brownwho63

What will you be driving, RoadDog? Look for Pat's Corvair and Denny's Vette on the MO side. We plan to arrive around 8:30 or so in 'Lil Red. Mary Sue and I are going to pass on the Broadwell event and will just hang out at the Days Inn until close to 5:00 when we'll go to the IDOT lot for the Friday night street cruise. It begins promptly at 6:00 but we'll be there at five to meet Springfield friends at our traditional "prestaging" area. We're doing the street parking thing on Saturday and can Remember the Alamo around 5:00....Bliss We usually do Route 4 from Staunton to I-72 and then hit BL-I55/6th to Stephenson.

Sounds like fun, Denny, but I'll feel fortunate if 'Lil Red just takes us to Springfield and back to STL without any big problems. She's a high-mile day tripper and we try not to push our luck too far. See ya at the COR, though, for the cruise to Springfield and the Friday night street 66 street cruise....Bliss

The Lincoln Highway across Iowa and Nebraska intrigues me because - well, it's the Lincoln Highway. And I haven't seen much of Iowa. I've never been anywhere in Nebraska except for visiting cousins in Lincoln and I've certainly never been on the LH. RoadDog, why don't you consider organizing a cruise through there sometime? This board sounds as if several folks would be interested. Also, Denny and Pat - any set-in-stone plans or early discussions regarding next year's spring cruise? Don't mean to be pushy; just curious......Bliss

As far as I know right now, just Denny and us from this group will be at the COR on Friday the 28th. Pat and Jennifer are possibles. There will be lot of vehicles in the parking lot for the caravan to Springfield, however. Springfield itself will be absolutely packed. Downtown will be wall-to-wall people on Friday night because of the street cruise and these same folks and others will also show up on Saturday. We'll be downtown with the cruisers Friday night and will then meet Springfield cruisin' friends Saturday morning for an early arrival downtown for street parking and display. We usually call it off around four or five Saturday afternoon and I'm thinking that would be an excellent time to Remember the Alamo....Bliss

We'll look for you when we arrive at COR around 8:30 or 9:00 and we can cruise to Springfield together; hopefully, without requiring a repair shop. 'Lil Red is currently doing great but you never know what tomorrow may bring. She has surprised us more than once. We usually like to stop for lunch in Carlinville at the Anchor Bar because we're somewhat partial to their chili. Their dry mix is made by a local cannery and the finished product contains no tomato products. It's much better than it sounds. However, the chili at the Cozy Dog and the Lake Springfield Tavern in Springfield is equally as tasty....Bliss

Mary Sue and I will be cruisin' 'Lil Red back to Springfield again this year for the 66 festival and have reserved a jaccuzi suite at the Route 66 Hotel. Crossing the COR is always awesome and we look forward to that. We always join cruisin' friends at the IDOT lot on Friday evening for the big street cruise. What a blast that is! We'll be street parked downtown on Saturday and that's another big fun day. Perhaps American Roaders and other blue highway roadies can meet at the Alamo around 5:00 Saturday for road stories, swapping tall tales, etc.?....Bliss

Mary Sue and I talked about buying a "retirement RV" for years. I can't count the number of times we sat around a campfire at Meramec Caverns and longed for the freedon of RV life at such time as we were no longer required to be a part of the daily work force. Initially, we thought of buying a large unit and towing the Vette. The plan was to park the RV in a spot for several days and use the Vette for cruisin' around. This idea downsized to the Class C vehicle and then downsized again to a conversion van type vehicle. (I always favored a delivery van with no windows, air mattresses, and a cooler in the back but she quickly shot down my great idea.) So we talked - and talked - and talked about what to buy and I finally decided to buy.......nothing. This decision did and still does not make her happy, especially since her sister and brother-in-law cruise coast-to-coast in a huge, luxury-type stagecoach that would make Dolly Parton envious. My reasons for opting out of the RV life include: (a) I love to drive the Montes or Vette on blue highways because I'm a car guy. How much fun can it be to cruise a big ugly box that costs mucho bucks? ( Lousy gas mileage. © Maintenance and insurance costs. (d) Personal property tax. Missouri is notorious for gouging everyone annually for any type of vehicle. (e) Parking. Our burg does not allow an RV to be parked anywhere in the subdivision. (f) Frequent emptying of waste water and all that entails. (g) Frequent setting up and hooking up; then reversing the process a short time later. And camping is completely out of the question. We seniors simply cannot abide sleeping in a tent and using public bathroom and shower facilities. Ugh! Sooooo.....we cruise in one of the Chevys and lodge in a motel. If we haven't stayed in a particular motel in the past, we inspect the room first. Sometimes we "camp out" or "tailgate" on the motel grounds with our Weber Smokey Joe and always-present canvas chairs - then retire to the comfort of a clean, pleasant room that we don't have to clean or straighten up before hitting the road again. This works for us (well, especially me)....Bliss

