-05:00

I've been asked to clarify that Jen and Ann did not consume an entire bottle of wine on the train from Ottumwa to Chicago. When they arrived at Rick's, there was enough wine in the bottle for each of the five of us to enjoy a glass. So any concerned parents should rest assured that they were not drunkenly carousing their way across Illinois. Promise!

I have also been asked to clarify that the reason we did not know that stations of the cross is not because we are godless heathens, but because we are all born-and-raised Baptists and RCA-ers.

If you can't tell, Jen, Ann and Sherrie crowded around the laptop on the hotel bed tonight and gave their feedback. :-)

This morning I hopped into the Montana with my laptop and cruised a little ways down the street so I could glom onto the Park Inn wireless connection. Desperate times call for desperate measures! We are so pleased to see we've been linked from the Route 66 news Web site and from a blog detailing the road trip of one of our college professors and a student who are on a Flannery O'Connor quest.

After taking an unexpected (but pleasant) "Whoops, missed that turn!" scenic tour of Santa Fe, we headed for Albuquerque and joined up with the post-1937 alignment of the route. We dropped in at the Route 66 Malt Shop for lunch, where Sherrie and I enjoyed our first egg creams. New! Different! Tasty! The food was equally enjoyable - the B.A.L.T. (a little avocado in there) and the Frito Pie (had to try it once) were delicious.

We had a bit of a Joad moment today. The "change oil" light and the "low oil pressure" light both came on in the van. It only has 7,000 miles on it, so we're wondering if the oil has been changed at all. Sherrie checked and we were quite low, so we dumped in a quart of oil and called Budget. We may take it to the Flagstaff airport on our way by tomorrow and exchange the beloved Montana for another vehicle. We're not sure how concerned we should be as we approach the Mojave section of the road. The van hasn't been overheating at all - the temp has stayed consistently smack in the middle of C and H. But we'd hate to be those people who wander out into the desert and are never heard from again!

Heading out of Albuquerque, we stopped at the Rio Puerco bridge for a photo opp. We successfully navigated another Dead Man's Curve and made our way across New Mexico. There were tons of beautiful photo opps along this road, but we stuck to the posted reservation rules about cameras and just tried to burn the memories into our brains. At one point there was a freight train running along the tracks near us, hugging the side of a mesa. I'm not sure why it struck me as such a pretty site, but I hope it's one I can remember.

We made our way past the malpais, which Sherrie had read about in Louis L'Amour books and was more than happy to tell us about. When we reached San Fidel, we stopped at the 66 Gallery and met today's new friend, Mary. She was pleased and surprised to learn that she is mentioned in the EZ66 Guide. We stayed for a while, chatting about art and picking out a few pieces to take home with us. For some frustrating reason the picture I took of the girls and Mary in front of her shop doesn't seem to be on my camera's memory stick.

I have to confess, since we're travelling through the West I have used this trip as an excuse to eat as much beef jerky as possible, including this mouth-watering slab I found at a gas station along the route today. Sherrie says I'd make a good cowboy, but I think she's overlooking the fact that I am a) a big sissy and b) really opposed to being hot.

It wasn't long before we reached the Continental Divide. We had the brilliant idea that Jen and I would pose divided in front of the sign, and then we'd drive a short distance down the road to the New Mexico Route 66/Dead End sign to take the required state road sign picture. Since yesterday's key incident, I'm charged with keeping the extra van key in my purse and making sure I have my purse with me at all times. So we pulled up to the Route 66 sign, I opened the van door, reached down to get my purse and...and...nothing. I whipped around in my seat and saw that my little purse was still hanging out back at the continental divide. Talk about your heart attack moments. If we hadn't stopped at the road sign, I'm not sure when I would have noticed that I didn't have it with me! We whipped around and I grabbed it, but I'm pretty sure the incident got my heart rate up enough that I don't need to exercise for at least six months.

We had a bit of geeky Dutch excitement when we pulled into Gallup and saw a huuuuge "Christian Reformed Churches of Gallup welcome you!" billboard. We think the RCA needs to invest a little more money in outdoor advertising and give the CRC a run for its money!

At the Arizona border, we pulled over to take our picture next to a fake buffalo. What can I say, we're easily amused! We have a system wherein we pull up the van perpendicular to the scene we are photographing, we roll down the window and I set up the digital camera in the window ledge while everyone poses, then hit the timer and run like heck. There was a bit of a flaw in the system today. We parked too far from the darned buffalo and running through the sand only exacerbated my turtle-esque running pace. So we ended up with this shot, where it appears that I am charging the buffalo.

Notice that I am carrying my purse!

Once in Arizona, we decided to depart from the route and check out the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest - a good decision despite the gusty winds. The Painted Desert was especially beautiful and the two Route 66 references inside the park made for good photo opps. (The one with the car required setting the timer and then clamboring over a wall, with Jen assisting to make sure I didn't break my neck.) In the gift shop they were selling some Route 66 books I haven't read yet. I suppose that's a good way to keep the blog going when we're done with the trip - just keep reading all the books and posting reviews and, of course, start doing some daydreaming about the next trip down the route.

From there it was a short 19 miles to Holbrook, where we are now happily ensconced in our Wigwam. Honestly, we were giddily squealing when we pulled the Montana into the parking lot. Could it possibly get any better than this? (Apparently we're not the only ones who love the Wigwam - John said Oprah was here a couple weeks ago!)

