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

roadmaven

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Posts posted by roadmaven

  1. Matt,

     

    If there was one, I bet it wouldn't last beyond the next EBay posting! :)

     

    Just as a matter of speculation, do you suppose that somewhere in a canyon beside the road is an old shield tossed there by a lazy road worker who didn't want to carry it back to the truck? I wonder, because when I was in California a few months ago, I noted a yellow highway sign on the side of a bank down a steep slope. I figured it had been knocked there in an accident. But maybe not.

     

    Dave

     

    Keep the Show on the Road!

     

    Without veering too far off topic, I know in the St. Louis area a few years ago they were doing some excavating for a...I believe...Home Depot when they unearthed a bunch of old US highway shields. I know Jim Ross has one of them hanging on the wall of his den of, I believe, a 66 City shield. Perhaps Bliss knows more of this story??

  2. Ha! They're not for everyone, but they really hit the spot on that chilly May afternoon.

     

    Understood! Just have never understood the fascination and how some consider them Route 66 "icons". I guess in simple terms, we don't roll that way. Our instincts were verified by some Route 66 friends who've had not-so-favorable experiences there. And for that reason, any time we hear of anyone going there, we tend to advise against it or else caveat emptor.

     

  3. There have been some occasions where I was basically abducted and forced to be social. The most notable was in Erick, Oklahoma on Route 66. Harley and Annabelle rescued me from a spring monsoon and took me into their shop (where you can't buy anything), warmed me up, sang me a bunch of songs and turned my day around.

     

    I would've opted for the monsoon. :huh:

     

  4. Well, OK, it wasn't the real Lincoln & Dixie Highway king. But when's the last time an actor portrayed him? Ever? These four gentlemen are portraying the four founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

    3493004286_4534916c7e.jpg

    (left to right): Arthur Newby, Frank Wheeler, Carl Fisher, James Allison.

     

    A photo of the real guys (believed to be taken in 1911) is here:

    3492299361_71031e56f4_o.jpg

     

    They were on hand for the Centennial Era Celebration Balloon Festival's balloon glow tonight at the speedway.

  5. Denny,

     

    A few weeks back, Pat kind of tossed out a mild challenge that I show up. I thought it would be fun to appear unannounced, and I also thought might include a little trip post cruise. But Mom's ill health nullified any such ideas....and as with the cruise, it had a happy ending.

     

    Glad the gang had a good time!

     

    Dave

     

    Keep the Show on the Road!

     

    I must admit Dave, for some reason I had a feeling in my gut that you were coordinating with Denny to show up last weekend. But, I'm glad to hear mom's doing well! I think there'll be an opportunity for a lot more of us to gather in the next year or so.

     

  6. Thanks, but we won't make it to Indy by 11:00 CDT. Just go ahead with your current plans and exclude us for the trek to OH. We'll see you guys Friday night

     

    Keep me posted Friday of your progress. Perhaps meeting up at Hoosier Gym could work out in the afternoon. There's a section of National Road that vears off US 40 heading east out of Knightstown.

  7. We're planning to meet with everyone on Friday at the Golden Inn because our Friday day plans are still up in the air; ie, do we leave STL Thursday and mosey east on Historic 40, leave STL Friday morning and slab to the motel, etc.? What we'll probably do is to slab to Knightstown and the Hoosier gym on Friday sometime and then cruise to the motel. The BBQ for Friday night sounds great! (As far as food is concerned on this cruise, we're big fans of old Mom 'n Pop joints but we'll happily go along with whatever the cruise group decides.)

     

    Doesn't matter to us where the Saturday cruise officially begins, as we'll just tag along with you and/or Pat as you leave the motel. The Sunday "lazy morning" late start concerns me a little because being a "morning" person, I'm not much of a lingerer. Everything will work out great, though, so don't elevate your stress level over anything - just let stuff happen and enjoy the ride....Bliss

     

    If it helps your schedule at all, I can arrange it to where you can join up with us after we've toured the speedway and the cemetery. As of right now, I'm guesstimating that'd be around noon (ET). Then you can cruise 40 out of Indy with us.

