Tales From Route 66

[Michael A.]

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!

5210 Miles, 350 gallons of gas, 14 days, and we succeeded in driving the length of Route 66 from Chicago to LA and a return trip via Nevada and Colorado. It was incredible.

Some of you may have seen my earlier posts prior to departure. For those who did not, my 19 year old son and I accomplished this in my 1966 Roadster - without A/C! I've posted the stories from the road, pictures and more to a web site. If you're interested, check it out:
www.home.comcast.net/~kixon66

A special thanks to the many participants on this TDB who guided, counseled, joked with and encouraged me as I prepared my car this spring. There were times I didn't know what I'd do next, but in the end I tackled issues that I never could have or would have without support from the TDB. You guys are the greatest.

For anyone out there considering a long journey in their vintage Vette, all's I can say is Do It! It drove great and gave my son and I a lifetime's worth of memories and stories.

STW

[Bob B.]

Re: Tales From Route 66

Michael,

Wow, congratulations, that must have been a ton of fun! I am in Richmond, VA and I have always thought about doing the same thing on Route 60, the first coast to coast highway that runs from Virginia Beach to LA. One of these days!

Bob

[Joe R.]

Re: Tales From Route 66

Great accomplishment, Michael & son!

I'm also planning on doing this trip next year with my son (also 19) and my 54. The reliability factor really stresses me, but a new restoration and engine should be OK.

I'll check out your site. What an adventure!

Joe Ryan

[Michael A.]

Re: Tales From Route 66

Bob
I love your thumbnail. When was the picture taken? Is that sign still in St. Louis somewhere? I live about 3 hours from St. Louis and that looks like a good excuse for a short trip.

Cheers,

[Timothy B.]

Re: Tales From Route 66

Michael,

That's a wonderful picture you and your son will want to keep forever. As he gets older it will mean much more to him, congratulations on a safe trip.

[Bob B.]

Re: Tales From Route 66

Mike,

I wish! The St. Louis building was demolished and now the MOC is selling the bricks to raise funds. What we are parked by is a canvas backdrop with one of the last photos of the new Corvette delivery point printed on it. This was taken at Boston last year. Don't know who has this, but hopefully it will be in St. Charles. Hope to see you there!

Bob

[Terry M.]

Re: Tales From Route 66

Mike,

I wish! The St. Louis building was demolished and now the MOC is selling the bricks to raise funds. What we are parked by is a canvas backdrop with one of the last photos of the new Corvette delivery point printed on it. This was taken at Boston last year. Don't know who has this, but hopefully it will be in St. Charles. Hope to see you there!

Bob

That was not an actual location at St. Louis Corvette Assembly Plant or anyplace else. It is a print by Dana Forester and derived from his fertile imagination. There are two of these "wall-sized" prints. Mike Yeager, of MidAmerica Motorworks, owns one. I would have to guess at the owner of the other, and I am not sure which was at Boston convention, nor do I know if there will be one at the convention in St. Charles.

BTW Mike -- nice trip and report. Maybe it will serve to help us next year when the Roud Tour goes to California. It would be neat to do Route 66 as part of the Road Tour to the convention.

[Rick A.]

Re: Tales From Route 66

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! that is what I hope to do next year - drive the Road Tour for the National in San Jose - Baltimore to San Jose - here I come!!!!! all in a 1963 Z06

[William L.]

Re: Tales From Route 66

Great Pix, Great story, I'm jealous

[Stuart F.]

Re: Tales From Route 66

Michael;;

Great story and pictures. You and your son have a bond that will last a life time. I have twin sons, both now 42 yrs. old and Airline Captains. The one boy helped me work on my C-2 back in the 70's quite a lot when I was doing some rehab work on it. The other boy wasn't so interested in cars (but my wife would say it is because he was afraid of me when things didn't go right and I used a few 4 letter words). The boy that liked Vettes has a 78 P.C. today (Top Flighted last January) and we still do a lot of car shows and rides together, including parts runs to Eckler's. The other boy and I are close too, but it's not the same when you have less in common. Love them both and always proud of them equally from their College days through their careers in the Air Force, and now as father's of our only Grand Kids.

Stu fox

[Rob M.]

Re: Tales From Route 66

Great read and it must have been a fantastic trip!!! I envy you a bit and I hope I can make a similar trip one day in a vintage Vette...

regards,
Rob

[Robert R.]

Re: Tales From Route 66

Mike,
That had to be a great trip to take with your son!
I had the opportunity to do a similar trip driving a '62 Rolls Royce to California back in 1978 with a "friend" (my wife still hates to hear about that story). At that time, not all the Interstate system was completed, so we did see a lot of local "66" sites.

It was also nice to see that you stopped at Cadillac Ranch.
BTW - the tilted water tank, any idea how or why?


Bob

[Michael A.]

Re: Tales From Route 66

Bob
The tilted water tower is outside of Groom TX. In the grand tradition of Route 66, it was built this way to attract tourists. It attracted me enough to take the picture but we didn't stop. Cadillac Ranch was one of the real highlights of the trip. We really got a kick out of it. Hats off to the guy who came up with the idea. This is art that everyone can make their own.

Driving Route 66 in a Rolls Royce with a "friend".... talk about stories from the road!

[Michael A.]

Re: Tales From Route 66

Rob,
Thanks for signing the guest book on the web site. I can now add NL to the list of international visitors.

Route 66 is very popular with European tourists. We crossed paths with several Germans and a whole group of them on rented Harleys complete with sag wagon.

From my side, one of my dreams is to take my car to Europe and travel the continent with my wife. It actually spent 3 years with me in Belfast when we lived there from 98-01 and we traveled much of Northern Ireland but with young kids, and extended tour was not in the cards. If you're ever interested I can share my experience with shipping the Corvette there and back. It went well and was somewhat affordable (relatively speaking).

Cheers,

[Michael A.]

Re: Tales From Route 66

Joe
I hear you on the concerns about reliability. My suggestion would be to start early and get some significant miles under your belt before starting the marathon. I also believe you will find a network of NCRS members willing to give you their contact info along the route and provide assistance if necessary. I had several offers from folks on the TDB that I had in my back pocket if it were to prove necessary. Fortunately it wasn't needed but it was comforting to know there were folks out there.

Cheers
Mike