It’s the journey

I think I’ll dedicate this entry to my Dad. Today would have been his 89th birthday. He loved to hit the open road, and one of his favorite sayings was “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” I can’t help but think how happy he would have been for us that we got to do this trip, and how much he would have enjoyed hearing about our adventures. Here’s to you, Dad.

It’s kind of hard to articulate the mystique of Route 66 that exists for so many of us. There are other iconic roads (The National Road, The Lincoln Highway, The Old Spanish Trail, Pacific Coast Highway) that are fascinating in their own right, but Route 66 is special.

But why? I can’t speak for everyone who loves the Road, only for myself. As we were cruising along, I had plenty of time to reflect on what is so special about it, and why people come from all over the world to travel it.

Part of it is definitely the nostalgia factor. Being able to travel so much of the old road gives you an idea of what it must have been like for travelers in years past. The very narrow portions of the Road in Illinois and Oklahoma make me think of people traveling the original dirt trail in wagons; the twists and turns near Oatman, Arizona make me imagine a family traveling it in a Model T; the four-lane portions winding through the Missouri bluffs bring to mind a happy couple in a big ol’ boat of a ‘50s convertible. Although many of the old businesses are in ruins or gone completely, numerous examples of roadside eateries still abound. One of my favorites was Ted Drewes Frozen Custard in St. Louis. This walk-up reminds me so much of ice cream stands of my youth. Ken and I were there on a hot afternoon (boy, did that Concrete—thicker than a Dairy Queen blizzard—ever taste good...!), but when Shane and I were there, it was a June evening. The neon was on, moths were beating at the lights, and the place was really hopping.

The old motels also reminded me of my childhood, taking road trips with my parents. Back then, we stayed in plenty of little old motels like you encounter on Route 66. Again, many of these are no longer operating as tourist motels, or are not kept up well. The few notable exceptions are a delight, with simple, clean rooms. Gift shops still dot the roadway, and at the famous Jack Rabbit Trading Post in Arizona, I did indeed see rubber tomahawks! But it’s not just about the nostalgia, or trying to relive one’s lost youth. Route 66 is a vital place, with many people still catering to tourists and giving rest to weary travelers. It may have changed a bit, and is no longer as busy as it once was, but there is a lot of life left yet in the old highway. Like all of us, it may be getting older, but that doesn’t mean it’s ready to give up the ghost just yet!

I was also struck by the changing terrain. It cuts through two-thirds of the United States, and you see a broad representation of what our country has to offer. From the urban landscape of Chicago, you pass quickly into vast expanses of Midwestern cornfields. The rocky bluffs of Missouri give way to the prairies of Oklahoma, after a brief trip through Kansas. You soon pass into the flat plains and cattle country of Texas, followed by the beautiful landscapes and soaring heights of New Mexico. The mountainous terrain of Arizona has the true feel of the Old West, and the trip through the Mojave Desert is nothing less than imposing (imagine going through it in a Model T!). The urban sprawl of southern California has the feel of the “promised land,” as it was for many people over the years, and passing over the mountains to the coast brings cooler temperatures and a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. It was fascinating to me to see the countryside changing with every mile eaten up by the tires of our Detroit rollin’ iron. It truly was a good-sized chunk of our country, and it was an incredible lesson as to just how beautiful, in many different ways, it is. The vast, open farm fields have as much charm to me as the vast, open desert. The lush, verdant hardwoods of Missouri are as beautiful as the towering pines of Flagstaff. Of course, there are many other climates and terrains to be seen in our country...which is amazing in itself. We passed through eight states (not counting Indiana, on our way up to Chicago to pick up the very beginning of the Route), and only saw part of this amazing land.

