The idea of travelling "The Mother Road" is one many people have and aspire to. Iconic images of Route 66 shields, classic American diners and driving head-long at the horizon in a 60's Mustang or on a Hawg have inspired thousands to head out on the open road. Starting in Chicago, Illinois and snaking through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and eventually winding up in Santa Monica, California, Route 66 covered nearly 2,500 miles in it's heyday.
Today, Route 66 has unfortunately fallen some way from it's former glory. Anyone who has seen the Disney film Cars will know of the hard times that fell upon the small towns, that prospered along US 66, when the Interstates were constructed (I40 being R66's nemesis). Many sections of the road have fallen into disrepair and thriving communities and business are a shadow of their former selves.
However, all was not lost, in the late 80's associations were formed to begin the process of preserving this classic piece of American history and today many of the old sights and indeed new sights, have returned to greet the tourists as they make their way.
This is where our story begins...
Three friends, all hurtling towards 30 at an alarming rate are discussing options as to how to mark this significant and in some cases, quite remarkable, milestone. Mike, Steve and myself have known each other for many, many years and growing up together, we all developed a passion for cars and travelling, in one way or another. So when the notion of "let's do route 66" appeared in conversation, there was a general nodding of heads and cogs started to turn. It wouldn't be unfair to say I was the keenest, it's been a long held ambition to visit "real" America, perhaps inspired by my love for the film Twister and the wide open plains, rather than the hustle and bustle of New York or the sun-baked wonder of Florida.
Lisa, my girlfriend at the time, was also excited by the idea. I think the thought of getting to spend two weeks, pretty much alone with me, was the driving force behind her enthusiasm. BUT there was something of a stumbling block. Due to Lisa's strong religious beliefs, the only way she would be coming would be if she was Mrs Wes. First spanner in the works. Now I wasn't against the idea of marriage in theory but I was 28 at this time and it was a scary thought but, without wanting to get too mushy and vomit-inducing, with every day, Lisa and I were getting closer and really the next stage was "taking the vows".
A rare photo of Steve, Mike and myself in a photo together (with the beautiful Lisa of course!)
Fast forward six months and Lisa and I were engaged and soon to be wed and with everything for the big day running smoothly our thoughts turned to honeymoon destinations. It wasn't a tough decision to make, in fact, we didn't even consider anywhere else, America is where we would spend our honeymoon, travelling Route 66 and hopefully we'd be able to spend it with Mike and Amy and Steve and Charlotte.
In the next post, I'll be going through how we have planned for the trip and some small deviations from the route.
