This post comes from a clean, comfortable and inexpensive room at the Gardens Motel in Litchfield, Ill. We got into Litchfield not long after the sun began to dip low on the ripened wheat and sprouting horseradish fields. On the way, we found the concretes at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard in St. Louis are as … Continue reading Checking in
Category: Road trips
A view from across the pond
Here's an interesting view of Route 66 from Tony Collins of the Birmingham Mail in England. An excerpt: Interest began to grow following publication of a Route 66 book in the 1990s. But the scores of ordinary townsfolk dotted along its path are most indebted to 2006 animated movie Cars. In fact, my amazing two-week … Continue reading A view from across the pond
Virtual road trip
You can't yet travel from Chicago to Los Angeles down Route 66 via Google Street View. But at the rate it's going, it won't be long. Google Street View is a spectacular feature that offers 360-degree views at ground level. When first launched in May 2007, it had only five cities. Now, it's more than … Continue reading Virtual road trip
Arizona considers scenic trails to Grand Canyon
The state of Arizona is considering creating scenic trails from the Phoenix metro area to the Grand Canyon, reports the Arizona Republic. Naturally, such a trail would have to cross Route 66 at some point. One of the segments proposed hits the Route 66 town of Ash Fork. The idea is to create an alternate … Continue reading Arizona considers scenic trails to Grand Canyon
Super weird
From today's San Bernardino (Calif.) County Sun: Four Italian men from an international film crew were showered with a superheroic welcome Friday at the San Bernardino headquarters for Juan Pollo Restaurants as they stopped by the corporate offices and museums. Each was dressed as a comic-book hero.Decked in Robin, Captain America, Flash Gordon and Superman … Continue reading Super weird
TV station touts Joliet’s Route 66 connection
The city of Joliet, Ill.'s fairly recent embrace of Route 66 has paid off again. This time, WLS-TV, the big ABC affiliate in Chicago, has featured it as one of its "one tank trips" for local tourists. Check it out. It's smart marketing. While the price of gas goes higher, Joliet is drawing visitors from … Continue reading TV station touts Joliet’s Route 66 connection
Route 66 on $250 a day?
Here's an interesting news release today from Best Western, the hotel chain: PHOENIX--Today Best Western International announced that it is partnering with veteran travel journalist Amy Graff to give vacationers a bird’s-eye view into Gen-X travel, via a blog and regular columns hosted on bestwestern.com. Amy, 34, will serve as the company’s new leisure travel … Continue reading Route 66 on $250 a day?
Illinois Motor Tour and Hall of Fame preview
The Bloomington (Ill.) Pantagraph has a preview about the 19th annual Route 66 Association of Illinois Motor Tour. It runs over the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge in north St. Louis on Saturday morning, overnights in Lincoln, and ends Sunday in Wilmington. Scotty's Route 66 Bar & Grill in Hamel is holding registration for the … Continue reading Illinois Motor Tour and Hall of Fame preview
High gas prices aren’t hurting tourism
Here's something to chew on from the Wayneville (Mo.) Daily Guide: High gas prices don’t seem to be hurting Pulaski County tourism, according to Tourism Bureau Executive Director Andy Thiem, and may even help local venues as vacationers choose to stay closer to home. Speaking at Thursday evening’s meeting of the Pulaski County Tourism Board, … Continue reading High gas prices aren’t hurting tourism
A glimpse of a 1948 road trip
Here's an explanation for this amazing YouTube video: In 1948, the Osborn family loaded up their vehicle and headed for West Virginia. Their starting point was Redlands, CA. The film was shot in 1948 with an 8mm movie camera. Back in those days, Route 66 was one of the major west-east routes, thus the theme … Continue reading A glimpse of a 1948 road trip