Another lesson I learned on this trip is something I mentioned when we were having lunch with Andy and Linda after his graduation. Although we planned out where we wanted to get to every night, we only had three motel reservations. I had an idea of things to stop at, and one of the must-stops was Afton Station to visit Laurel. I had no hard-and-fast rules about where to eat, although there were some definite possibilities (I’ve been by the Ariston Café twice now...maybe the third time I’ll actually manage to eat there!). In short, I didn’t micromanage the trip, and we did our best to find new and unusual places to eat. That’s part of the adventure! When I talked to Mom yesterday, she mentioned that when her and Dad were out west, they stopped at a Pizza Hut, because that way they knew what to expect. I said, “Oh, we’re just the opposite. We like finding new places rather than chains.” And it turned out that we found some fun places! I purposefully did not plan the trip down to the last detail, because there is plenty to be said for spontaneity and seeing what you can scare up. At times it could get a little frustrating because there might not be much in a small town. We settled for an Applebee’s at least once. But it was a good lesson in just taking what comes and adjusting if need be. Part of the fun of leaving the Interstate behind is taking the time to see things on the dirty back roads and byways. We agreed that it won’t always be possible to take the back roads, but when we do, we’ll make sure we enjoy them!

Finally, as we were cruising along one day, a thought popped into my head. I told Ken, “Route 66 is kind of a metaphor for America. It IS America. The diversity of the people, the terrain, and...well, I haven’t gotten much further in my thoughts on that, but I’ll work on it!” Haha! I did think about it more, and I think it’s a good analogy, beyond the reasons I mentioned. In its early incarnation, it was an ambitious project to pave a highway going across most of the country to California. It involved planning and a spirit of entrepreneurship on the part of Cyrus Avery and those he worked with to make it happen. During the Depression and Dust Bowl era, it meant the way to a better way of life for many people. It didn’t always work out that way for those families, but the Road west meant hope and the possibility of a brighter future. During WWII, work was abundant, and Route 66 brought people west to work in munitions plants; many of those people settled in California permanently and pumped money into a booming state economy. With the advent of motion pictures, aspiring actors and actresses traveled to Hollywood hoping for their big break. After WWII, GIs came home and married, had kids, and traveled Route 66 to vacation in California. With all the motorists passing by, endless roadside businesses cropped up to cater to tourists and compete for their dollars. It wasn’t just southern California that profited by being Route 66’s terminus; every little town and big city on the Route reaped the benefits of this highly-trafficked road.

Hard times were ahead for many of these businesses, as the Route changed to cut off some of the detours, or bypassed small towns entirely. Once thriving roadway towns like Glenrio dried up virtually overnight. This was only a harbinger of things to come, as President Eisenhower instituted the construction of a massive Interstate system that circumvented much of the Route and most of the small towns. Businesses floundered and died, some limped on, and when Route 66 was decommissioned as a federal highway in 1985, it seemed that the Road itself was dead.

But just like all those hopeful travelers from the decades before, it refused to give up. Through the efforts of Route 66 business owners like Angel Delgadillo and authors like Michael Wallis, a fascination with the Road began to take hold, both within our country and internationally. Something about the Road speaks to people. For Americans, perhaps it’s a recognition of its historic significance to so many families, probably including their own. For those in Europe and Japan and Australia, maybe it’s thinking that it’s a chance to see a great deal of America on a highway that has a decidedly cool American vibe. For some, it’s a matter of ferreting out the forgotten Road and abandoned portions, and thank goodness for those who are so fascinated by this aspect of it that they write detailed guidebooks—like Jerry McClanahan, whose excellent guidebook we used for much of the trip! (And thank goodness for Ken, who understands my fascination with the Road and made this trip possible. Not to mention putting up with my requests to stop so I could get sign pictures! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, Honey!) It is all of these things for me: the landscape, the people, the thriving roadside businesses and the abandoned ones, the small towns, the big cities...and the hope. The hope of a brighter future for all, the hope that things will get better, the hope that our country can once again achieve its potential that so many once believed was not only possible, but inevitable.

Route 66 is a microcosm of America. It embodies our ambition, our ingenuity, our hopes and dreams, and our stubborn refusal to give up. Many have said, “If that Road could talk, the stories it would tell!” It IS talking...still.

It’s not a bad idea to slow down long enough to hear what it has to say.

Kicks: Day Five

After we both got in a workout this morning, we headed out of Springfield at a decent hour and were soon out of town and in the countryside. This is a lovely part of Route 66, with rolling hills, grazing cattle, and lots of homes with that Missouri rock siding. (I’ve always thought that was pretty!) There are a lot of tiny little towns along this part, and our first stop was at Paris Springs to visit the Gay Parita Station. Two friends, Laurel and Lynn, both ‘roadies,’ said that this was a must-stop because of the owner, Gary Turner.

