Down Da 66--Love Dem Brian Burgers-Money for Miami-Ron gets Another One, McKinley Bridge Reopens

News About the Mother Road.

1. Victorville, Ca.- The Victorville Daily Press ran an article about one of my favorite places to stop and eat on the Mother Road, Emma Jean's Holland Burger Cafe, dating back to the 1940s.

I went there for breakfast the day after we did a night time drive from Barstow to Victorville. I like Route 66, but not that much at night. If you're not in a town, there just isn't much to see at night. While looking at David Wickline's Images of 66, I saw some great places we'd missed and backtracked a ways so I could see the Sage Brush Inn and definitely had to see the Bottletree Ranch.

On the way back, I saw a lot of cars at the Holland Burger, and stopped in. It was early, but I had a Brian Burger, one of the best I've ever eaten. Brian Gentry's father was on kp duty peeling potatoes, and Brian was cooking while wife Shawna was waitressing. The place was crowded. You could even get a beer, but Shawna said they don't get a lot of orders for that.

The article said that locals take it for granted, but European travelers seek it out. The guest book has signatures from all over Europe and other places in the world.

It was built in 1947 in an art deco style by Kate and Bob Holland. In 1979, the Brians father bought it and the name Emma Jean added for Brian's mother. The Gentrys live in back in what I first thought was a small motel when I visited, but was told that it never had been a motel.

Rumors have it that Roy Rogers was a frequent visitor. The place has also been featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" and the movie "Kill Bill 2." I'll have to watch the movie now, even though I once saw part of the first one had had to gag my way through the part I saw. That was one dumb movie, but I have sat through dumb movies before and no doubt will again in the future.

2. Miami, Oklahoma, just watch how you pronounce it, it's not like that place in Florida. The December 11th Joplin Globe said that the city of Miami was getting a $120,000 grant from the National Scenic Byways Program, as well as $20,000 from the city, and another $10,000 from the Miami Convention and Visitors' Bureau for Route 66 signage.

Among the projects will be:

*** Restoration of a 1900 era 40 foot wide metal overhead sign on Main Street.

*** Reconstruction of a 21 foot tall Ozark Trail milepost marker that stood downtown.

*** Directional signs to Coleman Theater and the Route 66 Ribbon Highway.

*** Historical markers to explain the historical significance of sites.

I am really glad to see direction markers to that ribbon highway. My wife and I have gotten lost on more occasions than I care to remember while looking for it.

3. Ron Turner, Route 66's own personal walking advertisement, announced in the Route 66 e-mail group, that he was getting a tattoo of Lucille's, in Hydro, Oklahoma. This will make a total of 62 tattoos, 61 of which pertain to the Mother Road. He says he has five more to go to get to some magical number.

Will he stop at that number? Who knows, but I can definitely say that he is running out of places to put new ones.

I last saw him at the Route 66 Festival in Springfield, Illinois, this last September. He didn't show up for the American Road Magazine get-together at the Alamo Bar on Saturday because he was getting another tattoo!!!! Who'd a figured that!!!

4. St. Louis, Missouri-- the McKinley Bridge reopens to auto traffic today. This will be the first time in decades that it will be free. It was built in 1910 and closed due to major structural deterioration in 2001. It was an early Route 66 alignment and used until the Chain of Rocks Bridge opened in the 1930s.

Keep on Down that Two Lane Highway. --RoadDog