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Celebrating our two-lane highways of yesteryear…And the joys of driving them today!

DennyG

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Everything posted by DennyG

  1. The Indian National Road Association's annual meeting is being held next Saturday, April 21, in Greenfield. The meeting itself is at 2:00 but there is stuff going on earlier, too. More info here: http://www.indiananationalroad.org/news.calendar.html
  2. I've driven the road and now I've read the book. Of the two, driving is better by far but the book's not bad. It isn't a heavy duty guide book with detailed instructions for traveling the historic road across Indiana nor does it reveal any old lost alignments. But, for all I know, there are no lost alignments and the Historic National Road Byway, which is the path Temple follows, is fairly well marked through the state. What the book does do is provide an east to west description of all of the counties and many of the towns the byway passes through. Attractions on or near the byway are described, usually with photos and contact information. It's a glove box sized paperback of about a hundred pages - 6 by 9 inches. There are lots of photos. Virtually everything mentioned in the text can be seen in at least one black and white picture on the same or adjacent page. Most of the contemporary photos were taken by Temple. This is the first thing I've read from Mary Beth Temple. Her background seems to be mostly in knitting and antiques although, in 2004, she did write "Touring New Jersey's Lighthouses". "Driving the National Road in Indiana" is hardly indispensable for driving the National Road in Indiana but it might help.
  3. I just found this blog through an unexpected source and have a hunch folks here might enjoy it. It's from a professional chef who is running around the country (and sometimes beyond) on a BMW with sidecar. His dog is with him as he visits wonderful places, takes marvelous pictures, and occasionally prepares and documents incredible meals. In addition to the photos and text that make up the blog, there are some references to more photos and descriptions on a service called SmugMug. SmugMug is a reasonably priced photo storage site with backup that, when viewed in journal mode, is much a blog itself. The blog is at http://www.theoasisofmysoul.com/ and you don't have to ride, own, or even like motorcycles to enjoy it.
  4. Nashville & bourbon, eh? Great combination. Maybe you can talk those relatives into buying breakfast at the Loveless Cafe. Have you targeted specific distilleries yet?
  5. In the first post of this thread (below the poll), each of the photo names is a clickable link that will display that photo. Just click on the names one at a time.
  6. Glad that a flat tire was the worst that happened. Maybe this cold spell will help you adjust to the climate change. Next winter you may be running around town wondering where the snow is. I have no idea when I'll be in the neighborhood but I'm pretty sure I will be at some point and I'll be sure to give a shout.
  7. I certainly find what old maps I have very useful in trip planning but it's more of an accumulation than an organized collection. And the acquisition wasn't particularly organized either. While what I have lets me find general routing, I find I'm getting a little more concerned with details and often coming up short. Guess I should start keeping an eye on eBay again.
  8. Although I've ordered "Driving the National Road in Indiana", I haven't actually seen it yet so cannot give any sort of opinion. But Mary Beth Temple, the book's author, will be in Indiana in a couple of weeks which I figure is worth mentioning now. Her current schedule is at http://www.drivingthenationalroadinindiana.com/tourdates.htm I'll add my impressions to this thread once I've seen the book.
  9. I had wanted to join the group in February but, in the end, was put off by the weather. I recall getting serious enough to plot the drive to and from and remember believing I could make it a comfortable weekend drive by just taking Monday off. Well, there's a three day weekend coming up and I'm thinking about making up for missing the Sweetheart Cruise with a one man Easter Cruise. But now it doesn't look quite so comfortable. I guess I must have planned on getting part way home on the second day because a direct drive home from Boonville works out at over eight hours. Doable but hardly comfortable. Plus, after getting within a hundred miles of Independence, I'd really like to take a peek at the Madonna there but that obviously only makes things worse. Looks like I'll either have to postpone this one, attempt a real iron man run on Sunday, or show up rather late for work on Monday. If I end up with #3, some of you may have to write notes to my boss.
