Memorial Day

Unfortunately, I just had to take the flags in as we have what looks like and sounds like a vicious storm rolling in from the west right now in northeast Illinois. So far, Saturday and Sunday have been ideal days for celebrations, especially since Memorial Day weekend is usually accompanied by really lousy TNCW (Typical Nasty Carnival Weather).

We officially kicked off summer yesterday for the first band party at Captain's Quarters on Fox Lake ( a part of Illinois' famous Chain of Lakes). It "ain't summer" till we been to the Sunday afternoon party at Captain's.

Today, we go to Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, just over the border about ten miles from here for their annual parade (unless the storm cancels it). We meet up with friends at Main Street Tap for drinks while waiting for the veterans to come marching by.

A big thank you to all the veterans who have enabled us to enjoy this great life we have here in the US.

Thank You Big Time!! --RoadDog

Route 66's Red Carpet Corridor Festival-- Part 16-- Heading Home

We drove Route 66 back to Braidwood.

Usually, we get off in Dwight, Illinois, and take Il-47 back to Woodstock, but we had a hankering to check out the newly reopened Riviera in Gardner, so continued there.

Sure love the new signage through town as they have really gotten into their Route 66 heritage (hear that B-N!!). You have signage and even shields drawn on the pavement.

North of town, we were in for a disappointment. The Riviera was not open. And it looked like it might have been closed for awhile, not just Sunday. We wondered if they weren't open as we didn't see the place mentioned in any of the Red Carpet Corridor information. We found out later that the new owner was still having problems with Gardner and that it was closed.

Let's hope they get their differences settled. This is too big of a deal to allow to continue being closed.

We were then "Forced" to drive to Braidwood and have a banana split at the Polka-Dot.

From there, it was Il-113 to Il-47 and home.

Sure Did a Lot in That Weekend. --RoadDog

Route 66's Red Carpet Corridor Celebration-- Part 15

One thing in the Schenk's Garage that is a tad out of place is the Beatles Lunchbox sitting on top of the vintage refrigerator. Everything else deals with our road, but I guess kids might have had lunches lovingly packed by their moms for those family excursions along Route 66. Dawn doesn't EVEN like the Beatles, even the pre Sgt. Pepper ones when they were into the old RnR. Ask her about this lunch box.

Hillbilly Jones might just rank up there with my other favorite Route 66 band, Asleep at the Wheel. You can have a mighty good party with these guys. And, they don't just play Rockabilly songs even if they do put it on other songs.

Besides that great Hee Haw song, they did Jimi Hendrix, the bee gees' "Staying Alive" (Disco Rockabilly??!!), "Viva Las Vegas," and "The Weight."

They thanked the Schenk's for "having us in the coolest garage anywhere in the world."

It was a wonder that the stand up bass was still in one piece when they finished. It sure took a beating that day.

When they finished, we knew we still had about a four hour drive to get home so had to leave right away.

About Time to Head Home. --RoadDog

Route 66's Red Carpet Corridor Festival-- Part 14-- Will We Ever Get Home?

Hillbilly Jones, classic cars, Route 66 nuts and kindred souls, not a bad way to spend an afternoon out on the Mother Road. The weather was threatening, but we never got a drop of rain.

Dawn was nice enough to have the band stop while the awards were being given out at the car show.

While we were there, about ten people from Tasmania, Australia came by and, of course, Dawn invited then to stop for a spell. Tasmania is the large island off Australia's southeast side.

They had flown into Los Angeles, then to Detroit where they rented a car and drove to Chicago where they picked up Route 66 and were on their way to Santa Monica Pier in California. From there, they drive up the coast to San Francisco. That is quite a trip.

The stretch of 66 from Joliet to Towanda is always a great drive here in Illinois, but even better when you can hit it when there is a linear celebration going on like the Red Carpet Corridor.