They were absolutely right! Mr. Turner has restored this station (named after the original owner’s wife, Gay, and the Italian word for equality) himself, using memorabilia that he’s been collecting for about ten years. Although the memorabilia is wonderful, Mr. Turner is the real attraction. He is just a character, and as lovable as can be. He’s goofy and sweet, and did things like having me sit in the driver’s seat of an old car (nicely restored) with a mannequin dressed as Bonnie (Clyde stood guard in front of the car), while Ken took my picture. He staged another photo where he put on one of those old gas station attendant hats and made an old-fashioned phone ring so I could answer it. I was laughing so hard that I’m sure the photo will come out with me looking really dorky! (Ken has the photos on his camera, so I’ll link to it when he posts them.) Then Mr. Turner had us hold a Route 66 flag while he took our picture. He kept telling me that I’m gorgeous, and then he’d say, “And you know what makes you that way? Your personality. You do my heart good.” He explained that when you get older, you get to say things like that, so he knew he could get away with it even with Ken right there. Haha!

He loves visitors, and he’ll talk your ear off! Definitely a must-stop for anyone passing through little Paris Springs. What a sweet man, and what a wonderful representative of Route 66 he is! We finally moved on, after hugs and handshakes from Mr. Turner, and left him standing at the entrance to his place, waving goodbye to us. Damn, I’m kinda choked up thinking about that. He seemed to enjoy meeting us as much as we enjoyed meeting him. How often do you meet someone who just brightens your day so thoroughly that you know you’ll never forget it? As he said, “We’re making memories here.”

Our next stop was Red Oak II, which is one of the more surreal things I’ve seen, not just on the Road, but ever. Apparently this very well-off eccentric artist has made his own little town, some of the buildings restored and moved from elsewhere, some of them newly built. There are several houses, various shops, a cottage-style gas station, all on this fairly large lot. There are some works of art, although I don’t know if those are the work of this guy. No one lives there...it’s kind of a giant, rural art installation. It was fascinating, but also a little disturbing in a Twilight Zone sort of way. You know what I’m talking about. One of those perfect-seeming little towns where something is just not quite right....Yikes!

Boots Motel VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

A trip through Carthage brought us to the fabulous Boots Motel (you can see more pictures at their website), which dates back to 1939. I’m not sure why this one always fascinated me, but I just love the neon sign, the neon around the office, and the gentle curves of the building. I didn’t realize until today that the units are of the type with an adjoining carport, although the carport is actually built into the building. Rather unique architecture, and the Boots was in serious danger of being demolished a while back, but it has been saved and is open for business! The new owners are in the process of fixing up the rooms (several are already open) and renovating the building. I’m very happy that this charming little motel is a survivor. It’s a beauty!

The drive-in theater in Carthage is also restored and operating, and I loved this booth at the entrance. Isn’t it pretty, with all the glass block?

Only 13 miles of Route 66 go through the southeast corner of Kansas, but one highlight was the restored and preserved “Marsh arch” bridge (named for the designer). There were once three of them in Kansas, but only this one remains. It is known as the Rainbow Bridge, and it really is a sleek and beautiful design.

Ribbon Road VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

After passing through the Kansas corner, we hit Oklahoma. We encountered a few miles of what is called Ribbon Road, or sidewalk highway. These are sections of the original road from 1922, where they poured the pavement only 9 feet wide. They are concrete, with concrete sides, with a thin layer of pavement on the top. They are not in great shape, so you have to go slow, but who wants to go fast on these, anyway? It was pretty remarkable to realize we were tooling down a road that’s a hundred years old. (People in countries like England and Italy are laughing right now. Hey, we’re a young country, what can I tell you?!) In one of these shots, you can see our car sitting on the road, so you can get an idea of how narrow it is.