Tomorrow it's a jaunt across Arizona to Kingman. We're getting ambitious - we may try to hit the road by 8:30!

We heart the people of Adrian, Texas

2006-06-07T09:49:00.000-05:00

Tuesday morning in Amarillo! That means it’s time for the Amarillo Livestock Auction. We enjoyed a delicious steak and eggs breakfast at the café at the stockyard, then went into the arena for the auction, which purported to start at 10 a.m. sharp. By 10:30, there were a couple dozen tourists milling about and that was about it. As much as we would have loved to stay for the auction, we just couldn’t spend that much time. Sherrie sought out a local and asked questions about what type of cattle they auction and then we hopped in the van and hit the road.

Our first stop was the Cadillac Ranch. Yes, it’s cheesy and completely inexplicable, but it’s impossible to pass by without stopping and taking pictures. After that we made a brief stop in Vega before heading on to our holy grail of the day: The Midpoint Café.

Halfway! We all are having trouble keeping track of the days. Rick’s seems like weeks ago, even though it was only days. We’ve been on the road long enough that it feels like we should be in California in an hour or so, but we still have four days to go.

We pulled into the café and ordered some pie and cake for a mid-day snack, then perused the gift shop. It was when we stepped outside to get back in the van that our troubles started. It seems that the person who had been driving had slipped the van keys into her purse when we got out…or so she thought…and then locked the doors using the button on the driver’s side door.

We all know where this is going. Pressing our heads against the van window, we saw the keys, lying on the floor next to where the purse had been. One of the café employees – God bless her – tried to jimmy it open with a coat hanger, but couldn’t get the hanger inserted around the window. I confess, I was having a internal panic attack – we were in Adrian, Texas. Adrian, Texas! When Sherrie broke down one time, AAA couldn’t figure out where Lansing, Michigan, was. If they can’t find the capital of Michigan, how are they going to find Adrian, Texas?

Never fear. Our café friend called the local body shop, conveniently located about half a block away. While Sherrie and I walked to the nearby post office to mail postcards, he came and unlocked our doors. We also had him cut the tie binding the keys – rental places always give you two keys to the vehicle, inexplicably bound together so you can’t pull them apart. Sorry, Budget, but you’ll have to replace the cord on these keys. Now we have one set for driving and one set tucked safely in another purse.

After the brief setback, we trucked on. As you can see, we’ve been trying to take pictures in front of each state’s Route 66 road signs. For the life of us, we couldn’t find a single one in Texas. When we got to Glenrio, we just took a picture in front of the generic sign located there and called it good. Note to Texas: Can you do something about that?

New Mexico was a new state for all four of us, so we stopped at the border to take our picture in front of the welcome sign. Even though we couldn’t spend the night in Tucumcari (I know! I know! We are horrible people and next time down the Route, we will make it a point to spend the night here. Please hold the verbal abuse!), we were treated to a tour of the Blue Swallow and allowed to see one of their spectacular rooms. Also, it turns out that there’s a fountain in front of the hotel that they just discovered mere weeks ago, and are now working to restore. It seems the fountain hasn’t worked in decades, because only the locals who were around in the 40s remember it in its functional state. Should be fun when it’s completed.

We made excellent time today, pulling into Santa Rosa for a late lunch around 3:30 p.m. We stopped at Joe’s for some good food and then headed north on the Santa Fe loop. The landscape is so breathtaking, and the lightning storm in the distance only added to the effect.

We pulled into Santa Fe shortly after 6 p.m. In all the states and cities I’ve been to, I have never seen anything like Santa Fe. It’s unusual and beautiful. We checked into the Silver Saddle and then headed to the plaza for dinner at La Fonda. Filled to the brim with Southwestern food, Sherrie, Jen and I went for a little power walk down the street from our hotel after dinner. Since then, we’ve been taking advantage of the opportunity to just relax in our room for a night.

Chatty elderly men and the Ten Commandments

2006-06-07T09:24:00.000-05:00

We got an early (for us) start on Monday, hitting the road by 9 a.m. Lucky for us we did! After a brief stop at a historical marker regarding the Oklahoma Land Rush, we made a brief stop at a defunct (but scenic) old stone service station near the Rock of Ages Hay Farm and then headed for the round barn in Arcadia.

As soon as we walked in, Mister Sam jumped up from his seat to greet us. He started out by telling us the history of the barn, and before we knew it we had spent an hour chatting with him. Not only does to do work with the barn, but he owns the Rock of Ages Hay Farm and he and his wife tend to the service station we had stopped at. Not bad for a guy in his 80s! We learned that he married into the family that owned the land the hay farm is located on, and how the original owner claimed the land in the land rush. We learned the definition of a Sooner and the important role of the iron pot in farm life and admired a buggy he had restored.

Then, just when we thought we were out of things to talk about, he asked if any of us ballroom dance. I told him I had taken lessons in college, and before I knew it I was waltzing and fox trotting with Mister Sam.

Some other tourists stopped in to see the barn, and while he tended to them we climbed the stairs to see the impressive upper level of the barn. After a while, Mister Sam joined us and we engaged in a little swing dancing – first me and then Ann. Just before we left, he told us about his first wife passing away and how blessed he was to find his second wife, Miss Martha.

Even though we’re on a schedule and the time we spent at the barn pressed us later in the day, it was worth every second. The friendly people we’re meeting really make the trip worthwhile.

We continued on through Oklahoma City and down a charming stretch of 66 into Hydro. Lunch was delicious BBQ at the Heapin’ Helpings BBQ in Weatherford before we headed on to Clinton and the Oklahoma Route 66 museum.