This could end up being a lengthy thread. To me, "dining" means anytime, anywhere, any kind of food that we stop for. Just some random thoughts in no particular order: Illinois Route 66: Lucca's - Bloomington, IL - Family-owned and operated business. Everything is good. Riviera Restaurant - Gardner, IL - Decent road spagetti Cozy Dog - Springfield, IL - Really like their chili Anchor Bar - Carlinville, IL - Same Luna - Mitchell, IL - Great buffalo wings; at least they were a coupla years ago Missouri Route 66: Circle N Drive In - Bourbon - Unique, in that you can get a homemade plate lunch special. Maid Rite - Rolla - Good stuff. Alex Pizza Palace - Rolla - 7th & Pine. Best pizza I've ever tasted. Oklahoma 66: Main Street Diner (I think) - Chelsea - Daily homemade specials. Recommend a bowl of beans. Arizona 66: Joe and Aggie's - Holbrook - Mexican food beyond comparison There are more on 66 and other highways I may have time to mention later but right now I'm off to begin my daily charcoal grilling of some kind of road kill. I prefer the Weber kettle with Kingsford, regular or mesquite, (with plenty of the Blue Beast) over anything else I've used. What do all you other roadies use? Any special grilling tips? (I'm thinking this is really not too off-topic because we frequently carry along a Weber Smokey Joe for use on our road trips.)....Bliss

The powers that be have analyzed cost versus profit in total and by shift and are experimenting in certain cities/states to determine how each is affected with reduced hours. I don't know any facts but I'm speculating that graveyard shifts produce far less profit due to less adult traffic and more young people with less money to spend, yet, with the same amount of fixed cost as other shifts. Everything is about money....Bliss

Have to share a coupla things previously mentioned with the cool group here: (1) Old bridges - Immediately east of Pocahontas, IL on the old alignment there is what I refer to as a ghost bridge on the north side of the road. Kip and I explored it once on our way to Marshall. The coolest bridges on 40 that I've seen, however, are in IN somewhere between Terra Haute and Indy. (Pat and Denny, can you help with the location and some detail?) (2) Soda fountains, et al - I delivered daily newspapers on my Schwinn in '52 and frequently took time for a flavored fountain Coke at Miles' Drug. I eventually tried every flavor available; chocolate, pineapple, orange, cherry, strawberry, vanilla, raspberry, etc. Price was five cents per glass at a very cool, real-deal soda fountain. It's gone now. When I was a senior in high school I had a part-time job at Wimpy's Drive-In on U.S. 36 which included peeling potatoes (50 pounds at a sitting) and hand-chopping them into fries, washing huge windows, cutting grass, mopping, and whatever else the owner wanted done for the amazing rate of fifty cents per hour. Eventually graduated to the counter/fountain area and that was pretty cool. The car hops, cute young ladies in short skirts, brought handwritten orders for drinks to me and I filled whatever was ordered. Shakes, cokes, water, etc. Also took orders from counter customers for the kitchen and delivered the finished product to the customer. I received a tip once; ten cents - and that was from my mom.....Bliss

I've only just glanced at your excellent report and look forward to completing it, as IL 40 is one of our favorite highways. Things/places we especially enjoy on the old and older alignments include: Sunset Inn - between Troy and St. Jacob - Awesome old saloon Near Pierron to Pocahontas on the "through the fields" alignment Greenville to Mulberry Grove on 140 and then Mulberry Grove to Vandalia through Hagarstown Downtown St. Elmo - old theater marquee and a few ghost signs Downtown Altamont Greenup covered bridge, archetecture, and shoe factory flea market Old alignment east of Martinsville Covered bridge at Clark Center Downtown Marshall Pat and Denny, STL to Terre Haute or vice versa would make an excellent spring cruise, wouldn't it? Perhaps you guys could put something together like this year's Dixie Cruise....Bliss