We finally got to Afton Station, a little later than we’d planned, but we made it! It was a pleasure to meet our long-time blogger friend, Laurel, who is the proprietor of this restored gas station. She has a wonderful collection of memorabilia and postcards, and a beautiful group of classic cars, with an emphasis on Packards. (My personal favorite was the Hupmobile, which used Cord chassis.) Her good friend Ron was also there, and I also got to meet Tattoo Man (all regulars on Laurel’s blog). Ken and I looked around and enjoyed the Station, then headed on down the road to Tulsa (more in a moment), where we’d meet up with Laurel and Ron for dinner at a great place called Local Table. It’s Laurel’s favorite, and I can see why. Not only was the food excellent and decently priced, they use local ingredients as much as possible. We toasted Route 66 and our friendship, and had a wonderful time talking not just about the Road, but about our lives, politics, and Oral Roberts. haha It was a great time, and thank you, Laurel, and it was wonderful to meet both you and Ron!

Before Tulsa, we had one more important stop to make: the Blue Whale in Catoosa.


Ever since I’ve been interested in Route 66, I’ve always liked the Blue Whale. There’s just something about him. Maybe it’s his goofy smile, or the way his baseball cap sits askew on his head. That is one happy whale. For me, it’s also the embodiment of roadside kitsch, and there was always plenty of that along Route 66. A big smiling blue whale? It doesn’t get much kitschier than that! This used to be a little park area where you could come in and cool off on a hot day (just like today) by sliding down one of the slides in the whale’s sides, or climbing up the ladder in his tail and jumping into the pond. The whale was in pretty bad shape a while back, but it was saved by a group of volunteers and contributors. He is now sporting a fresh coat of paint, his walkway “innards” are safe to walk on, and although you can no longer swim in the pond, the Blue Whale is the guardian of many happy memories made at his little home. I was happy to visit him today and leave my own memory for him to care for at his pond in Catoosa.

Kicks: Day Four

After spending an enjoyable night at the lovely Munger Moss Motel, we headed out to do a little backtracking. I can’t recommend the Munger Moss highly enough. It is wonderfully maintained and incredibly clean. We were in Room 72 rather than Cabin 1, so we survived the night! Seriously, this is just a wonderful place, and even if you’re not traveling Route 66, it’s right off of I-44, and offers very reasonable rates, very clean rooms, and a super cool retro vibe. You simply can’t go wrong with the Munger Moss! And honestly...is that sign boss, or what? You should see it lit up at night!

After we checked out, we went back to Devil’s Elbow to do that stretch again, because it really is spectacular. I thought that that stretch of the road was the original pavement, and Shane agrees that it is. Apparently the four lane was built during WWII to help with traffic in and out of Fort Leonard Wood. Shane also pointed out that this stretch of 66 has the “rolled” curbs that were supposed to help keep people from going off the narrow road. I wonder how that worked?!

We headed south on 66, all the way to Springfield. Since I had not done this stretch before, I was surprised at how much of the original road is left to travel...IF you seek it out. I had thought that as you got closer to Springfield, it was all obliterated. Not so. It might be paved over and given other names, but the route is still there, and several roads in Springfield have the old buildings and the googie to prove it. (As I mentioned on Facebook, I think I’m going to have to do at least one entry devoted to googie signage.) It’s fun to try to figure out if a sign is original or not. Good clue: that sort of weird fiberglass shell is NOT original!

A question for my fellow roadies...we came across a little group of bungalows north of Hazelgreen. These were built of stone, and there was a small home in a line with these stone cabins (I would guess the home of the owner and where the office was located). I saw no sign, and we didn’t explore beyond taking pictures because it was posted as private property. But it reminded me very much of John’s Modern Cabins in its layout. All of the buildings, large and small, seemed to be long abandoned. Although the stone cabins were intact, some of the roofs were not. Does anyone know what this might have been?

After we found a place to hang our hats (on old 66, so that’s cool!), we met family nearby. It was great to see Terri and to meet her husband, and we had a very enjoyable time!

Tomorrow we’ll be heading to Oklahoma (with a brief trip through the corner of Kansas) to see more things and to visit our friend Laurel at Afton Station. I’m looking forward to what Laurel calls the Ribbon Road and what Shane and others refer to as “sidewalk” pavement. I thought the 16-foot wide alignments in Illinois were wild...this road is NINE feet wide, yo!

One more thought for today. I was telling Ken today that one of the really cool things about this trip is that we’re experiencing so many different environments and ecosystems! We’re going from midwestern farmland to prairie to desert to oceanside. Go ahead and call me a geek, but I think that’s pretty amazing. We have a remarkable country with a remarkable variety of ecosystems...it’s wonderful to experience them all, and I hope that kids who are born today will have a chance to have this same experience. It really is a helluva lot of fun!