  10. The Dixie Highway and National Road intersection is still marked with a sign and a variety of flags but it's all well above eye level and easily missed. Seems I've somehow missed that Louisville catfish but will look harder (and maybe higher) the next time.
  11. 1) I wouldn't mind having that routing, if you're offering, and 2) older Delorme files can be imported into newer versions of Street Atlas. I actually have both SA9 and SA2006 currently installed and have moved a few routes from SA9 to SA2006. The reverse will not work. I imagine that SA2007 will do the same.
  12. We will be visiting Heaven Hill Distillery on Saturday but if you'd like to check out some others, there are several in the area and many will have tours available Friday & Sunday although there is no tasting or sales on Sunday.
  13. If you like microbreweries and you decide on the Lincoln Highway route, the Appalachian Brewing Company branch in Gettysburg and the Red Star Brewery in Greensburg are also possibilities. I recall pretty good meals at both and the Red Star also makes their own root beer.
  14. That stone "Stag Hollow" marker is almost (but not quite) as cool as the Great Stag Can. Looks like a day well spent.
  15. Welcome, Gus. When I saw the mention of a toddler and Missouri, the first thing I thought of was Natalie leading her parents around the area. The second was KidsOn66, Emily Priddy's recently updated guide to kid friendly stops along Sixty-Six. The guide is budget friendly (as in free), too. To me, 3 or 4 days of westbound travel sounds like you'll get well into Oklahoma but having a two year old on board probably makes any guess of mine near meaningless. If you do approach Tulsa, I'd think that both Catoosa's Blue Whale and the not-quite-on-66 World's Tallest Totem Pole at Foyil would be fun stops.
  16. Didn't that article make you want to join us and visit Heaven Hill yourself? I've toured Maker's Mark, Buffalo Trace, and Woodford (I'm pretty sure that's what you meant) and, even though they're all making bourbon, they are each unique in some way. We kind of settled on Heaven Hill because it was the least out of the way but I also think it might be the most visitor oriented of the bunch. I haven't mentioned it since we all have fireside chatting in mind, but the same group that does the fall Bourbon Festival (Bardstown is known as the "Bourbon Capital of the World") is holding a Bourbon Sampler on the Saturday night we're staying at the Wigwams.
  17. Alex has named the three routes (6-22-30) that I think of for crossing PA. I've been on the east half of US-6 and found it very scenic but it seems like it might be a bit too far north for your purpose. US-22 is probably the most direct and it does go through some very pretty country. I believe that quite a bit of it is now divided 4 lane and there may be some construction. US-30 also has some good scenery and a large batch of history, too. It's a bit further south and probably (I'm guessing here) a bit longer. From the map, my impression is that your path to either US-22 or US-30 just might go through Harrisburg and I remember a good meal at the Appalachian Brewing Company (a microbrewery) there. For all I know, there might be a world class seafood joint right around the corner but I'll offer up ABC as a restaurant that I enjoyed. Of course, I have a fondness for microbreweries that you may not share. If you opt for US-30, it would be a good chance to experience all or most of the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. If that sounds interesting, I highly recommend getting the Driving Guide from the LHHC. It's quite the bargain at $2.50. Sorry for the lack of specifics but that's the long distant view. Maybe someone nearer the area can kick in some suggestions particularly once you settle on a general route.
  18. Glad I could contribute a bit. It's good to build a little credit cause there's a lot more road on my "to do" list than on my "done" list. Your posts actually stirred up a new challenge for me. I mentioned that I have hopes of someday stopping at the Shady Dell in Bisbee for a night. And now I have to schedule a full day to drive the twenty miles between Douglas and Bisbee so I can spend a night in each place. The Gadsden Hotel looks too cool to miss and I knew nothing about it.
