roadmaven

We had another swell time in northern Minnesota last weekend for a few days of R & R. We had our first experience exploring the Great River Road while up there and on the way home. Saturday we had a great lunch at Mickey's Diner in St. Paul and took the GRR on the Wisconsin side south of the Twin Cities. Alma, Wisconsin was a cool little town on the GRR. A lock & dam with an active railroad next to it added to the coolness of this little town. All this could be seen 500 feet above town at Buena Vista Park, high on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and miles of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Saturday night we had a nice stay at the little Lake Motel in Onalaska, WI. Sunday was back & forth along the GRR between Wisconsin & Iowa. We made our final cross back into Wisconsin on a 15 minute ferry ride down the Mississippi that dropped us off in Cassville, WI. I have to admit the GRR in northern Minnesota is less than inspiring, but when you get south of the Cities, that's where it really gets photogenic. All of Jennfier's snapshots can be found here. I'm told the ferry pics will be up soon....Enjoy!

Sad to report the passing of a true sweetheart of Route 66, Fran Eickhoff. Fran had owned the Route 66 Lounge in Cuba, MO for several years before retiring. She was an active member and an incredible asset to the Route 66 Association of Missouri. Many of us here on the American Road forum were fortunate enough to know Fran quite well and were fortunate enough to call her a friend. She was also a member of our online family here at the American Road forum, under screen name "fran66". She last stopped by here in March to let us know how she was doing. Viewing will be Monday, August 11 from 5-8 PM at Britton Funeral Home in Cuba, Missouri and Mass is scheduled for Tuesday the 12th at 10:00 AM at Holy Cross Church in Cuba. I was privileged to know Fran for some 12 years, having first met her at the 1996 Missouri Route 66 Motor Tour. We almost had her for our American Road forum's "Cool Roads Cruise" last November, but unfortunately she had to back out because of her health. So long dear friend......we'll see you down the road!

Good stuff! I really like the way you incorporate the 44 shields in every shot. Didn't you do that on.....was it on a US 2 trip? Nice touch!

This is pretty cool. Paul McCartney & his gal pal are right now cruising Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica. They've been spotted between Joliet Saturday and Oklahoma City Tuesday night. Apparently the trip in the '89 Ford Bronco's not fooling anyone. Details are here on Ron Warnick's Route 66 News blog. Perhaps he'll make it to Amarillo tonight and have a stab at the 72oz Steak Challenge at the Big Texan Steak Ranch. Oh wait, he's one of those veggie types.

Thanks for posting the photos Dave. I especially loved the Gremlin photo. Our neighbors across the street had one when I was a young lad.....that photo took me back to 1974!

Drats! Once again, I don't get to play.

....not to mention having him thrown out for putting an overdrive in it!

I've heard good things about Schmidt Haus in Columbus, if you're a fan of German grub. I guess the cream puffs are one of their signature items. Two different types of Reubens to choose from. We've got this on our list as a day trip. I figure if we can drive 1K miles to Amarillo for a steak dinner, 3 hours for a schnitzel is a walk in the park!

Thanks for the pics! I particularly liked the "camper" picture. I think my dad was driving one of his A's over there today to check out the action.

We had the opportunity to make a trip up to Anderson, IN Tuesday night. Our purpose was to do a photo shoot for a calendar we're putting together for the local Corvair club. After reading Denny's Diner Days in the current issue of AR, we decided to use the Lemon Drop Drive-In as the backdrop for the photo of my dad's '64 Monza Spyder that will grace one of the months of the pending 2009 calendar. As Denny mentioned in the article, they do close for part of July, as the sign shows. Looks like a great little place though...looking forward to checking it out after they reopen next week. Meanwhile.....

It was a VERY short notice announcement. Basically, I was bored and put up a chat note basically for anyone who might've been online from about 7:45 til it ended after 9pm. I think we had all of four people show up....no loss!

Hi Hutch....sorry you missed us! Since it was short notice, it was a small crowd and wrapped up fairly early. I took the note down after it was over. Next time I'll try to give at least 30 minutes advance notice.

Had you needed fuel when in Mackinaw City, you could've had the same experience there. There's a Citgo on the south end of town on the Old US 31 alignment that is full service. They had one guy dispense the gas, and then he and another attendant did the windows. Quite the experience....and you're right, it does send you back to another era.