Anyone want to take bets on whether or not I’m going to sing “Oklahoma!” as we cross into that state? “And when we SAY! A-yippee-yo-kiyay...we’re only saying you’re doing fine Oklahoma, Oklahoma, okay!”
Poor Ken.

Barbie Day!

Wow, what a beauty! I hope you’re all having as pretty a day as we are here at Nutwood.

After a nice, relaxing morning, I did my workout while Ken did some computer work for his job. Then he was off to Lowe’s to pick up some stuff for the house and lawn, and it warmed up enough that I got one of the lounge chairs out of the garage and spent a little sun time on the deck. While Ken did some yard stuff, I puttered on the deck and inside the house. The plan was for me to bake the baby back ribs in the oven, but it’s nice enough that Ken is going to be able to fire up the grill for the first time this season! Yum! I made some cucumbers and onions yesterday, too, so I guess it’s our first official barbecue. I love this time of year!

I finished one book (Book Three, Mountolive, of The Alexandria Quartet...I’ll be writing more about the whole thing when I finish Book Four, but it is just amazing, and I’m loving it) and started another (Attack of the Theocrats by Sean Faircloth), and in between did a quick read-through of a Time issue that has been waiting for me for several days. I also got a neat thing in the mail from the lovely Laurel of Afton Station: two Oklahoma guides for Route 66, as well as our first Route 66 postcard, from Afton Station! Which reminds me that I need to continue working on our itinerary. I’ve made good progress, but need to finalize some things in order to make reservations for some of the cooler old motels.

Completely different subject, but I think some of you might get as big a kick out of this as I did. A friend of a good friend (Milwaukee Dan #1) has proven to be more than a little unstable on Facebook, and has kind of gone ballistic in a couple of discussions. It seems that they are no longer friends, but I don’t know who defriended whom. The guy grew increasingly insulting to all of Dan’s friends who were commenting, and seemed to save his special ire for me. In his most recent flameout, he said that I agree with everything Dan says, and after calling us all “loosers,” he said that he hopes I can eventually form an opinion of my own and “Can you say yes woman.” Then he took his ball and went home. I’m not sure what that last thing meant, but he seemed to think that I am unable to form an opinion of my own and just agree with everything Dan says because I think Dan is so smart.

I’ll just let that sink in for a moment.

That’s right. I’m guessing that everyone who knows me, or who reads me here, would be the first to say that I am completely unopinionated. BAhahaha! I honestly can’t stop chuckling about this, because I mean...come ON! And for the record, I’ve known Dan for about 30 years, and I really do think he’s smart. I don’t hang out with “loosers.”

Head out to the highway

At long last, the time approaches for our Route 66 trip!

We’ve been talking about it for many years now, pretty much since we met! Shortly after Ken and I met, Cousin Shane and I went on a trip we’d been planning for a while, where we went from Chicago to a little past St. Louis on Route 66. I’ve also been on the Road in a few other spots in Missouri, but it’s always been a goal to do the whole thing. (If I actually had a bucket list, this trip would be on it.) We had tentatively planned it a couple of times, but for various reasons, it didn’t work out...but THIS is the year!

Our good friend Andy will be graduating from Cal Tech with his Ph.D. (him smart) in June, he asked us to be there for his graduation, and we are honored to be invited. That will work out perfectly, and we timed our trip so that we could drive out on Route 66 and be in Pasadena for his graduation (we’ll rent a car—a convertible, of course!—then fly back). Our friends Kim and Steve are planning a trip to Hawaii at that time, and we’re hoping that they’ll be able to fly out of LA so that we can spend the weekend with them. We also hope to hook up with other family members, although our time will be limited. Paths are converging! Planets are aligning! Dogs and cats are living together!

