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

Sweetheart Cruise


DennyG
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In case anyone is wondering where the forum's administrators are, They're safe in Missouri. The Bremer's couldn't make the first day of the Sweetheart Cruise but braved rain and ice and snow and sleet and dark of night to hook up with the group in Hannibal. I'm not 100% sure of all that weather stuff but I know it was starting to freeze and it was dark last night.

 

The group drove MO-79 to Hannibal in clear weather then some rain started to fall. For me, the big surprise of the day was the birds. And I don't mean a few dull sparrows or bickering starlings. I mean bald eagles and pelicans! In Missouri!! Pelicans in Missouri??? Yeah, hundreds of them.

 

I've got day one up at

http://www.dennygibson.com/shc08/index.htm

 

By the way, this might be my only chance to use that little heart icon and I'm going for it.

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By the way, this might be my only chance to use that little heart icon and I'm going for it.

Denny,

 

Another terrific write up! And that little heart is real cuuute. :rolleyes:

 

I paused for a moments because there were no pictures...until I clicked the little date link. Great shots.

 

I especially liked the 4th St Fountain. I’ll give the Fakes $20 to let me push the pumps! The wife is sitting next to me as I write this and she says “You’re going to Missouri to push soda fountain pumps? What about our new carpet? OK, OK, $10 to play with the pumps. Once a soda jerk always a soda jerk.

 

Liked the group shot!

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

Dave

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Great trip....well, at least what we saw of it! The weather was a little icy & dicey on the drive over, which was the main reason we didn't make it Saturday morning. We ran into rain in Springfield, and the temps dropped all the way to Hannibal, with temps hovering between 32 & 33 (yikes!). Thanks to a somewhat promising forecast, we took off at 2pm in time to meet everyone for grub at Bubba's (mac & cheese wedges are a pure slice of fried goodness!). Hats off to forum members Kip & Bliss for putting together a swell cruise. Very cool to see where Bliss & Mary Sue grew up as well. We heard Saturday night of the half dozen bald eagles that were seen along the river Saturday afternoon, and we were rewarded Sunday as well with the view of one that was hanging out in a field along the road. My first up close view of one, and it was a spectacular sight.

 

Can't wait for our next cruise!

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Denny,

 

This definitely falls into the category of trivia, but your "clean and comfortable" motel room made me wonder. Motel 6 opened in Santa Barbara in 1962, and charged...you guessed it, $6.00 for the night. Using a CPI calculator, that is equivalent to $41.19 today...which interestingly is their average today ($41), and almost what you paid.

 

I wonder from time to time whether it costs more or less to travel today than when I was a young man. Gas in 1962 was 32 cents which equates to $2.20 today, so gas costs more. But from a travel perspective, my 1962 car got 12 mpg and my car today gets at least twice that much. So the effective cost of gasoline is substantial less, factoring in improvements in gas mileage.

 

A McDonalds double burger was 28 cents. Adjusted by the CPI calculator, that is $1.92 today. I think a double burger is in that ball park today.

 

A full sized Chevrolet cost $2,529 in 1962, or $17,363 in today’s dollars. I checked prices on Chevrolets and they are a bit more than that for full size and quite a bit less for economy lines. From a travel perspective, I can buy a car today (from Chevrolet or elsewhere) for $17,363 that will outperform a 1962 Chevrolet in every category...so from a travel perspective, it is cheaper.

 

I recall paying typically in the $12 range for motel rooms in the early 1960’s, so if I pay around 75-80 today, I’m in the same ballpark. I’m saving money on gas (hard to believe!), it may be a toss up on food (this bears more research!) and I’m driving in more comfort with lots more reliability, for the same cost as 1962.

 

So, lets Keep the Show on the Road! I know you are doing your part!

 

Dave

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It turns out a Secure Digital cards aren't all that secure when you break them in half. I didn't quite do that but I did bust one. After some serious attempts to recover the pictures from Monday morning, I've acknowledged that they are gone and have posted a short day 3 page with a few photos from the afternoon. Stop by http://www.dennygibson.com/shc08/index.htm for the finale.

 

KtSotR, I was recently struck by something similar to your cost comparisons. In reading about some early 19th century politics, I learned that Illinois congressmen of the 1830s were paid travel expenses of $4 per 20 miles. Now their 20 miles included a meal or two and anything much longer could have involved lodging but I was really surprised that the allowance per mile, which must have had some relationship to actual cost, wasn't nearly as far from today's rate as I would have guessed.

 

BTW, the least I've ever paid for a motel room was $5 in 1965. Single bed and no TV, phone, or other luxuries, but it did have a small bathroom and a coin operated radio.

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It turns out a Secure Digital cards aren't all that secure when you break them in half. I didn't quite do that but I did bust one. After some serious attempts to recover the pictures from Monday morning, I've acknowledged that they are gone and have posted a short day 3 page with a few photos from the afternoon. Stop by http://www.dennygibson.com/shc08/index.htm for the finale.

 

KtSotR, I was recently struck by something similar to your cost comparisons. In reading about some early 19th century politics, I learned that Illinois congressmen of the 1830s were paid travel expenses of $4 per 20 miles. Now their 20 miles included a meal or two and anything much longer could have involved lodging but I was really surprised that the allowance per mile, which must have had some relationship to actual cost, wasn't nearly as far from today's rate as I would have guessed.

 

BTW, the least I've ever paid for a motel room was $5 in 1965. Single bed and no TV, phone, or other luxuries, but it did have a small bathroom and a coin operated radio.

Denny,

 

I am sorry to hear your SD card photos were unrecoverable. I was expecting you to report that it worked in the camera and you succeeded at a download via cable. Too bad, because I was enjoying the trip. I guess they should put a warning on beer bottles not to try to pry the cap off with your memory card. :lol:

 

I don't remember the least I paid for a room, but I'm feeling a little better now that I have done the comparison. As for the 1830's .... I'm thinking that a typical day's wage was well under a dollar, so twenty miles was worth more than four day's wages. Hummmm!

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

Dave

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