Chicago and catching up from jet-lag

We don’t start driving until tomorrow so I thought I’d spend time discussing the historical significance of Route 66. The Highway way created in 1926 and the signs charting its course started appearing the following year. The road has been known by various nicknames, including: “America’s Highway,” the “Main Street of America,” the “Mother Road,” and the “Will Rodgers Highway.” It was officially designate a highway from 1926 to 1985, when it was decommissioned. While there has been several “start points” over the years (purist always arguing about the exact start point for west-bound travel), it is basically a road that starts on the shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago and terminates on the shore of the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, CA.

It’s creation and use coincides with the growth of the automobile in the US. The first successful automobile trip across the US was 1903 (from San Francisco to NYC in a Winton (for the afficandos); great documentary on this first drive entitled “Horatio’s Drive” by Ken Burns available on Netflix). By the late 1920’s, families were regularly exploring the country by motor car and driving to all parts of the country. Most Americans drove Route 66 in the west-bound direction to explore the wilds of the west (Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona) and the glamour of Hollywood/California.

Route 66 is approximately 2,500 mile (4,000 kilometers) and was the main road from the mid-west to the west, although for much of it, it was a two-lane blacktop. It began to fall into dis-use in the late 1950’s as the Eisenhower Administration began to build super Expressways and Freeways for both national defense issues and economic/logistic issues. Although these highway building efforts started in the Eisenhower Administration, it continued through successive Administrations It will get a big boost from monies recently approved by Congress and the Biden Administration to repair many of these Expressways and Freeways and the bridges and interchanges that are contained within them.

A very helpful guide to the route (and one we will use as drivers can be downloaded at the App Store. The Apps name: “Route 66 Ultimate Guide.” If you download it you can follow along as we proceed west. If not, I’ll try to blog my comments and include pictures take by the various participants.

Before I sign off: Last night’s dinner at Joe’s Stone Crab was excellent. More food and drink than anyone could handle, but we gave it a valiant try. Today, most the participant’s took a walk on Michigan Ave…..and a boat ride along the waterfront. Lots of fog in Chicago today, but the good news is that while on the cold side, no rain or snow. Hopefully, it will stay dry until we can motor south and west into warmer climes.

First Souvenir

1999 VW Bug Driven by
Stan and David Gold