Today I started some early planning. The goal is to average 150 miles per day (there’s a lot to see along the road...Shane and I took a week to go from Chicago to St. Louis and back...normally about a five hour trip), and Ken suggested breaking it down into about four blocks, and then breaking it down further from there. That worked well, and I have a general idea of where we want to get to each night. That could change, and I still need to do lots more research for the stops and side trips. Meramec Caverns is a must, the Petrified Forest will warrant much of a day, and there will be a stop our friend Laurel’s Afton Station and hopefully dinner with her that evening...and there are so many more stops to make and things to see! We also hope to stay at the Munger Moss Motel in Lebanon, Missouri, the Blue Swallow in Tucumcari, New Mexico, and the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona. (A teepee motel is a must for this trip.) Laurel has been a wonderful resource, and she recommended Jerry McClanahan’s EZ 66 Guide, which I’ll be studying over the next few weeks. I have several other guidebooks, as well as a ‘50s-era road atlas from when Route 66 was still a commissioned highway.

Can you tell I’m getting excited? This blog will probably turn into a travelogue during that time, and I hope to update almost every evening. We really won’t be doing much night driving, because that would kind of defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it? I’m looking forward to all of it, but I’m especially looking forward to driving through the Southwest. I’ve traveled quite a bit, but I’ve spent very little time there, and it has a unique beauty. I know Shane loves it there, and I can see why. There are also quite a few towns along the Road that, if not exactly ghost towns, are somewhat desolate and a little spooky. Shane tells me that Glenrio, which straddles the Texas/New Mexico border, is such a town. You know how I love abandoned places!

Anyway, it’s going to be a fun trip. We’ve got a couple more months to nail down our plans, and then we’ll hit the road! I hope you’ll enjoy my tales of the things we see and the people we meet. I think it’s really going to be one of those “trip of a lifetime” kind of deals. Every trip is fun, but this one is going to be something special!

A Golden Day!

First things first: congratulations to Laurel of Ramblings of a Route 66 Business Owner, for being the first to correctly guess that the plant on my last entry is poison ivy. Laurel has garnered her second Silver Squirrel, so she is a force to be reckoned with!

Unfortunately, in the front of our house, we have plenty of poison ivy. It's actually a very pretty and green plant, but it's evil! I'm not very allergic to it, and since we've moved here, I've only had one small spot on my arm; Ken hasn't been so lucky. He is highly susceptible to it, and on a couple of occasions, it has gone systemic on him and he's had to get a prescription for steroids. Most of the plants are on the ground, but we have a few impressive vines that climb high on the trees. Some of the leaves are larger than my hand. As much as we love nature, we've learned to be cautious of many things, and poison ivy is only one example. There are plenty of stinging insects, mosquitoes (and probably West Nile virus), ticks, you name it. (No snakes so far, knock on wood!)

It's all worth it, though, and we adapt and adjust, as I wrote about yesterday. We enjoyed sitting on the deck today, and you couldn't ask for a better day. Sunny and low 80's, not a cloud in the sky! Things are really getting green, and it's so lush out front now that I can't even see the Nutwood Hillbilly house across the road. Yay!

We headed out on errands today, and it was so nice, we were able to have the top down on Ken's Mustang. AC/DC was in the CD player, and all was right with the world. We picked up the keys to his Mom and stepdad's apartment, and did a little inspection. There was some stuff tracked in, but no point in vacuuming it now, because we'll be tracking in lots more as we move everything in. I think we're good to go, and now we just need to have a successful move and trouble-free journey. I'm sorry that we won't get to spend much time on Route 66 on the way down, and a visit to Art's Motel for lunch will have to wait until our big Route 66 trip. Thank goodness we stopped at John's Modern Cabins last year, because I'm not sure they'll still exist when we do the whole road. So sad. No, that isn’t a picture of the in-laws’ new apartment…that is John’s Modern Cabins. Smart alecks.

Sorry I didn't do much commenting today. I didn't spend a lot of time in front of the computer! I'm sure you understand.

A cool book

I'm pleased with myself today because I upped my exercise a little bit. I've been trying to increase a little bit every time I work out, and I'm up to 5 miles on the recumbent bike, and I've been slowly increasing the weights and reps on the weight machine. Feelin' good, baby! In fact, the 5 miles was almost easy--I'm going to keep increasing on that to build up my endurance. It's also a great chance to catch up on reading...it seems like the miles just fly by.

After that, I shoveled a bit on the driveway. There is one spot that we bog down in when we're driving the Mustangs, and Ken asked me to try to make that a little better today. I didn't shovel so much as scrape off the soft layer on top...I was sort of a little walking snowplow. I hope it helps.