The $3 admission was so worth it. We really enjoyed the decade-by-decade exhibits, self-guided tour cassettes and the film at the end, and the gift shop is fantastic.

When we pulled into the parking lot, we saw an older, bearded gentleman walking in to the museum. I didn’t give it much thought until I was walking out after hitting the gift shop and noticed that he was sitting at a table in the lobby with many pieces of familiar-looking art around him. It was Bob Waldmire! I was thrilled to meet him. We chatted for a little bit and Jen took my picture with him. What a thrill to unexpectedly meet one of the Route 66 celebrities!

From Clinton we cruised down the road to the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City. This one was also $3, but what a completely different experience. I hope they’re planning on expanding the exhibits, because otherwise this just isn’t worth it. They take a state-by-state approach, but the exhibit is extremely sparse. I think it took us all of 10 minutes to get through the exhibit, and the most interesting part was noticing that the Henry Fonda mannequin’s boot had fallen off, giving him the appearance of having a peg leg.

From there it was on to Erick, where we peered longingly through the windows of the Roger Miller museum, wishing it was open for us that day. (I think the sign said Wednesday-Saturday.) Does anyone not love “King of the Road?” It is a marvel that tiny little Erick produced both Roger Miller and Sheb Wooley.

After that, it was on down the road into Texas. We stopped in Shamrock to take pictures at the incredible Conoco Station/U Drop Inn. The architecture really is beautiful.

Sherrie and I were extremely disappointed that the Devil’s Rope Museum in McLean is closed on Mondays. We had to settle for a picture out front, before heading down the road to get a picture at the restored Phillip’s station.

We took a picture using the camera timer and were nosing around the station when I noticed Jen talking to an older gentleman. We all joined the conversation and learned that he was directing her attention to McLean’s new Ten Commandments display, located diagonally across the street.

And so began our conversation with Archie, a Pentecostal minister. He told us about all the denominations that pitched in to create the sculpture, and how the homeowner had begged them to put it on her property. We learned about Archie’s family and discovered that he’s pretty active for an almost-94-year-old. After taking pictures with the tablets, we bid Archie farewell and continued down the road to Alanreed.

The service station in Alanreed looked just like the pictures. We stopped to take a few shots of our own, and then decided to hike a little bit down the road in search of the dirt portion of 66. This little expedition came to a screeching halt when three dogs came rushing out of their yard, barking at us and chasing us back down the road. Oops? I guess that section of the road will remain a mystery to us! As we approached the minivan, another dog came running out to make our acquaintance. I think this is definitely one of those “more dogs than people” kind of towns.

After that we made a brief stop at the leaning water town and the largest cross in the western hemisphere. There’s a new gift shop open at the cross, with some interesting items inside. I’m a little confused as to whose photo you would place in a picture frame inscribed with “You are the light of the world.” When it says that, aren’t you pretty much limited to a framed picture of Jesus? They were also selling a picture of what must have been some sort of dedication or festival at the cross, featuring a Jesus-shaped hot air balloon.

So, I can’t explain those two things, but I can say that the cross was an interesting stop on our journey. The site also features sculptures of the stations of the cross (which none of us were familiar with), an empty tomb and a sculpture of the Ten Commandments.

Our final stop of the day was the Bug Ranch, not to be confused with the Cadillac Ranch. Same concept, but with VWs. According to the Texas map in Sherrie’s Lonely Planet guide to Route 66, the Bug Ranch was located north of the interstate. So we took off heading north from the appropriate exit. And we drove. And drove. Nine miles later, we approached a town. We stopped at the gas station and Sherrie snagged a local who informed her that the Bug Ranch is actually south of the interstate about 50 feet. So we backtracked our nine miles and across the interstate to get pictures, with Sherrie castigating that Lonely Planet map the entire way.

After that, it was a short jump into Amarillo, where we checked in to the Big Texan (Holstein comforters! Texas flag shower curtains!) and asked for directions to the local drive-in movie theatre. It was a perfect night for a show. We opened the sliding door of the Montana and Ann and I sat on the ground enjoying the cool breeze. The show was X-Men III, and it’s a good thing we had Sherrie with us to explain the intricacies of the plot and the characters.

So we thought we’d have a nice leisurely day, but the conversations we had with people along the road were more important than getting into Amarillo at a certain time. We were pretty tired at the end of the day, but it was worth it.

The day of free stuff

2006-06-06T08:52:00.000-05:00

The morning broke bright and sunny in Cuba. We stopped at the World’s Tiniest Wal-Mart (our pronouncement, not theirs) to buy a cooler and load up on snacks, to avoid a starvation debacle like we had on Saturday.

We made a stop at the picturesque bridge at Devil’s Elbow and a few giants along the way before hitting Lebanon. We pulled into the Munger Moss hotel and took a few minutes to peruse their gift shop. They had cute little Munger Moss pens with the Route 66 crest on top that Jen and I decided to buy (trying to go for small souvenirs now!), but when we went to pay, we were told we could just take them. Score! Free stuff!

From there we went just down the street to the Bell Restaurant, where we enjoyed the largest meal we’ve eaten in ages for about $6 each. Sherrie and Jen had the roast beef special (it being Sunday and they being pastors’ kids) and Ann and I had the fried chicken special. The meals came with choice of potato, choice of vegetable, choice of bread, choice of side salad (salad, macaroni salad, potato salad, cole slaw, peaches, applesauce, cottage cheese and a few other things we’ve forgotten) and the requisite small town restaurant basket of crackers.