     

  8. My thoughts would be to hit Madonna on Saturday as our "official" launch site, although we'll still have to gather before that so everyone knows how to get there. As for food, I'd give a thumbs up to BBQ on Friday night. Saturday we'd probably lean towards an "on your own" breakfast, as we probably wouldn't eat much in the morning since Joe's is set in stone and we woudn't want to skimp on the intake there, so to speak. Saturday night we'd be open for just about anything. so whether we go to the Golden Lamb or the Golden Arches, it's all fine with us! ;)

  9. I know you planned to start with some sites in Indy, but do you have an approximate guess for what time you will be leaving the Indy area? We won't be able to get on the road until 4:30 p.m. and I was just trying to estimate where you think you will be at that time.

     

    Chris

     

    I don't have the schedule complete yet for Friday, but as of now it looks as if we'll meet for breakfast in the morning...8 or 9...probably at Charlie Brown's on Main Street in Speedway, head to the track for the museum & bus tour (if there's interest), then head to Crown Hill Cemetery, then start working our way down to US 40 from there. I would guess we'd be heading out of Indy around the noon hour. When 4:30 rolls around, I'd guess if we're not in Richmond by then, we'd be fairly close. I plan on a stop in Knightstown, and probably a lunch somewhere in between.

  10. This may not be feasible for most, but now that we have a lap top computer, we take it along with us and usually make our reservations for lodging from the road. Of course this applies only if we're moving from town to town ever night. A lot of places...coffee shops come to mind...have WiFi that we use to get a connection. Several hotel chains offer "Internet Specials" on rates when reserving online, so we get some savings there. We've also used priceline.com and saved a lot there, but it seems we end up with those extended stay places which I'm not a big fan of. If you can't find a Panera or Starbucks, try your luck in a hotel parking lot! You can sometimes "borrow" their connection to make a reservation. I did that recently in St. Louis when staying at a Comfort Inn. Borrowed their connection from the parking lot, saved 10% by reserving online, walked in the lobby & checked in! :D

  11. Hi All,

     

    We will making a trip from Michigan down to Atlanta GA next week. It unfortunately will be a quick trip, we are going to watch the FIRST Robotics Nationals, our son's team made the cut so we're going to watch. Due to the time constraints, we're going to have to slab it on 75.

     

    We were wondering if anyone has any suggestions for dining or attractions in the Atlanta area (or on the way down for that matter)? It is looking like the aquarium is a must see. We know that area is great for 'Que, anyone got any favorites or "gotta try it" destinations?

     

    Thanks in advance!

     

    Jason

     

    Jason,

    We spent a week in Atlanta 5 years ago, so I know there are some places you can try...I just can't recall what they were! I'll nudge Jennifer, as I know she'll remember. But from what I recall, some must eat/see places are:

     

    The Varsity: OLD restaurant/drive-in near the GA Tech campus. Usually ends up on those "Top 10 Places to ..... " on the Food Network.

    Coca Cola World: Might be wrong on the actual name. It's like a museum, gift shop, etc. Worth it! I know they're moved since we were there, but I know it's still in the area.

    Underground Atlanta: A neat little mall below ground.

     

    There was another cool diner that began with a "Z"...I remember we took pics of it. Here are some shots from around that trip:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadtripmemor...57600312503968/

     

    And if you have time, a trip south to Juiliet, GA would be cool. That's where they filmed Fried Green Tomatoes. If you saw the movie, the Whistle Stop Cafe is still open: http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadtripmemor...57600311963557/

     

     

  12. Just wanted to bring this topic back up top & let everyone know we now have 23 members on our American Road Facebook Fan Page, now including our fearless co-leader, Becky Repp! We're pretty sure Becky's become addictied to Facebook like she is coffee. She's already been busy adding some cool updates & links to the page, so check it out!

     

  13. I made a trek over to Richmond today to get some brochures at the Old National Road Welcome Center. While out there, I stopped by the Golden Inn and made our reservation for 4/24. **NOTE**: Rooms there are going FAST. We got the last non-smoking room. Apparently there's some sort of dog show in the area that weekend. There are still a few rooms left, but RESERVE SOON. However, there are some other motels just a mile or so west on 40, so lodging shouldn't be a big issue.

     

    For those making the trek from Indy with us on 40, I've shored up a couple of stops. One of those stops will be the Hoosier Gym in Knightstown. This was the home court for the Hickory Huskers in the 1986 Gene Hackman film "Hoosiers".

