RoadDog

Waukegan is just about 30 miles from my house. Maybe we could get together? My guess is that you'll be going to the Genesee Theater. Who is Jeff Dunham?

My grandfather owned Hood Motor Company in Goldsboro, NC, from 1939 to 1954. He sold Studebakers. A 1950 Studebaker that he sold was parked in front of the the house when he died in 1985.

Denny. as you know, as you get OLDER, the eyesight goes.

We had a lot of fun while there. The Mom and Pop motel in Destin, the Sea Oats Motel, was right on the beach amidst the many, many, many condos. Definitely check out the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola. Great eating at Lambert's in Foley, Alabama, about eight miles from Gulf Shores. Free "Throwed Rolls" and "Pass-Arounds" and great food. Try the pork steak. For partyin' try Flor-abama right on the Alabama-Florida line and on the beach. Watch for it though, as it looks more like a construction site at first glance. In Mobile, try a hot dog at the Dew Drop and all kinds of great seafood and sayings at Wintzell's, although I suggest going to the original downtown one. These are two of the town's oldest places. Still lots of Katrina damage evident in Biloxi and Gulfport, but really bad in Waveland to the west. Drive along the gulf from Pas Christian going west. Most wreckage has been cleared off, but you can still see where places were. Have a good time. quote name='Keep the Show on the Road!' date='Mar 21 2008, 12:22 PM' post='9700'] RoadDog, Tell us more! I'm headed along the Panhandle and up into Mississippi in a few weeks. I will be coming up from Miami and plan to stay along the gulf coast once I get there on what I think American Road called Crazy 98. Any advice? Keep the Show on the Road!

The Village of Plainfield in Illinois has realigned US-30 to cut down on truck traffic as they attempt to turn Lockport Street, which is the Main Street into more of a haven for shopping, dining, and historic preservation. I'd say they're following the lead of Geneva, Illinois.

Almost ran through a stop sign on Il-49 several weeks ago while I was trying to avoid more potholes than I could count. Should be good business for tire realignment places though.

This has been a hard winter. Well, we're overdue as it really hasn't been bad since1979. At least the snowmobilers are happy. We decided to get out of the Midwest and took a trip down to the Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida Panhandle coast. We took US-66 from Dwight to Springfield, then hoofed it on I-55 clear down to Jackson, Ms. Then US-49 to Gulfport, then, a lot of driving on US-90, US-98, and I-10. Took US-45 all the way back from Mobile to Champaign, Illinois. Some stuff: ** Didn't "catch" my $2 lobster dinner ** Had rolls "throwed" at us not once, but twice ** Here a mullet, there a mullet, ate a mullet ** Miserable at Morgan,-- Stairs, stairs, and more stairs at Barrancas ** Saw the first US plane to fly across the Atlantic, no, not Lindberg's ** Didn't go to ANY casinos ** Played Lots of NTN, 49 new places ** Katrina still a bad girl ** Had famous Mobile hot dog at the Dew Drop, but no oysters at Wintzell's ** Adequately burned ** FOUND A MOM AND POP MOTEL ON THE BEACH AT DESTIN, FLORIDA ** Flew with the birds, snowbords that is ** Condo here, condo there, condo everywhere. Good Times and always about 30-40 degrees warmer than home.

The World War II German V-1 rocket drew a lot of stares at is made its way along I-5 on March 20th. Definitely not something you see everyday going down an interstate, or any road for that matter. Its owner, Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen was having it moved to its new home at Paine Field into a remodeled 1949 51,000 square foot hanger which is scheduled to open June 6. It is one of the fifteen items in his Flying Heritage Museum. Two others are going to be moved soon: an American Hellcat and Japanese Oscar. The new museum is located at 3407 109th Street SW in Everett.

Here I sit on the second day of Spring and we're getting quite a snowstorm with as many as six inches forecast. Sure has been a rough winter, and it doesn't seem to be in any hurry to leave. Glad I didn't put away the snowblower. GO AWAY WINTER!!!!!

Dwight Yoakam, one of my favorite country performers, will be inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame tomorrow along with "Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue" Crytal Gayle, and Norro Wilson who wrote such classics as "The Grand Tour" and "The Most Beautiful Girl." Yoakam is a native of Pikeville and, of course, how do you get a better song than "Guitars, Cadillacs, and Hillbilly Music"? Yoakam currently lives in Southern California, where the famous Route 66 ends, but he says he has his heart on Route 23. He was born at the same hospital as Patty Loveless which is on the road. Other who grew up on or near Route 23 are "One's on the Way" Loretta Lynn, the "Mama He's Crazy" Judds, Ricky "Heartbroke" Skaggs, and Billy Ray "Achy Breaky" Cyrus. Yoakam says, " We've had a pretty good run along Route 23. I'm proud to have it as a birthright." Keep Singin' and Twangin' Down that Two Lane Highway. --RoadDog

The shootings at Northern Illinois University Valentine's Day took place about a quarter mile off the Lincoln Highway. Five students were killed by a deranged former student. Both Liz and I graduated from Northern in 1973, so it has hit us hard. We took a trip out to Dekalb yesterday and I blogged about it in three entries. If you'd like to see our experience, go to http://downdaroadigo.blogspot.com There is also a major discussion as to what to do with Cole Hall, where the shootings occurred. Some want it torn down and turned into a park. I think the actions of one deranged person shouldn't cause eduaction to stop. The hall should remain, but probably a name-change is order as well as a memorial inside and outside of it. Why Must These Things Happen?