My wife and I both lived in a small IL town on U.S. 36 when we were kids. Like most old highways, 36 ran right through the middle of town and it was always BUSY. See a photo from my album below....Bliss http://americanroadmagazine.com/forum/inde...=si&img=229

[ Me thinks our next American Road forum gathering (midwest region!) might have to be at French Lick/West Baden. Not only are the hotels there, but the Indiana Railway Museum has a nice train riide that takes you through a 1500 foot tunnel. Anyone interested?? If next spring's AM cruise is to this area, count us in......Bliss

"Of those you have visited, which are worth a trip." That's like "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" but if you make numerous trips to the same place, they're worth a visit. A few of the areas in the Midwest we revisit the most and always enjoy are: Eureka (Times Beach), MO - Route 66 State Park and Tyson County Park Stanton, MO - Meramec Caverns park and beach Rolla, MO - Zenos Motel, Alex Pizza Palace, old theater bar, Tater Patch Devils Elbow, MO - 1923 route 66 truss bridge, Sheldons' Market, Judy's, and Elbow Inn Lebanon, MO - Munger Moss Motel, Route 66 Museum, Starlight Bowling Place Carthage, MO - Jim's Old-Time Saloon and awesome courthouse Greenup, IL - Historical setting and buildings, shoe factory flea market Marshall, IL - Great downtown area Pontiac, IL - Route 66 Hall of Fame in old firehouse, awesome courthouse, river park Springfield, IL - Cozy Dog, excellent old downtown area Just some of the places we cruise to from our STL location. Missouri is especially blessed...Bliss

Great tip, Pat, and one that I had not thought of.....Bliss

Seems as if we address this problem every summer, doesn't it? I'll toss in some random thoughts regarding saving money on the road in an attempt to compensate for higher gas prices. We love our Chevy supercharged V6 Monte Carlo so all of my car thoughts are centered upon this. I supposed we could trade it or the old Vette for some type of ugly hybrid that gets 50 mpg but what the heck; you gotta have some pleasure in life. Besides, the Monte averaged 27.4 mpg on a 2004 trip to CA that included 66 going and interstate at high speeds on the return trip. Yeah, it requires premium fuel to keep from pinging but it runs like a mad dog with its tail on fire whenever I feel the need for speed or sails in auto-overdrive at less than two grand on the tach otherwise. We carry 2 coolers at all times on the floor behind each seat. One contains cold happy hour fluid at an average cost of $.40 per container versus $2.00 to $2.75 in a saloon. This alone saves us a minimum of $10 per day. The second cooler is used for soda, water, tea, OJ, snacks, etc. that was purchased at Wally World at a fraction of what convenience stores or vending machines would cost. Estimated daily savings are $5. We like mom 'n pop motels as much as anyone else but refuse to stay in any kind of dump just to save money. A room inspection is a must before actually checking in. Otherwise, we'll spend another thirty bucks or so for self comfort at a trendier place. Never, ever use the costly in-room phone for anything other than a local call. Besides, doesn't everyone have a cell? Or an On Star system? We usually skip breakfast unless the motel provides it and then have a light lunch to save money and avoid sleapiness while cruisin'. The main meal of the day is dinner with or after happy hour and even then, we avoid buffets for health reasons. Don't know how much cash this saves us but we feel good about it. All lodging, fuel, and "major" purchases are paid for with credit cards. This provides positive cash flow (enjoy the purchase now; pay later) and allows us to carry less actual cash. The key to this system is to be certain to pay the credit card bills in full each month to avoid an 18% or more interest charge. Avoid impulse purchases for some gadget or cutsie thing that will just gather dust in the closet when you get back home. Take lots of photos - digitally. I don't know whether or not any of the above is actually a big deal but the system works for us. Happy Motoring.....Bliss

I just posted a few photos of this year's Dixie Highway Cruise that you can acess from this site....Bliss