Friday, December 27, 2013

Route 66 day 2: Miles 749 to 1022. So much to see, so little time.

So before I get started on today's adventures, I have to backtrack just a bit. At about 5:30 a.m. on Thursday we saw a shooting star and it was the first time Denise and I saw one together.  It was an awewome moment...so glad we got to share that together.  A silent wish was said as we rumbled into the night.

I also wanted to talk about my experience with the St. Louis arch quite a few years ago. Not sure if you are aware, but you can take a ride to the top.  Now, there are 3 things I'm afraid of...elevators, small spaces, and drowning while I'm burning to death...or burning to death while I'm drowning.  Either way 2 of my 3 fears were tested inside this arch.  The third was still a possibility had the elevator blown up and flew into the Mississippi River while we were going up.  Reluctantly I got into the small pod because I didn't know if I would ever get the chance to do this again...sober anyway.  As we started going up, another nice curveball.  Since the Arch is...well...arched, the pod has to adjust to keep the occupants sitting horizontal and not dumping us on the floor. So every so often as the pod made its way up, it would start to tilt then make the adjustment to stay level.  About this time I'm talking myself into taking the stairs back down the 600+ tall deathtrap. We finally made it to the top and while I had survived ascent, I'm sure I was a bit greyer than when we started.  There ain't much room at the top but oh look there are windows so we can see where we gonna land when this thing falls over...cause it was swaying back and forth.  Fan-freakin-tastic.  A quick view or two and I'm looking for the stairs. Well as you may have figured, they were not going to allow this scardey cat walk down the stairs.  Like a whipped puppy I got back into the sardine can and held my breath while saying a few prayers in my head.  I was so happy to be on solid ground.  That was done...never to be repeated again.

One other quick note about my only other visit to St. Louis.  On the last day of our visit we went to a few antique stores.  In the corner, calling my name, was a 1949 Emerson television.  Original finish on the wood, oval screen, and the one big speaker on the bottom.  I'm in love.  I ask how much...and I swear I thought I saw angels when she said "give me 20 dollars and you can haul it out of here".  OMG.  I practically had the money out and the tv in the van before she finished that sentence so as not to give her time to change her mind.  It cosf $500 new back then...thats about 7 million dollars and 98 cents in today's money.  I kept that thing for years until, sadly, Katrina left it in a pile of old glass tubes and screen on the floor.  Like a lot of other things, it was gone forever.

I meant to mention all that yesterday...even had it written down but I thought I could remember everything without the notes...turns out I can't remember shhhhh.....stuff (see Grammy I'm being a good boy).

So at 6:00 my sweet alarm goes off.  It is so soft I fully expect to see unicorns and fairies flying overhead...not quite sure if unicorns can fly but hey...this is my blog so I can say they do if I want.  I look out the window and it's still pitch black outside.  Since I want to travel in daylight to see all tbat Route 66 has to offer, by unanimous vote of 2-0 we decide go sleep in a little longer.  We got up about 6:30, packed our stuff onto a luggage cart, grabbed some hotel breakfast, and hit the road. Zig-zagging between the north and south ends of I-44 we followed the Mother Road through farmland and small towns, hills and prairies, and tiny two laned sections to divided 4 lane sections.  We crossed bridges dating back to the 1920's.  We stopped at a gift store that happens to have the largest rocking chair in the worls.  We stopped at so many places to take pictures I started getting a little worried that we would spend the entire vacation in Missouri.  I finally had to just convince myself I can't stop everywhere and only stop occassionally.  For every place we stopped for pics, we passed up 20 other photo ops.  There is that much stuff to see.  Old barns everywhere.  As we made our way west, one of the places we did stop was this ultra cool old gas station with tons of memorebelia and old cars.  The Gay Parita filling station and garage...established in 1930.  As we walked along the fence to take pics, this old gentleman smoking a cigarette asked where we were from...then invited us inside the tiny station.  His name is Gary Turner and his is the owner of this totally awesome roadside relic.  He gave us some info on some things not to miss in the upcoming journey and was an absolute delight to talk to.  We found out he sees tons of visitors from Australia and New Zealand every year.  Just goes to show you the global draw the route has.  He also had to stop mid sentence to take a shot of his inhaler.  I realized then that he, along with the many many other sites we saw today, probably don't have a whole lot of time left.  He told us to get a picture out in front of the station and send to his son's website and he would add us to the page showing the thousands of visitors that have stopped by. Well, I thought he was going to get a camera...then he asked for mine.  I gave him my phone and he obviously is somewhat  technically challenged, but to me that just adds to his charm.  He's a true old timer and such a nice guy.  I asked him if we could take a selfie with the three of us together.  The look on his face just screams "how in the hell is this working".  Classic.  I'll never forget him.

A few more miles and countless old relics later, the sun is setting on day 2 and we set our sites on Joplin to spend the night.  We check into a Motel 6 that leaves a lot to be desired, get some dinner at a local dive, grab some frozen custard that looks like a place right out of the 50s, then settle in for the night about 7:30.  Oh, one last thing.  Old downtown Joplin is very beautiful.  Oh and one last one last thing.  Since we are just a rock's throw away from Kansas, I can safely say that Missouri gets an "A" for Route 66 signage.  It was pretty easy to follow, but I would still suggest to anyone attempting to make this drive that you invest in the specialized maps.

Goodnight to all, and to all a goodnight.  See you in Kansas tomorrow!

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