  19. I saw that last night hence the substitute link to RoadsideAmerica in the itinerary post. I didn't feel up to a phone call last night so put it on my mental to do list where it still sits. Hopefully sometime today. 13-mar-07 17:30 EDT I called the Wigwams and verified that all is well with the motel and that management is working to get the website back on line. I got the impression that there is a third party (designer/host/???) involved that they have to deal with so things aren't as streamlined as they could be. Anyway, teepees & telephone are safe and the website will return ASAP. 17-mar-07 06:30 EDT The website is back and I've corrected the link in the itinerary post. The content hasn't changed and still contains the out of date information that Wigwam Village #7 is "in very poor condition" when it is actually now in the best shape of them all. I've mentioned that before but we'll all have to work on it.
  20. Saturday April 28th Itinerary We've finally trimmed our long list of possibilities down to something comfortable and figure to have a good time before returning to the wigwams for grilling and gabbing. In between a Coca-Cola museum and a bourbon distillery we'll have lunch at an eighteenth century tavern then stop by Abe Lincoln's birthplace on the way "home". In order to make this fairly leisurely, we are planning on a 9:00 start. But that is the only item with even a suggested time and we're softies so it's not all that absolute. Here's the "itinerary": 9:00 AM depart Wigwam Village #2 Dixie Highway (US-31W) to Elizabethtown Schmidt's Museum of Coca-cola Memorabilia US-62 to Bardstown Lunch at Talbott's Tavern Heaven Hill Distillery Jackson Highway (US-31E) through Hodgenville Lincoln Birthplace more Jackson Highway (US-31E) cookout at wigwams So far it seems like folks are also spending Friday night at the wigwams although arrival times are unpredictable. As the date gets closer, Pat will have thoughts on the cook out and there may be a "burger fund" contribution or he may ask for folks to supply an item or two. Everybody buys their own lunch, admission to the Coke museum is $5, and the distillery is free. Wigwams remain available at $40.50 & $49.50. I'm tired of winter and I'm ready to roll.
  21. While looking at Pat's pics, I noticed another new album quietly posted by new member Gherkintrude. That album, Summer 2006, includes a shot of recent American Road cover boy Mothman. Pat, I once had a '64 Corvair the same yellow as your Dad's but it wasn't a Spyder. It was a Corsa convertible. Love those Spyder spinners.
  22. That was no mystery. That was my goof. The two entries from Bliss that I thought were lost posts to this thread were actually posted in a separate thread and are quite safe. I was a little surprised to see what I entered as a reply appear as an addition to my previous reply rather than a separate entry. That's actually kind of cool. Maybe the same thing will happen to this reply.
  23. It looks like Kip either moved or overwrote them. Hopefully he'll straighten us out soon. Maybe that message should have been labeled "Dated Material Inside" just like that old fashioned sort of mail. Whoa! Now there's another mystery. I know there were two replys from Bliss that seem to have disappeared. The topic had grown to two pages and I went to the first page before replying. Maybe that's what did it. Sorry, Bliss. I sure didn't mean to clobber your replies.
  24. Great report & pictures. Like Pat, I'm unhappy that the weather kept me away but glad it didn't scare everyone off. I hope you didn't get into any big money games with that Missouri Whax character. I'm thinking that could be expensive. All the pictures are good but that opening shot of the marker & courthouse really caught my eye. Nice work. This is clearly a drive I need to make someday. I was kind of hoping that you'd check out the Stein House but can certainly relate to warmth & pizza. Something for the next time. I hope Carolyn's working on a good story to explain the Jeep!! getting stuck. Are you sure you were supposed to tell about that?
  25. I sure envy you but I can't really help you much. I've only been on the River Walk once and that was several years ago. I recall having some great BBQ sausage on a patio overlooking the "river" but the name escaped my memory long ago. But I know there are many good restaurants and pubs on the River Walk and walking along until you're tempted by one is certainly pleasant enough. If you find yourself with time available, an hour or so drive to Austin to check out some history and music might be worthwhile.
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