I was really excited to get a new book in the mail today. After reading my numerous entries lately about Googie signage, our friend Laurel (who runs Afton Station on Route 66) recommended American Signs: Form and Meaning on Route 66, by Lisa Mahar. I was missing that one from my collection, so I ordered it pronto! Laurel said she assisted with some of it, and the first thing I did was turn to the Acknowledgements section, and there she was! Very cool.

I just paged through it a little bit, and I'm itchin' to get at it. It looks fascinating, with discussions of shapes, materials, construction, etc. It seems to be in the same vein as Alan Hess' books on Googie and on Vegas signage, and it is right up my alley. Laurel, thank you so much for the recommendation. I can already tell that I'm going to enjoy it immensely!

Speaking of books, I have a question for you all. Does anyone else love blank journals? I was at Target yesterday and found one on sale and had to snap it up. I don't know what it is about them, but if I see one on sale, I'm all over it. I use them to make lists, or write notes to myself, and whenever we go on vacation and Shane takes care of Sheeba, I leave it out with a note to Shane and he writes a little day-to-day diary of what goes on when he comes over. (And yes, I've saved them all, Shane!) I just love those blank books--maybe it's the thought of all the things I can fill it with--and although I don't buy them indiscriminately, I can rarely resist one that's on sale.

Is it just me?

Light lunch, big game

Shane and I had a great lunch! We went to Panera, and I had never been there before. Yummy soups and sammitches! We ended up talking for over two hours, if you can believe that. (You probably can.) It was great to just get caught up on stuff, chat about things both serious and fun, and of course there was talk of Route 66. He said that about the only part he hasn't driven is between Vinita and Oklahoma City, and I think that's the stretch where Laurel's Afton Station is--how ironic that he hasn't done that part! We had a good talk and some great laughs!

When we were talking about Route 66, he mentioned Devil's Elbow in Missouri. That's a spot that I haven't explored yet, so I'm looking forward to that in the future. Shane said it's probably his favorite stretch of Route 66 in Missouri, and it has one of the old truss bridges. He also talked about the stretch in California that is probably a good 200 miles or so, one of the longest he's driven. Oooo, talking with him about it gave me Road fever! We also talked about our trip in June of 2001, and I told him that on our recent trip to Missouri, the radio station mentioned the McKinley Bridge which is apparently still open. That's one of our more memorable adventures from our trip, because it's a pretty old bridge, and we drove on this outer lane that looked like an addition to the actual bridge, like it was hanging by a thread. There wasn't even a guard rail, just a small curb between us and the Mississippi River. We both felt like we were going to drop into the river at any moment! Considering my fear of drowning, that was very creepy!

I was excited to see that my Ball State Cardinals are playing on ESPN2 tonight. This is the conference championship, and if they win this (they're still undefeated, 12-0), they could be going to a BCS bowl. Wow! And yes, our big cheer at games really was "Ball U!" It's not quite as bad as at Indiana's basketball games, when they were cheering for the IU defense and yelled, "IUD! IUD!" but I supposed "Ball U!" is close.

Back to my lunch with Shane...of course we talked a bit about the election. I mentioned my previous entry about the Emanuel [emanuel, whispered] brothers. He doesn't quite get the appeal, but I have to say that some of the comments on that entry were interesting! I'm also pondering the appeal, and I think it's a combination of power and intelligence. Is this a big difference between men and women? While I can't say that I'm a total sucker for power (maybe just a little bit), extreme intellect is definitely a draw, and that seemed to intensify as I got older. I've had relationships with those who were the direct opposite of intellectual, and believe me, it wears very thin very quickly. (One of my favorite phrases from one particular guy was when he was talking about someone being in danger, and how they were "in arms way." [snort] It always made me think of Robbie the Robot yelling, "Danger Will Robinson! Danger!" and waving his robot arms!) How much better is it to find someone who is intellectually stimulating? Oh yeah, babe. "I luuuuuuv your mind..." Grrr, baby, grrrrr!

