We started out our day at the Meremac Caverns. We took the tour through the caves and saw all of the crazy formations. The whole place has been set up for tourists and they have this whole spiel about how Jesse James used it as a hideout. At the end, the tour guide does a light show against this formation of rocks, called The Curtain. The hilarious thing about it is it isn't a computer operated a timed light show, it is literally the guide flipping light switches on and off to the tune of 'God Bless America', so you can hear the flipping of switches going emphatically while the lights change. We were completely entertained.
After lunch, we headed off to the St. James Winery - the grapes in this sign are stained glass. We went in and chatted with the super friendly staff. I tried several wines and Ryan had some juice. You can pour your own taste tests from about 25 options, and I had quite a bit before we left.
We tried to cover a bit more distance than usual today and most of our day was spent cruising through beatiful back road scenery with cool old bridges like this one, or tree lined rolling hills and meadows.There is still a lot of great Rt. 66 stuff to see as we drive by and I keep busy navigating us through the twisting roads. I'm not quite sure how I thought I was going to have tons of free time on this trip. It is work keeping up with the roads and the signs, as well as reading about what attractions are coming up and thinking about where we should stop to eat and sleep. I read from several of our guide books all day and Ryan and I talk about what we want to actually do, or what we can experience just by driving by.
In addition to really seeing the development of America's infrastructure in stark relief (rail road, next to two lane road, next to four lane road, next to freeway in some places), we also get to see the evolution of good old American advertising. This is a set of statues of the "A&W Family" - the father is the only one still holding his mug of root beer.
The neon signs are incredible as well - this is where we stayed, the Munger Moss Motel. We actually slept in the Route 66 room - the walls are covered in pictures of Rt. 66. $45 a night and the room was huge and clean and really felt like part of the whole Rt. 66 tradition. We have definitely felt a "vibe" going along this road - you can see how things are interconnected and certain themes play out over and over.
So, this is a picture of us with Jerry McClanahan - funnily enough, he is the author of the main guide book we are using - EZ-66. We also writes (or maybe wrote) for Rt. 66 Magazine and he has done a series of maps. He was staying at the Munger Moss as well! Talk about living what you write about. He is a super nice guy and sat and chatted with us for awhile - he even gave us some updates he has been working on for the next edition of his book, some of which have already come in handy - thanks Jerry!
After talking with Jerry, Ryan and I walked across the street (well, Ryan long boarded) to the Starlite Lanes bowling alley. There were some leagues finishing up when we got there and by the end of our first game ($2.50 a game!), the WHOLE place was empty except for the couple of people working there! Ryan said it felt like we were rich and had rented the whole place out. He set up the jukebox and we played for a couple of hours - I have to say, my game was terrible starting out, but Ryan coached me and I made a major breakthrough. We went from him beating me by over 50 points to 5 points (although the last game is contested because there was a pin resetting issue and I think I would have won by 4 points - unbelievable that the one time it screwed up it cost me the game).
In addition to really seeing the development of America's infrastructure in stark relief (rail road, next to two lane road, next to four lane road, next to freeway in some places), we also get to see the evolution of good old American advertising. This is a set of statues of the "A&W Family" - the father is the only one still holding his mug of root beer.
The neon signs are incredible as well - this is where we stayed, the Munger Moss Motel. We actually slept in the Route 66 room - the walls are covered in pictures of Rt. 66. $45 a night and the room was huge and clean and really felt like part of the whole Rt. 66 tradition. We have definitely felt a "vibe" going along this road - you can see how things are interconnected and certain themes play out over and over.
So, this is a picture of us with Jerry McClanahan - funnily enough, he is the author of the main guide book we are using - EZ-66. We also writes (or maybe wrote) for Rt. 66 Magazine and he has done a series of maps. He was staying at the Munger Moss as well! Talk about living what you write about. He is a super nice guy and sat and chatted with us for awhile - he even gave us some updates he has been working on for the next edition of his book, some of which have already come in handy - thanks Jerry!
After talking with Jerry, Ryan and I walked across the street (well, Ryan long boarded) to the Starlite Lanes bowling alley. There were some leagues finishing up when we got there and by the end of our first game ($2.50 a game!), the WHOLE place was empty except for the couple of people working there! Ryan said it felt like we were rich and had rented the whole place out. He set up the jukebox and we played for a couple of hours - I have to say, my game was terrible starting out, but Ryan coached me and I made a major breakthrough. We went from him beating me by over 50 points to 5 points (although the last game is contested because there was a pin resetting issue and I think I would have won by 4 points - unbelievable that the one time it screwed up it cost me the game). 
1 comment:
The picture of you with the bowling bowl is priceless!!!
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