Somewhere along the road after Lebanon, we came across some windmills, so the Dutch girls took turns posing like Dutch figurines.

When we stopped to take our picture with the crap duster just outside Carthage, a local struck up a conversation with Sherrie and told her we absolutely had to go to Red Oak II. We can’t pass up a personal recommendation, so we backtracked a few miles to visit the site. We are so glad we did – well, three of us are, anyway!

One of the buildings on the site is a vintage gas station. I set the camera on a nearby stone wall, set the time and then ran over to join the picture. Unbeknownst to me, a duck saw me running and came tearing after me, flapping his wings. And unfortunately for Sherrie, she has a fowl phobia. So Sherrie started fleeing from the approaching duck, which caused it to turn its attention from me to her and start chasing her. Fortunately for us, that’s the moment the camera snapped.

Shortly after leaving Carthage, we hit Kansas for our brief 13-mile foray into that state. The Marsh Arch bridge was well worth the detour – it’s lovely and has a great setting for pictures.

Then suddenly we were in Oklahoma, hobnobbing with statues of Andy Payne and Will Rogers. And just as our mantra for the previous day had been “Cuba by midnight,” we had a theme for yesterday: Catoosa by dark. We absolutely had to get to the Catoosa whale before sundown. We arrived with ample time to spare and had a blast climbing up and down the whale and taking pictures. Because the t-shirt shop was closed, it’s one of our goals after the trip to find out where we can buy Catoosa whale t-shirts online.

For our late dinner, we stopped at the Metro diner in Tulsa. When our waiter discovered we were traveling the route, he brought us free postcards and free bumper stickers. More free stuff! It was at that point that we realized we hadn’t really spent money on anything during the day. We hadn’t gone to any attractions with admission. We hadn’t bought any souvenirs. Yay for us and self-control, and yay for nice people along the route giving us things.

Our waiter did inform us that the University of Tulsa owns the land the diner sits on and that they will be tearing it down in the next 6-9 months, forcing the diner to relocate.

From Tulsa we made our way to Chandler and the Lincoln Motel. It was a sweet vintage stopover, and we celebrated that fact that we made Chandler by 11 p.m. by opening up a bottle of sparkling shiraz Sherrie had brought along and having a toast.

Another long day, but we feel like we’re seeing so many incredible things along the way. Sure, we could have gotten to Chandler a little sooner if we hadn’t detoured to Red Oak, but when are we going to have that chance again? A little late-night driving is a small price to pay for the experience we’re having.

Cuba by midnight, part deux

2006-06-05T23:47:00.000-05:00

We are alive! We just haven’t found a wireless connection for a few days. This was typed up yesterday…

I’m typing bits and pieces of this as we travel through southern Missouri, trying desperately to catch up on the blogging.

Let’s back up to Friday night. Sherrie arrived first, having walked most of the way from Millennium Station up to Rick’s place [Because she’s a) a trooper and b) insane :-)]. We had some time to catch up and shoot the breeze before Rick arrived with Ann and Jen in tow.

Now Ann does some graphic design work for a new winery in Iowa that just released a red table wine and a white table wine. She and Jen toted some with them on the train from Iowa (minus one bottle that cracked in Jen’s backpack, meaning that every time she opens it in the minivan we’re treated to the overwhelming smell of alcohol), and given their delay in arriving in Chicago, decided to avail themselves of one of the bottles.

We had hugs all around and each sampled a glass of the red nouveau (Delicious, Bob!) in plastic wine glasses tucked lovingly into flipflop-shaped wine coasters.

After a bit of freshening up, we walked to Maza for dinner. We opted to split a bottle of red Lebanese wine and then began the unabashed gluttony. Stuffed grape leaves, baba ghannoush and spinach pie to start. Then their to-die-for carrot soup. Finally the entrées: Lamb couscous for me, mixed grill for Rick, brochettes of chicken for Sherrie, and Jennifer and Ann split a grilled salmon dish. And just when we thought we couldn’t fit in anymore, they brought us baklava with cashews. Afterwards, we lumbered back to Rick’s, then changed into more comfortable shoes and walked around the neighborhood some more to work off the grotesque number of calories we had just ingested.

So that brings us to Saturday. Following our stop in Joliet, we headed on down the road, stopping to visit the Gemini Giant in Wilmington and take in the old gas station in Dwight and the renovated Standard Oil station in Odell. We enjoyed meeting Nathan, who was manning the store at the time, and chatting with him about the 80th anniversary of the road, the various unrecognizable (to us) gas station implements, and the efforts of the various associations along the road. Parked next to the station was a 1953 Winnebago, which Nathan opened up so we could peek inside (he said a recent storm had knocked it off its blocks, so stepping inside was off-limits for the time being). It was a treat for camping geeks like us. All the surfaces were wooden and the light fixture was a real piece of design work – not just a plain old plastic cover over a light bulb. He also said that with all the wood, it was probably heavier than a modern camper twice its size.

Following our chat with Nathan (and, of course, picking up a few souvenirs from the store) we headed back down the road, stopping in Towanda to take pictures with the Burma Shave signs. When I was a kid, my parents had the “Verse By the Side of the Road” book and I read it at least a gazillion times. We also tempted fate by driving through Towanda’s Dead Man’s Curve not once but TWICE. Daredevils, we are (ok, we weren’t exactly squealing the tires on the Montana).

