Mega trip as we drove Birmingham for a quick layover then on to Savannah for 4 days. Then up to Rehoboth Beach Delaware for a week at the Shore before driving to Chicago to do the first half of Route 66. Once we got to Oklahoma City, we headed home to Southlake. Will do the second half the first week of November during the Rt. 66 100 year Anniversary Month.
Many of my friends have asked about it and here are a few highlights, lowlights and recommendations.
First, there is no Route 66 anymore; it's been replaced or recovered or rerouted. What you're doing is ferreting out the original Route with the aid of Maps, Apps, and situational awareness. Like flying a Low Level: Road-Map-App. Rinse and repeat. It's intense. It's real time. You really have to be focused and make constant adjustments. Attention to detail is paramount.
You're trying to find the exact original road and the original stops along the way. Many times your navigation will take you across the new highway, zig zagging back and forth as you trace Rt. 66. There are markers along the way, but sometimes they are spaced out miles so you have to trust your nav skills to hit the next waypoint.
It's exhausting. It's exhilarating. It's pure fun and a real slice of Americana. The road takes you through countless small towns and many look like they did 50 to 70 years ago. So very very cool to slow down and see our country this way.
I did the driving and Cindy navigated. She was pretty much spot on in not only processing the information for 3 sources but also explains it to me as I drove and made adjustments. We had a few turn around, but we never got lost. I'm pretty sure I couldn't have had that level of focus and precision over 8 or 9 hours each day.
There are countless places to stop and wander, peruse, eat and sightsee. We selected our stops ahead of time but also made allowances for last second curiosity's; you can't rush this trip as there's too much to see and processing the information for you route is just too complex to be hurried.
We were pretty fortunate. Took my big truck which was powerful (Big V8) and had an elevated view. It also handles the the original sections of the route which could get very rough. In fact, one section near Pacific Missouri claims the highest number of tire failures - learned this from the AAA guy that came out and put my spare on when we had a blowout. We then put on 4 new tires at the Springfield Costco 130 miles down the road.
Most def make sure you have AAA or USAA roadside coverage. A simple call will have a mechanic out in less than an hour. 95 degrees on a crowded two lane with minimal room on the shoulder - you don't want to be fixing a tire in your Birkenstocks…
We're hitting the second half this November which is the exact month of the 100 year anniversary. Ok-Tx-Nm-Az-Ca.
Will take it a bit slower this time. I was always pushing and Cindy wanted to slow down and enjoy more sites. We're going to mark each day on the map instead of just driving until we just got too tired and elected to find a Route 66 retro hotel.
Many of my friends have asked about it and here are a few highlights, lowlights and recommendations.
First, there is no Route 66 anymore; it's been replaced or recovered or rerouted. What you're doing is ferreting out the original Route with the aid of Maps, Apps, and situational awareness. Like flying a Low Level: Road-Map-App. Rinse and repeat. It's intense. It's real time. You really have to be focused and make constant adjustments. Attention to detail is paramount.
You're trying to find the exact original road and the original stops along the way. Many times your navigation will take you across the new highway, zig zagging back and forth as you trace Rt. 66. There are markers along the way, but sometimes they are spaced out miles so you have to trust your nav skills to hit the next waypoint.
It's exhausting. It's exhilarating. It's pure fun and a real slice of Americana. The road takes you through countless small towns and many look like they did 50 to 70 years ago. So very very cool to slow down and see our country this way.
I did the driving and Cindy navigated. She was pretty much spot on in not only processing the information for 3 sources but also explains it to me as I drove and made adjustments. We had a few turn around, but we never got lost. I'm pretty sure I couldn't have had that level of focus and precision over 8 or 9 hours each day.
There are countless places to stop and wander, peruse, eat and sightsee. We selected our stops ahead of time but also made allowances for last second curiosity's; you can't rush this trip as there's too much to see and processing the information for you route is just too complex to be hurried.
We were pretty fortunate. Took my big truck which was powerful (Big V8) and had an elevated view. It also handles the the original sections of the route which could get very rough. In fact, one section near Pacific Missouri claims the highest number of tire failures - learned this from the AAA guy that came out and put my spare on when we had a blowout. We then put on 4 new tires at the Springfield Costco 130 miles down the road.
Most def make sure you have AAA or USAA roadside coverage. A simple call will have a mechanic out in less than an hour. 95 degrees on a crowded two lane with minimal room on the shoulder - you don't want to be fixing a tire in your Birkenstocks…
We're hitting the second half this November which is the exact month of the 100 year anniversary. Ok-Tx-Nm-Az-Ca.
Will take it a bit slower this time. I was always pushing and Cindy wanted to slow down and enjoy more sites. We're going to mark each day on the map instead of just driving until we just got too tired and elected to find a Route 66 retro hotel.