For those interested, Route 66 author/historian/artist and all around good guy Jerry McClanahan has a new web site. Jerry's one of the department heads for the "66 Kicks!" department of American Road. He's the author of the EZ 66 Guide and co-authored the "Here It Is!: The Route 66 Map Series" with American Road co-founder Jim Ross, as well as *co-starring* with Jim in the video "Bones of the Old Road"....all available at the American Road Hitching Post. You may have read Jerry's article about Laurel Kane (occasional poster here on the forum) in the summer issue of American Road that just likely hit your mailbox over the past week. Be sure to check out Jerry's site at: http://mcjerry66.com

She is quite the photo bug. So much so, I don't even bother bringing my camera on most of our trips. She likes playing around with settings & that's why she ended up with nearly 600 shots over those four days (A dozen or so were added to the set tonight). We absolutely loved the resort where we stayed. The lake is somewhat small for Minnesota standards (112 acres) and there's no public access, so it was very quiet there. Our vacations typically involve driving from place to place to place, and rarely do we stay in one place on a trip. But the peacefulness and beauty of the area is a huge relief from the daily grind of city living. We loved it so much we're taking the same trip at the same resort in mid-August! She wants to bring her daughter up with us before she starts her junior year (junior year!?) at IUPUI. I think this time I'm going to get my pole & tackle box out of storage at my dad's and get a 72 hour MN fishing license. And yes, the "skeeters" were pesky! Nothing like laying in bed trying to get to sleep when one buzzes your ear. But, it's all a part of "the great outdoors"! Listening to the call of the loons as I was sitting in front of our fire pit at dusk while staring out at the still lake was something I could do every night the rest of my life. However, those -40 degree winters might change those dreams.

I'm LOVING the ride! The upper Great Lakes is on top of my favorite areas to travel. It looks as if the boys had a great time. Kudos for showing them how to have a real vacation. Let's hope they pass it on down the road. I've seen quite a few of the same stops on some of our journeys. Castle Rock was a cool little stop and we spent a good deal of time there looking through all the stuff. And the walk up to the rock gives the legs quite the workout, eh? Looks like we missed crossing paths by about 4 days. We passed through Hayward, WI Saturday evening on the 21st, where we picked up US 51 south. Did you happen to log your total miles on the trip? We weren't quite as loaded down on our Minnesota trip, but we got an excellent 38.2mpg in the Corolla, with one tank lasting a whopping 465 miles. Really happy about that. Unfortunately it got banged up in a wreck a week after we got home & is in the body shop awaiting 3 weeks of repairs. Thanks for the post!

Thanks for posting this, Becky. I just read about it on another forum and was going to post it here as well. Mary Lou was a true gem. I first met her & David in 1996 at the "Run to the Heartland" in Landergin, TX, which was the first big Route 66 get-together. I was there by myself, didn't know a soul, and while sitting at a table waiting for the next event on the schedule, David & Mary Lou were at the table next to me and invited me over to sit with them. It was then David told me all about his newly formed National Historic Route 66 Federation. The work she and David put into the Federation and 66 can't be put into words. Let's all keep David in our prayers.

YIKES! I owe you all a lunch after reading that! It's been a couple of years since we've been in the Pad and I've been there countless times over the past 10 years. Never had that kind of experience. But, I believe it was sold over the past year or two, so apparently ownership isn't the only thing that changed there. In hindsight, I would've told you to head 5 miles south and try the Polka Dot Drive-In in Braidwood. Looking forward to reading the rest of the trip!

I've been meaning to get there. Those O-rings look highly worthy of a heart cath as well! Jake Query from WIBC got me hooked on Five Guys and he mentioned Workingman's Friend is on par with SnS. Another sleeper here in town is the Peppy Grill on Virginia Avenue in Fountain Square. The one time we were there, Marion County hadn't gone "smoke free" & that place was like eating in a chimney! I think we need to get mobilene and all of us meet up at some of these joints for some burger sampling and road chat. BTW Chris, how was the US 52 journey??

I think we've got one of those in nearby Avon, IN. The mention of a gourmet burger joint reminds me of the days of Fuddrucker's and Flakey Jake's.