It was around this time that we came to two conclusions. First, we needed to haul ass if we wanted to get to Funk’s Grove by 5 p.m. Second, our “late lunch” at the Cozy Dog Drive-In in Springfield was turning into dinner. Thank God Sherrie had, on a whim, bought a bag of snack mix at a gas station where we stopped for drinks. If not for that bag of cheddar Munchems, we probably would have killed and eaten each other somewhere along the road.

We pulled into Funk’s at 5:04 p.m., grateful that the door was still open. The charming proprietor told us that even if they’re closed, if someone pulls up she usually comes out as long as she can find her shoes. I’m not a huge syrup person (excuse me – sirup), but this stuff is amazing. I cannot wait to try it on some pancakes when we get home. (Note to Dave: You’re getting the gift of maple sirup.) We also picked up a Route 66 antenna ball, which causes our somewhat flimsy antenna to wildly flail back and forth in the breeze. Also, Jen and I took the opportunity for a fun house-style picture in the vats.

Despite our hunger, we knew we had to make a stop in Atlanta to see the giant. As you can see from the pictures, we ran into a little problem in that there was not a soul in downtown Atlanta (save for one guy who road by on his four-wheeler and shouted something about tourists), so we had to make a few attempts to get the camera timer to work while balanced on the hood of the Montana.

And then finally…FINALLY…Springfield! We pulled into the Cozy Dog at 6:45 and ordered two family baskets (a basket being four cozy dogs and a large fry), which we promptly inhaled. (I believe my hunger is reflected in the picture below, in which I’m clearly sporting crazy Sharon Stone eyes.) Honestly, I don’t even remember the first cozy dog. I had some sort of starvation blackout and then suddenly I was holding my second cozy dog. Then I exhibited a modicum of self control and forced myself to eat it slowly, savoring every delicious bite. As a devoted fan of the Iowa State Fair, I know corndogs…and the cozy dog is absolutely delicious. The French fries…eh…but the cozy dog was fabulous.

Well satiated with fried food, we were super-excited about the giant Abe Lincoln sitting on a giant wagon reading a giant law book. Three giants in one!

We knew we’d be pushing it to get to the Chain of Rocks bridge before dark (damn you, Budget!). We made a quick stop at Our Lady of the Highways, said a Hail Mary as we passed the Burma Shave-style signs, and high-tailed it to the bridge.

Unfortunately, as you can see from the pictures, we didn’t make it in time. We started hiking out onto the bridge in the dark, but too many episodes of “Unsolved Mysteries” as a child succeeded in totally giving me the willies. We made our way back to the van and scurried up to I-270 and finally into Missouri. As we were crossing the river, we could see the Chain of Rocks just downriver and, even in the dark, we could make out the curve in the bridge. I really wish we’d been able to hike out onto it in the daylight. (*ahem* Budget, I’m looking in your direction.) How disappointing!

From there we made our way through St. Louis to Ted Drewes for frozen custard – so good and so rich. And such a hangout! It really did seem like an old-fashioned ice cream stand with tons of people milling about.

It was 11 p.m. when we left Ted’s, and that’s where we had our Bill Bryson moment. Much like Bryson decided he wasn’t going to be able to hike every single inch of the Appalachian Trail, we decided that it was 11 p.m. and we were just going to hop on the interstate to Cuba instead of trying to navigate the road in the dark.

All along we had hoped to stay at the Wagon Wheel in Cuba. I know, it would be ideal if we could spend a month or six weeks ambling along the road, but unfortunately right now we’re three chicks working for the corporate man and one chick working for the Lord and we have limited vacation. So unfortunately we have a schedule to keep we have planned stops along the way that we need to hit.

When I was initially setting this up back in February and March, I called the hotels along the way and made reservations. My first call to the Wagon Wheel went something like this:

Sara: Hi, I was wondering if I could make a reservation for Saturday, June 3.
Proprietor: Just a minute. (Pause) That was for Saturday?
Sara: Yes, Saturday, June 3.
Proprietor: June 3?
Sara: Yes.
Proprietor: Call back the week before and we’ll know what we have available.

Ok. That’s fine. Small hotel, maybe they don’t take reservations that far in advance. I tried calling the Thursday and Friday before Memorial Day and got no answer. Then I wondered if perhaps the gentleman hadn’t taken a reservation because the hotel was closing.

I tried again last Tuesday and he answered.

Sara: Hi, I was wondering if I could make a reservation for this Saturday night.
Proprietor: This Saturday?
Sara: Yes, June 3.
Proprietor: Call back Friday between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Err.

We decided to just wing it. So on our way from Ted Drewes, Sherrie called the four hotels in Cuba. No answer at the Wagon Wheel. We ended up at the Best Western, which for $77 total (incl. tax with AAA discount) was quite nice.

Overall, it was a long day, but everyone stayed in good humor. We knew the first day would be long, and the whole rental mix-up made it unpredictably so. As born-and-raised Midwesterners, we’re anxious to get Illinois, Missouri and Kansas behind us and get past the usual landscapes.

Cuba by midnight!

2006-06-04T08:44:00.000-05:00

That was our mantra for yesterday and we hit the Cuba city limits at 11:59 p.m.

We went out to the Budget location in Oak Park where a very nice young man named Genaro (?) set us up with our Montana minivan. Ann and I drove back into Chicago to pick up Jen and Sherrie, and we set out for downtown, the start of the road.