They especially had smiles when Hillbilly Jones did the "Pppthuh" song from Hee Haw. You know, "Where oh where are you tonight? .... You met another and pppthuh you were gone." I sure wish I knew how to spell that word. My best guess, anyway.

They were heading for Springfield and had no specific plans, so I recommended they stay at the Route 66 Hotel and stop at the Curve Inn. Then Monday go to the Cozy Dog, Bill Shea's and the Lincoln Home and Museum

Looking at what they wrote in the guestbook it was several "Bloody awesomes." They also wrote in Bernie, Australia, which I have since found to be a small town in Tasmania.

How Do You Beat a Good Time on 66? --RoadDog

Route 66's Red Carpet Corridor Festival-- Part 13-- Back to Towanda

Last entry May 21st.

Now we're back at a favorite Route 66 place, Schenk's Garage in Towanda, a fairly new and somewhat private place that is not always open, but whenever Dawn or Mark are at home, their garage is your castle. Everybody's welcome and don't be too shy to impose.

They've been at the house for 11 years and decided that since they are right by Route 66 and that is one of their favorite roads in the world, to turn their garage into a Route 66 Nirvana (and partly to show off Dawn's ever-increasing collection of Mother Road stuff).

Entering that garage is special. Not only that, but the whole outside of the garage and yard has Route 66 stuff.

We sure had a great time listening to Hillbilly Jones and ended up staying for the full time they played and missed the northern part of the Red Corridor.

I made a lot of video of the classic automobiles leaving the car show and it was even better with Hillbilly Jones playing in the background. Quite a few of those vehicles had to make a swing by the place to show off. Some decided to go the extra rubber and burn some for our enjoyment. One guy wasn't so nice and left his mark on Mark's Route 66 shield he painted on the road and got in trouble for (as he didn't have permission).

More to Come. --RoadDog

Just What Kind of Route 66 Nut Are You?-- Part 4

Liz and I would definitely be classified as "Purists." We drive 66 whenever possible, except perhaps through Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, and that one stretch in Chicago that scares us.

We eat at authentic diners and stay in those old motels whenever possible (well, at the ones that are kept up.

Why go 66 and eat at Chili's or Applebees or stay at the Hyatt, when you're after the experience? We do get something to eat at McDonald's when we have bathroom breaks. That's only right.

Great motels in Illinois were Pontiac's Downtowner (since torn down), the Route 66 Hotel and Conference Center (the state's first Holiday Inn) and the Travel Lodge in Springfield. Now that Art's Motel in Farmersville has been restored, we plan on staying there as well as the Lincoln Inn in Lincoln which has been taken over by Best Western so will be fixed up.

Great Route 66 places to eat are especially numerous in our state, starting with Lou Mitchell's in Chicago, Dell Rhea's and White Fence Farm in the suburbs, Launching Pad in Wilmington, Polka-Dot Inn in Braidwood. the Old Log Cabin in Pontiac, Palms Cafe in Atlanta and Cozy Dog in Springfield are just a few.

So, We Are "Purists." --RoadDog

The Hoover Dam Bypass-- Part 2

This new bridge is 900 feet above the Colorado River and will cost $160 million. As a result, US-93 will be detoured around the dam and the whole project is considered to be quite a feat of engineering.

The bridge is to be supported by two huge twin arches made up of 53 individual 24-foot long sections which are being cast on the site. Once finished, each arch will stretch 1000 feet across the river.

Since it spans between Nevada and Arizona, it will officially be known as the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. O'Callaghan was the governor of Nevada and Tillman was a former football player from Arizona who was killed while serving his country in Afghanistan.

Construction started in 2005 and is slated to be finished next year.

The Hoover Dam was started in 1931 and used enough concrete in it to build a road from New York City to San Francisco. The water behind it is called Lake Mead and took six years to fill. The original road which is being bypassed opened the same time as the dam, 1936.