I bring this up only because the town of Moscow, Indiana can really use a big turnout for the 23rd Annual Moscow Covered Bridge Festival. A few weeks ago, an F-3 tornado tore apart Moscow's crown jewel, the covered bridge built in 1886. Details of the festival this weekend can be found here. Weather permitting, I'm going to do my best to get out there. Hope some of you in the area can as well.

Steak n Shake will always be a good friend to my tummy. However, there are some new joints popping up that have garnered our affection. But first, if I was forced to pick a burger for the rest of my life, I think it'd have to be a McDonald's cheeseburger. Just something about it....aside from there being any actual "meat" in it.....it's a perfect combination of onion, pickle, ketchup, and mustard. Now for the list of newer good places: --Culver's. This is a chain that was started I believe in Wisconsin. Their "Butter Burgers" are right on par with SnS, plus, they have a full menu of various frozen custard. They have their own root beer as well, which has an excellent creamy taste along the lines of A&W. --Five Guys Burgers & Fries. I think this was a chain started on the east coast and is making its way to the midwest. Indy has two locations (West 86th Street and US 31 South in Greenwood for our Indy members). They have the freshest buns around and their fries are on par with the great fries at Penn Station Deli. One warning when ordering fries, the regular size is MORE than enough for two people. They just keep heaping them in the sack. --96th Street Steakburgers. Another Indy joint with two or three locations. Along the lines of a SnS, but with a VERY simplistic menu of essentially just steakburgers, fries, drinks, and shakes. Been around for 3 or 4 years. --Of course no list of good burger joints in Indy wouldn't be comlete without mentioning Mug n Bun. Indy's oldest drive-in where they serve all sorts of deep fried goodness.....including my new favorite: mac & cheese wedges. Also the only place I've seen sell chuckwagon sandwiches since my elementary school! Mug n Bun faced pressure from the "new" Dog & Suds chains that came through Indy 10 years ago which subsequently became Sonics. There was one located less than 2 miles from Mug n Bun and they survived them. Sonic left town and that drive-in's still sitting vacant. Plus Mug n Bun is a "neighbor" just a mile away, so we have to give them some love.

Doh! Forgot to mention that part! Due to the fact Wimpy's is apparently a breakfast & lunch hole, the timing didn't work out, darn it. The time or two we intended to go there, they were closed. No hours visible, so next time we're up, we'll make a point to be there between 11-noon. But wow, is that place small in there! Maybe a dozen or so stools and about 3 talbes. My dad told me the other night that we ate there back in the 70's with all 8 of us, but obviously mom & dad probably got it "to go"!

Back from the north woods! We had a fantastic time in Minnesota. Although it was somewhat abbreviated, we were there long enough to take in what the Land of 10,000 Lakes has to offer (We counted 10,002 lakes, so we need to go back up to see which ones we counted twice). The drive to Madison, WI last Wednesday night was fairly bland as we slabbed it all the way. We messed around on the way up Thursday and didn't get to our cabin until after 5pm, but it was an enjoyable trip after we got off the interstate outside of the Twin Cities where we picked up US 10. The trip home starting Saturday was really nice. We hooked up with US 2 outside of Grand Rapids, MN and took it into Duluth/Superior, then took advantage of an American Road sponsor (insert cash register sound here) and took US 51 south for the better part of Wisconsin Saturday afternoon and most of the day Sunday. We stayed at a really cool little motel in Mercer, WI on 51 Saturday night. Lots of bars in the little towns up there.....we figured 1 for every 50 people in most of them! Sunday we made a detour and cruised through Wisconsin Dells, got into a hail storm south of there in Baraboo, and it rained most of the rest of the way into Illinois before we *finally* got home 11:30 Sunday night. We're looking at doing this again in a couple of months. We really enjoyed our time up there and the Sleeping Fawn Resort was a nice, homey little place with fantastic hosts. Jennifer took some 500-plus photos those four days, and they're starting to pop up on her Flickr site here. Keep checking back on it the next few days, as there are a slew that will make it on the site once she does her editing of them.

Thank ya, sir! And a Happy Flag Day back at ya! What better way to spend my 300th post!?