The official start used to be on Jackson, but since it's a one way heading towards the lake now, you start at Adams and Michigan. We parked in the underground parking [insert the usual tourist griping about Chicago parking prices here] and walked over to the lake to take a few pictures. Then we walked over to Adams and Michigan to get our picture in front of the official "Begin Route 66" sign before heading back to the van to hit the road shortly after noon.

After all we'd been through that morning, we were ready to go! We pulled out of the parking garage, circled around on Randolph (I think) to Lake Shore Drive, with the intention of taking Monroe to Michigan, hanging a left on Michigan and then turning right on Adams. We paused at the stoplight at the entrance to Lake Shore. Sherrie offered up a quick prayer. We zoomed onto Lake Shore, crossing five lanes of traffic to get in the right lane, turned onto Monroe, headed for Michigan.........and discovered you can't turn left onto Michigan. [I know, four women from Iowa who have been to Chicago a gazillion times should know this.] So, we turned right on Michigan, drove to Randolph, back to Lake Shore Drive, zoomed across five lanes of traffic and turned right on Jackson. [At which point Sherrie piped up, "My guidebook says, 'Getting out of Chicago is simple!'"] We turned onto Michigan and popped in the CD with the Brian Setzer version of "Route 66." We turned onto Adams, hit play on the CD I had lovingly burned Friday morning and...and...and..........nothing.

We were off to a great start! I made an attempt to sing the song in my not-great voice. Hey, you make do. [Note to Dave: Maybe our CD burner is broken?]

God bless the EZ66 Guide for Travelers. With that, the individual state maps, an overall map I picked up somewhere along the line in the past few years, the Lonely Planet book and a few others, we made our way along the road with minimal turnarounds.

Our first real stop was the museum in Joliet. It's funny - you walk into that first souvenir store and want to buy everything. I succombed to the Route 66 board game [and had a brief moment of panic in the bathroom a minute later when I realized that I just bought a board game that I now need to get home on a plane from L.A.].

We're preparing to hit the road for the day, so I'll have to post more details and pictures tonight. Suffice it to say, we are having a wonderful time and have enjoyed the personalities we've met along the road so far. I'll try to type up yesterday's recap in the van today [I'm taking the day off from driving] and hopefully we'll find access in Chandler tonight. We have another long day planned today before we cut back and take a more leisurely pace.

Saturday, June 3

2006-06-03T09:14:00.000-05:00

8:10 a.m. Arrive at Budget rental location at E Lake in downtown Chicago to pick up minivan. Sign out front indicates location closed.

8:11 a.m. Call Budget 1-800 number. Talk to Daniel who tells us to go to 1300 Irving Park instead.

8:25 a.m. Discover 1300 Irving Park is a cemetery.

8:26 a.m. Call Budget 1-800 number. Talk to unnamed individual who gives us a 630 number to call to set up new rental.

8:30 a.m. Call 630 number. No one answers.

8:45 Talk to Mary at Budget, who tells us we can rent a car from a location in the suburbs. Gives us a 703 number to call.

8:47 Call 703 number. No one answers.

9:00 Return home to Rick's. Look up 703 location, which turns out to be 25 miles away. Call Budget. Talk to Adam, who tells us we can rent from a location in Oak Park, which is about 7 miles away.

Pray for us!

Friday, June 2

2006-06-02T17:01:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are! Or here I am, anyway.

The flight from Raleigh to Chicago went off without a hitch. My first time flying Southwest and I rather enjoyed it. When I landed I had a message from Ann that their train, which was supposed to leave at 9:40, was leaving at 11:00. Oops? C'mon Amtrak, can you please get it together? It doesn't bode well for my Amtrak trip to Charlotte in a couple weeks. It's supposed to take three hours, but my friend Julie swears it will take six. I've been trying to give Amtrak the benefit of the doubt, but they're not helping.

So my friend Amy picked me up at Midway, we went to Navy Pier for lunch and then she dropped me off at Rick's. I'm mooching off of someone's wireless connection, sitting outside on the patio and waiting for the rest of the crew to arrive.

We've settled on Maza for dinner, a place we discovered for Sherrie's bachelorette party here a few years ago. We were pleased to discover it's within walking distance of Rick's place.

It's hard to believe this whole thing is actually happening. In 24 hours, we'll (hopefully) be in Missouri. And then Kansas and Oklahoma 24 hours after that. And so on. Here's to us!

Open mic night

2006-05-31T16:00:00.000-05:00

Will you guys laugh at me if I bring along Grapes of Wrath and read relevant sections of it while we're on the road? I mean, it's cool, right? To read what Steinbeck wrote about those places as we're driving them? I'm not lame, right? Right???

Eccentric stops along the way

2006-05-31T08:51:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I stumbled onto a web site touting this book called Eccentric America. It highlights some of the quirkiest people and places in this fine country. I immediately went and bought it. I don't know how pure to the route we want to be, because some of these are not technically on the Mother Road. I'll bring the book along so we can decide as time allows.