I figure they will probably have some accidents due to gawking. Right now there are two huge towers with suspension wires holding the parts of the arch in place until they are completed. I've heard they then plan on removing them, but I kind of hope they don't as those towers sure look neat.

I'm Tired of Bridges That Don't Look Like Bridges. --RoadDog

The Hoover Dam Bypass

A friend sent me an update on the continuing construction of this new bridge which will afford a great view of the dam and eliminate the current mess at the top of it as people are slowed down by checks by homeland security on US-93. That would be really bad if terrorists set off explosives on it.

The pictures show an impressive superstructure at this time, although most will be removed at completion. The suspension part is just to hold up the massive twin arches during construction, but hopefully they will put something back. I always hate driving over a bridge and not knowing its a bridge.

Maybe two towers just for show would be in order. Hopefully the sides of the bridge will not be built in such a way as to obstruct any views of the dam.

More to Come. --RoadDog

Just What Kind of Route 66 Nut Are You?-- Part 3

Liz and I are definitely not in the Drive-by classification. That would be those who slow down just enough to take a picture then speed on out way. This is one reason our 2006 end-to-end Route 66 drive, which we expected to take a week, ended up taking 15 days.

We had planned to just "Drive-By" places we had already been to and really start slowing down west of Tucumcari where we had never been before. Well, that just didn't work out.

But, even when we stop by a place we've already been, there is always something new or someone new to talk to.

Spendin' Way Too Much Time with This Route 66 Stuff. --RoadDog

America's Top Ten Underrated Cities

Yesterday's Yahoo Travel had a list of ten American cities that they belive to be somewhat underrated when it comes to tourism. Explanations for why this is so ranged from proximity to bigger, better-known cities to people being unaware of efforts to renew the cities.

The list

1. Providence, Rhode Island
2. Portland, Oregon*
3. Baltimore, Maryland
4. Fort Lauderdale, Florida*
5. Houston, Texas*

6. Kansas City, Missouri*
7. Louisville, Kentucky*
8. Minneapolis, Minnesota*
9. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
10. Sacramento, California

* Ones I've been to.

For pictures and the whys, go to http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interets-34348516.

Love Those Brown Sandwiches from Louisville. --RoadDog

Just What Kind of a Route 66 Nut Are You?-- Part 2

Back on May 15th, I had an entry where four classifications of Route 66 nuts were given. Liz and I are actually a combination of three of them.

We are ROADIES in that we belong to the Rt. 66 Assoc. of Illinois and have gone to many Rt 66 festivals and road tours. We will be on the Illinois' Association's motor tour in a few weeks.

We are always "spreading the word" and have taken friends on short excursions several times.

Of course, this whole blog is about the "Road" experience and a lot of the entries have been on Route 66. I also cover all sorts of other road stuff.

While I was still teaching, my kids knew a WHOLE LOT about the road when they got out of my class. Once, two girls had to go to Normal, Illinois, and stopped at and took pictures at Pontiac's Old Log Cabin and Wilmington's Launching Pad restaurants. That was one of the neatest things any kid ever did for me. You always wonder how much you're doing with them sinks in.

Two More Nutty Things Coming Up. --RoadDog

Route 66's Red Carpet Corridor Festival-- Part 12-- Towanda

Like I said, there was a really big crowd both in and outside of Kicks. One guy came in and ordered "Three beers and an ice tea" Then he said he drank an ice tea once and got sick, so that is why he now drinks beer.

The Alabama-Tennessee girls softball game was on and at first was really boring with the Tide up 7-0. It is amazing how fast those girls can throw that softball underhanded like that. Then the game got interesting before the Vols ended up losing 7-6.

Next stop was Schenk's Garage after we drove slowly by all those great old cars out on 66 for the car show. I got to see the 67 Firebird and a '68 as well. Made my day.

A 3-piece rockabilly group calling themselves Hillbilly Jones was already playing out in the driveway by the time we got there. If there ever was a group to play better out by the old road, I'd sure like to know who they might be. We enjoyed them so much we ended up staying till they quit.