     

    Another interesting spot is the site of the old Gennett Records studio, where they have a Walk of Fame honoring some of the legends who recorded there.

     

    That's the latest update....more to come!

  14. I see the delete function so, you or I could delete the picture but... the real question is why isn't the option available to mga707? I don't see anything in the gallery configuration area that relates to delete permission but I could be missing it. Would another "Full Member" check to see if the option is available to them? How about "Moderators"?

     

    If that's the case, I see that as a flaw with IPB. Members should have the ability to delete their own images. Perhaps we can nudge Becky or Guy in here.

     

  15. The title says it. I accidentally posted a duplicate photo in the photo gallery, and there does not seem to be any obvious way to delete it. Anyone?

     

    When you're in your gallery and on the picture you want to delete, off to the right you should see a blue box with some stats. Below that there should be a blue button that says "Options?". Click there and you should see a delete option.

     

  16. Pat,

     

    Good one!

     

    Do you recall, was the roadbed wood on ythe bridge, or was that discolored concrete?

     

    Don't worry if you don't recall.....we'll get the answer from Jim in due time! :D

     

    Dave

     

    Keep the Show on the Road!

     

    I'm certain it was concrete. The discoloration actually might've been rust from the bridge itself.

     

  17. Pat: Looks like you might get some company for that drive to Richmond. I'll try to sneak out a little early but, even if I do, I'll be driving north while you're driving east.

     

    I'll verify who all's coming this way before I announce any meeting times. I know Roaddog wants to see Carl Fisher...well, at least where he's resting. There are a few other notable tombs at Crown Hill that we'll check out while we're there. If RD's not been to the speedway, I'm going to drag him there whether he likes it or not. It's a place everyone needs to see once in their life...whether they know it or not. ;)

     

    I'm planning on taking off that whole day, so I'll be flexible on when to kick things off. Alex has been rather quiet....I reckon he needs a little nudge. Memphis isn't *that* far for a retiree.

     

  18. Greetings folks...

    Just wanted to add some more info. This is somewhat of the latest schedule that weekend, complete with a few more links for potential stops. Depending on attending parties, there may be a cruise along the entire eastern half of the National Road/US 40 from Indianapolis to Richmond led by your's truly on Friday the 24th for those of you coming in from the west. Friday night lodging would be at the Golden Inn Motel just across the IN/OH border on US 40 in New Paris, OH. It's a classic mom & pop and get's a big thumbs up from Denny:

    http://www.thegoldeninn.com/

    Tentative plans calls for the fun to kick off Saturday morning with a few spots in Richmond, IN, one of which is one of the Madonna of the Trail statues. From Richmond, we make our way into the Buckeye State. We'll roll into Springfield and loosely planning a couple of tours at the Westcott House and the Pennsylvania House:

    http://www.westcotthouse.org/home.html

    http://www.pennsylvaniahousemuseum.info/

    Also in Springfield, we'll be having lunch at Joe's 40 Grill:

    http://www.eatatjoes40.com/

     

    We'll then head south out of Springfield on US 68 towards Xenia & pick up US 42, where we'll take an old stage route into Lebanon, OH for our overnight stop at the Shaker Inn Motel:

    http://www.shakerinnmotel.com/

     

    Dinner plans will be at the historic Golden Lamb Inn Saturday night:

    http://www.goldenlamb.com

     

    Following dinner we'll do what roadies do when they get together: Go somewhere and swap road stories over brew.

     

    After breakfast Sunday morning at the Breakfast Club Cafe (http://www.breakfastclubcafe.com/), we'll continue on US 42 into Cincinnati where we'll have an early afternoon tour of the American Sign Museum:

    http://www.signmuseum.net/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/11019355@N03/...57609877455746/ (my pics from November)

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadtripmemor...57609764986114/ (Jennifer's pics from November)

     

    Following the sign museum, it'll be up in the air depending on time. We may break up there, or find a place for lunch and then split up. This whole weekend is a loosely structured event. We're leaving a lot of things open in the event we come up on something unexpected to do.

     

    Map of the route is here: http://www.mapquest.com/mq/5-FOlJyJzf6duXsWCCbRzn

     

     

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