Museum of Funeral Customs in Springfied, IL. This place documents the history of American funerals as well as maintaining a library of funeral practices worldwide. We can also learn all about Lincoln's funeral before going to see his tomb! But there are examples of post-mortem photography, so maybe this isn't the best stop. Website here.
World's largest catsup bottle in Collinsville, IL (near St. Louis). This isn't technically on Route 66, but I thought it would be a fun thing to go see. Website here.
The following might be a must-stop for me. It's the Precious Moments chapel complex in Carthage, MO. That's right ladies, a CHAPEL COMPLEX. The book has such enticing tidbits as "the chapel itself has 52 biblical murals, 30 stained glass windows, and bronze relief panels all done in the Precious Moments art style." Hee. There's also a Victorian Wedding Isle, honeymoon mansion, bridal cottage. Wow, how romantic! If you go to their website and look through the Wedding Island photos, the picture of the bridal bed is something else.
Totem Pole Park near Foyil, OK. We can climb up the largest pole on top of a giant turtle and gaze out onto the plains from the observation tower. There's also a Fiddle House that has 11 sides. Website wasn't up.
American International Rattlesnake Museum, Alburquerque, NM. In case we want the real truth about these fabulous reptiles. Website here.
Chilili, NM. It's a cemetery where dozens of tombstones are made of tin sheets mounted on marble pedestals. Probably not a must-see, but interesting nonetheless.
Tinkertown Museum, Sandia Park, NM (20 miles from Alburquerque). This guy carved an entire animated, miniature Western town. It's got a three-ring circus, parade, menagerie and side show. After building this, he put it in a building constructed entirely of 50,000 recycled bottles. Website here.
International Banana Club, Hesperia CA (a few miles off Route 66). Another guy (the Top Banana) has been collecting all things banana for over 30 years. There are 17,000 items, including sofas and clothing. Sounds intriguing! Website here.

Sara, you might already know about a lot of these with all your research, and there were other entries for places you already have listed for us to stop. That's my contribution to the book/research part of all this!

Itinerary for my Mom!

2006-05-23T15:42:00.000-05:00

My beloved mother requested an itinerary for the trip, so I'm introducing her to the wonderful world of blogs. Plus, now we have this all on one page.

Saturday, June 3: Hopefully the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri (no official Web site)

Sunday, June 4: Lincoln Motor Court, Chandler, Oklahoma. No Web site…here, here and here are some pictures!

Monday, June 5: The Big Texan, Amarillo, Texas

Tuesday, June 6: Silver Saddle Motel, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Wednesday, June 7: Wigwam Motel, Holbrook, Arizona

Thursday, June 8: Hill Top Motel, Kingman, Arizona

Friday, June 9: Wigwam Motel, Rialto, California

Saturday, June 10: Viceroy Hotel, Santa Monica, California (we got an amazing deal on this--God bless Sara's online friends!)

Mom: Click on the blue words and you'll find web sites for the hotels. Also, Sara posted some images at the bottom of the blog. The image with this post shows our makeshift map of plans (courtesy of Sara).

Evening meal on June 2

2006-05-01T16:39:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone:

I don't remember if we've talked about this at all, but I've really really wanted to go to Rick Bayless' restaurant in Chicago for some time. He has this Mexican cooking show on PBS and I have all his cookbooks. What's our schedule for that night?

Frontera Grill is more casual and *cough* cheap. Here's the menu.

Is this appropriate to blog about? I'm just excited to have a place to blog this stuff. We should create profiles!

Jennfier

The packing list

2006-04-21T11:52:00.000-05:00

Clothes
Jeans (one pair nice enough to wear out in L.A.?)
One or two pairs of shorts
One nice shirt?
One or two tank tops for the smokin' hot desert
One or two t-shirts
One lightweight sweater/sweatshirt in case there's a cool night?
Shoes/sandals
Socks
Skivvies
Brassieres
Swimsuit

Personals
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Dental floss
Deodorant
Contact case
Contact solution
Glasses
Soap
Shampoo
Conditioner
Various hair goops
Lotion
Comb
Hair dryer
Sunblock

Etc.
Digital camera
Real camera
Film
Sunglasses
Magazines/books
Snacks
Small cooler (?)
CDs for driving music

Possible stops or things to just keep an eye out for - Illinois

2006-04-02T17:14:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning - Breakfast at Lou Mitchell's?
Mile 0 - "Start of Historic Route 66" sign at Adams Street & Michigan Avenue, Chicago
Mile 40 - Giant Joliet Jackhammers mascot, Joliet
Mile 57 - Gemini Giant at Launching Pad restaurant, Wilmington
Mile 97 - Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame, Pontiac
Mile 140 - Funk's Maple Sirup, Funk's Grove
Mile 194 - Cozy Dog Drive Inn, Springfield
Mile 223 - Our Lady of the Highways statue, Waggoner

Possible stops or things to just keep an eye out for - Missouri

2006-04-02T17:12:00.001-05:00

Mile 290 - Chain of Rocks Bridge, St. Louis
Mile 290 - Ted Drewes Frozen Custard, St. Louis
Miles 350-400 - Various wineries
Mile 426 - Devil's Elbow

Possible stops - Kansas

2006-04-02T17:10:00.000-05:00

Mile 596 - Eisler Brothers General Store, Riverton
Mile 607 - March Rainbow Arch Bridge, Baxter Springs

Possible stops or things to just keep an eye out for - Oklahoma

2006-04-02T17:08:00.000-05:00

Mile 629 - Nine-foot wide section of original road ("paved half as wide as necessary so they could go twice as for with the same money"), Afton
Mile 670 - Bunion Derby commemorative road marker, Foyil
Mile 691 - Blue Whale, Catoosa
Mile 697 - Oral Roberts Prayer Tower, Tulsa (Is it bad if I want to see this for all the wrong reasons?)
Mile 797 - The Round Barn, Arcadia
Mile 817 - Route 66 shop, Oklahoma City
Mile 889 - Lucille's Service Station, Hydro (Plus be sure to pay attention to the design of the road and the curbs here)
Mile 911 - Elvis's room at the Best Western, Clinton
Mile 911 - Route 66 Museum, Clinton
Mile 941 - National Route 66 Museum and Kashina statue, Elk City