They've released four CDs since they got together in 2002 and are working on their fourth, but unfortunately they didn't have any with them. The music is great, frenetic and professionally done, but half the fun is their presence. They occasionally change instruments during a song, have all sorts of jokes and the stand-up base player is prone to play it behind his head.

Some More Partyin' Comin' Up. --RoadDog

Route 66's Red Carpet Corridor-- Part 11- Back to Towanda

On Sunday, May 2nd, we drove back to Towanda.

First, we went to the town's North Park where we were yesterday. Today, a band that bills themselves as Country Rock with a Midwest Twist, the Cattle Bandits, were playing at the gazebo. Listened to their first set, which, of course included that classic "Get Your Kicks on Route 66" which seemed somehow appropriate.

Several trains rumbled very fast through town while we were there. We liked their "Living on Towanda Time" to the tune of "Tulsa Time." We did not see them do some of their own songs like "Ol' 66" about Route 66, "Beaches of Rural Route 1" and "Haunted Grove" about Funks Grove.

Prices were a bit expensive at the festival grounds, so decided to check out Kicks Bar and Grill (as in Kicks on 66) for a bite to eat. It was hard to find a parking spot thanks to the classic car show on the abandoned southbound lanes of Route 66 just a few hundred feet away. Both inside and the outside patio garden were packed with people drinking, eating and talking.

We felt lucky to find two seats together at the bar. I ordered their signature Pig Wings for $5.75, and was not happy to find out they had run our so had to settle for a pulled pork sandwich for $3.50. Liz got her usual pork tenderloin sandwich for $4. Outstanding food!!

My ears perked up when I heard a guy behind me talking about his car at the show, a 1967 blue 326 Firebird which he described as being in perfect shape. I had a '67 Bird from 1987 to 2002. Loved driving it, but there was too much wrong with it (and I found out that I don't like working on old cars), so sold it. He said he had paid $20,000 for it.

Kicks has outside entertainment once a month on Saturdays from May to September. Definitely something checking out.

Schenk's Garage Next. --RoadDog

Paul's Place-- Rocky Point, NC-- Part 2

Times were tough in the Great depression, but even rougher during World War II when meat was rationed, causing problems with Paul's chili used on hot dogs. Beverly Paul, A.A. Paul's son, began experimenting with different ingredients and spices to come up with a "mock chili without meat."

The result was a huge success and the popularity of Beverly Paul's hotdogs with special sauce continued to grow until he became known as "The Hot Dog King." It continues to today with third generation David and Beverly Paul who still run the family business.

One or the other is there most days.

They serve other items like blts, ham and cheese sandwiches, slaw dogs (I've got to try one of those one of these days) country ham and breakfast sandwiches. However, i have never ordered anything else but the hot dog, especially since I don't get by there too often these days.

The hot dog meat is just so-so, but when served on a steamed bun with the sauce, well, welcome to hot dog nirvana. You can get the three dog and pop drink for around $5.

As Sheriff Taylor Would Say, "G-o-o-o-o-d!!" --RoadDog

Paul's Place-- Rocky Point, NC-- Part 1

Famous Hot Dogs says the sign and they aren't kidding. This place has been a must-stop for my family when on the beach from even before I was around, and that is a l-o-n-g time.

The place first opened back in 1928 by Mr. A.A. Paul (I always had though Paul's Place was named after a first name, but 1928 is even too far back for me. The place has been in the same family ever since.

The first building burned down in 1932 and the present structure was erected on the same spot. In 1951, the year was born, it was moved to its present location at the intersection of US-117 and NC-133 and remodeled.

Originally it was a full service restaurant, country store and gas station. In years gone by, the place was also a night spot where couples would come for dining and dancing. Rumor has it that Pender County's first telephone was also in the building.

Then, there are those great hot dogs.

It's a Hot Dog Thing Coming. --RoadDog