The most frightening weather-related driving was along I-55 on our first-ever Route 66 trip back in 2002. We had gone into Chicago the day before and spent the night in Joliet. We planned on driving 66 to St. Louis this trip, but with snow still coming down in the morning, we figured it would be "safer" on the superslab. We had NO idea what to expect on the old road. I-55 was a truck speed-zone. You could barely see with the snow coming down and the highway had not been cleared. That didn't stop these big ol' semis from zooming by us at 60-75 mph. And here we were in the little old Grand Am. Their spray and the snow made it fairly impossible to see. Believe me, it was white knuckle time. It's a wonder we even ever got onto 66 after that experience. But, for better or worse, we did.

I came across a blog yesterday where a guy was talking about "Treason Road." He was referring to the Jefferson Davis Highway in the District of Columbia and Virginia. David Kampf said, "The thought of having to drive my car over his highway instead of his decrepid corpse is enough to make me want to vomit. "The Jefferson Davis Highway should be renamed immediately and not by the federal government, which already has renamed it US-1, but by the State of Virginia and the District of Columbia, both of whom preserve the original name on street signs. Until then, I will refer to it only as Treason Highway. I hope you do too, lest we really forget the ugliness of Jefferson Davis and the brutality, racism and sedition that compose his legacy." I take it he isn't much impressed with Jefferson Davis. I understand there is also quite a controversy out in Oregon over a Jefferson Davis Highway. Jan 31st blog entry http://www.gwdiscourse.com/domesticintelblog/ What do you think? Keep it or change it?

We had a quick five inches of snow on the 31st, followed by a sneak five inch snowstorm Sunday night here in northeast Illinois. Then, on Wednesday, we got that 14 inches more. I had to go out three times to get the snow off Wednesday and once more yesterday to clear the two foot of snow the city had so nicely thrown there at the base of the driveway. I don't remember our roads here ever being in such bad shape the following day after a major snow event. Before these last three snows, the stations were saying this was the fourth snowiest winter in the last 25 years. We should have gone up on that list. Keep Clearing That Snow Off those Two Lane Highways. --RoadDog

Keep the name. add the highway. Whenever I'm on a historic road, I always try to talk to business-owners and get them to put up something outside the place and inside denoting the road. I try to explain that it won't cost much and very likely will lead to increased patronization. How do you go wrong with that?

So, what kind of great "Roadie" stuff did ya'll get for Christmas? I got a copy of Brian Butko's "Greetings from the Lincoln Highway" and Michael Karl Witzel's "The American Motel." I'll know the days as I also got a Route 66 2008 calendar with photos by Terrence Moore. Whatt'd You Get?

Wishin' the same for everyone from here on the Illinois/Wisconsin border, the Great White area. Should get interesting around here on Jan. 1st. No smoking in public places, including bars in Illinois as of that date. Then, Wisconsin is adding a buck a pack tax to cigarettes that day as well.

Definitely how to take a road trip from the comfort of your own home and NOT have to shovel the snow off the driveway.

My wife and I used it on a trip on the Lincoln through Iowa and found its directions very good and saw a lot of things we might have missed. Brian is one of the foremost LH authors.

The December 11th Manchester, NY, Times had an article about New Jersey's Route 9, a free alternate to the Garden State Freeway. It gave a brief histrory of it saying that going from northern NJ to Atlantic City in the 1920s meant going by train as folks couldn't affort cars. In the 19th centurty, it was maintained by various municipalities and individual landowners who charged tolls at water crossings. When the road was paved, the towns felt no need to envision a future of four lanes, which is drastically needs today. But acquiring right-of-ways would be too expensive. "Route 9: Turning Back the Clock important to Ocean County" by Bill McLaughlin. Keep on Down Those Two Lane Highways. --RoadDog

I'd just like to be able to afford the gas to do my cruisin' in 2008. Looking forward to an AR get-together in the Midwest like last April. Definitely will be at the Route 66 Festival in Litchfield. Definitely want to hit more NTN joints. Went to 51 new ones this year.

What does anyone think about the $1.75 million asking price. I think that's more than a bit high.

Last fall, CPR reporter Gianofer Fields took a drive along the Lincoln in Iowa with the intention of visiting every roadside attraction. CPR is running the series this week. She started at the Nebraska-Iowa line and will be working her way back in her postings from the road. You can read or listen to what she says and lots of photos accompany it. http://www.chicagopublicradio.org.cityroom_Arts/Culture.aspx Keep on Down that Two Lane Highway. --RoadDog

He's owned it for 22 years, but Ray Piercy, 69, says its time to close it down because of health issues and competition from chain restaurants. He wants to sell it for $1.75 million and it consists not only of the diner, but also an old motel, and 1.75 acres on US-40. That is a whole lot too much if you ask me. Hey, even the Blue Swallow in Tucumcari went for under $200,000. The diner is known for its tenderloin sandwich. The diner itself consists of two parts. The front is a 35 foot aluminum structure made in 1954. It fronts an attached regular building which holds the kitchen and more dining. In 2004, it received a plaque from the National Road Association. Anyone have pictures? Neat Place, But TOO Expensive. --RoadDog

I just hate it when that bowl of oatmeal "stares me down."