Possible stops or things to just keep an eye out for - Texas

2006-04-02T17:07:00.000-05:00

Mile 995 - Tower Station and U-Drop Inn, Shamrock
Mile 1009 - Devil's Rope Museum ["The Largest Barbed Wire Historic Museum in the World!"], McLean
Mile 1023 - 66 Super Service Station, Alanreed
Mile 1046 - Largest cross in North America, Groom
Mile 1046 - Leaning Water Tower, Groom
Mile 1095 - Natatorium, Amarillo
Mile 1095 - Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo
Mile 1139 - Bent Door or Midpoint Café, Adrian (Ask about free bumper stickers!)
Mile 1159 - First Motel in Texas/Last Motel in Texas, Glenrio

Possible stops or things to just keep an eye out for - New Mexico

2006-04-02T17:06:00.000-05:00

Mile 1199 - Route 66 sculpture, Tucumcari
Mile ???? - Santo Domingo Indian Trading Post, Domingo
Mile 1372 - 66 Diner, Albuquerque
Mile 1372 - National Atomic Museum, Albuquerque
Mile 1391 - Parker truss bridge, Rio Puerco
Mile 1477 - Continental Divide, Thoreau
Mile 1508 - El Rancho Hotel, Gallup
Mile 1508 - Bebop sculpture, Gallup

Possible stops or things to just keep an eye out for - Arizona

2006-04-02T16:58:00.000-05:00

Mile 1619 - Jackrabbit Trading Post, Joseph City
Mile 1642 - Standing on the Corner exhibit, Winslow
Mile 1654 - The World's Largest Map of Old Route 66, Meteor City
Mile 1674 - Two arrows at Twin Arrows Trading Post, Twin Arrows
Mile 1785 - Snow Cap Drive-In or Copper Cart, Seligman
Mile 1845 - Route 66 Visitor Center, Hackberry
Mile 1870 - Powerhouse Visitors Center, Kingman
Mile 1870 - Mr. D'z Diner - Kingman
Mile 1902 - Oatman Hotel, Oatman

Possible stops or things to just keep an eye out for - California

2006-04-02T16:43:00.000-05:00

Mile 2018 - Embankment w/ traveller messages, Amboy
Mile 2102 - Route 66 Visitor Center, Barstow
Mile 2124 - Road marker and plaque, Helendale
Mile 2124 - Exotic World Burlesque Museum, Helendale
Mile 2140 - Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum, Victorville [Update: Sonuva...I guess the museum moved to Branson? Argh!]
Mile 2160 - 50 Cent Night at the Inland Empire 66ers baseball game in San Bernardino! (That's 50 cents for hot dogs and Hooters wings, not 50 Cent the rapper.)
Mile 2182 - Bono's Restaurant and Deli, Fontana
Mile 2222 - Fair Oaks Pharmacy & Soda Fountain, Pasadena
Mile ???? - Angelus Temple, Los Angeles
Mile 2250 - Will Rogers Highway Plaque, Santa Monica
Mile 2250 - Carousel on the Pier, Santa Monica

The books

2006-04-02T16:30:00.000-05:00

Traveling Route 66 by Nick Freeth
I think this is a great book to give you an overview of the road. It's a little 4 x 6 paperback, 400 pages long but it's a fast read because it has tons of pictures. Also, it made me glad to know that I'm not the only person who thought it was "San Bernadino." Apparently so did the author and the editor! Aside from that typo (and an amusing one about "Word War I") I think this is a great one to start with.

Route 66 - Distributed by Smith-Southwestern
This is pretty much a 30-page picture book with no real information. Skip it.

Route 66 Travelers Guide by Tom Snyder
Sherrie? Your thoughts? I thought it was an interesting narrative of the road, although sometimes Snyder comes across as a little alarmist. (Do not make eye contact with anyone in this town!) He weaves together vague directions with recommendations and descriptions of places to stop - skim over the directions (we have better ones in other books).

From Sherrie: I really did not care for this book at all. I'm only halfway through it, but if this were the only book I read, I'd think Route 66 was the most boring route on earth. Seriously, he spends tons of time talking about sights that closed 20-50 years ago, which is sort of interesting from a historical perspective but gets old after awhile, and a lot of time talking about really boring sights like bridges. I only marked a couple of places in the entire book that I tho't were worth seeing, while in the Lonely Planet Guide, there was stuff I wanted to see mentioned on almost every page.

Route 66 Dining & Lodging Guide by National Historic Route 66 Members
This is exactly what it sounds like - a listing of hotels and restaurants. I'll bring my copy along, so I don't think there's a need for anyone else to read through it unless you really, really want to plan where we're going to eat. :-)

Route 66 by Tim Steil
This is another fairly short (96 pages) overview of the road. It has tons of pictures and good information - I'd recommend giving it a look-see before we go.

Lonely Planet Road Trip: Route 66
Sherrie: This is really short and I found it to be a great overview of the road as well. It doesn't describe any of the stops in great depth, but it had lots of recommendations - for sights, shopping and restaurants.

More to come!

The accomodations

2006-04-02T16:21:00.000-05:00