But I wonder--and I hope some of my testosterone-laden readers will weigh in on this--is power and intelligence in women as attractive to men as power and intelligence in men is to women? I'm curious. I think there are some men that are intimidated by that in women, but I would guess that most of my readers of the male persuasion are much more enlightened, and into a broad who knows her stuff and can give as good as she gets. (Yes, I'm laughing, and yes, that was tongue-in-cheek! And even "tongue-in-cheek" made me laugh!)

As Mr. Spock would say, "Fascinating."

Midweek Miscellany

Finally a chance to write! And I haven't even started reading blogs yet....

First of all, the blackened tuna turned out great, and the mango salsa went very well with it. I'm not sure I'd make the mango salsa every time, but the tuna was spicy enough that the sweet made a good partner. I will definitely make the blackened tuna again--it was quite easy, and a nice blend of spices. Oh, and I got a dozen roses, too. Isn't that sweet?

Fellow blogger Laurel and I exchanged a couple of emails about the Packard Predictor. I don't know if you've read Laurel's blog, but she runs a restored gas station on Route 66 in Afton, Oklahoma, and has several Packards on display. I love hearing her stories about the "Roadies" that come through! Anyhoo, she mentioned that she'd love to have the Predictor in her collection, but since it's the only one, that might be kind of difficult. I was surprised, because while I knew it was a concept car rather than a production car, I thought they'd made at least 2 or 3 of them. I emailed my contact at the Museum, and she forwarded my email on to the archivist, Andy. He wrote me back right away, and said that yes, the '56 Predictor is indeed the only one ever made. How cool is that? It's in such beautiful shape, too. Looks like Laurel and I love our "rarities!"

Today was errand-running day, because the snow is supposed to fly tomorrow, and it sounds like it could be a doozy. First stop was our library branch, where my book was in (I had it transferred from the main branch to our local branch--what a great service!). Remember when I wrote about the 1918 influenza pandemic? While I was researching, I came across the title of a book by Katherine Anne Porter: Pale Horse, Pale Rider. It's a fictional account of a girl who falls in love with a young man ready to go off to war, and it is set during the outbreak. I knew it was a must-read! It's actually a novella, so I should be able to knock that out pretty quick. I'll let you know what I think of it. While I was at the library, I heard someone go, "Pssst!" I looked up and it was Aubrey from the lab! It was great to see her, and she had some wonderful news--she bought a house! I'm thrilled for her. We had a nice chat and got caught up on a few things.

Let's see...then it was a stop at Circuit City. They just opened this one by us last year, and they're already closing it! CC is in a fix financially, and they're closing several stores. What a drag that they're closing this one. Everything is on sale right now, but it's odd how the prices seem higher than they were before...! Hmm, interesting! I've been wanting to get a car adapter for my MP3 player for a while now, and I did find one for a pretty good price. That will come in handy when we drive to Missouri for Thanksgiving. I also picked up the new Pretenders CD, "Break Up The Concrete." Chrissie Hynde rocks!

A quick stop at PetSmart for some Enchant-a-Cat litter (it's really Exquisicat, but I like Enchant-a-Cat better, so I call it that), and a peek at all the kitties. Awww, they are so cute! There were a couple that looked just like Sheeba, and I wish I could bring all of them home with me! But Sheeba wouldn't be happy with me, and I also don't want to be known as the Crazy Cat Lady of Nutwood.

Then on to Target, where I got a few more presents for Ken, so I think I'm done with his Christmas shopping. A couple of house things, and I treated myself to another CD. Cousin Shane wrote to me the other day about how he bought some new CD's recently, because of the band names. We used to do that once in a while--if we were intrigued by a band name, we'd get the CD despite never hearing anything by them before. One of the ones he got was by a band called The Wombats, I believe. Ha ha! I haven't done that for a while, and I think the last one might have been The Ass Ponys (and I ended up liking their music quite a bit). I did it today with a band called The Ting Tings. I can hardly wait to listen and see if I like it or not! Isn't that a fun name for a band?

Finally, off to the grocery store. (I got this monster head of cauliflower on sale--the thing is huge!) I was happy to get home and get everything unloaded. We're well-stocked, so groceries won't be a problem. I'm off to do some reading now, books and blogs, but I also want to get my new CD's on the MP3 player. That actually might have to wait until tomorrow. Hope you all had a good day!

My plan is to write about something more substantive tomorrow. I haven't figured out exactly what, but I will!