Fun Times On The Mother Road

Now that I've been home a couple of days, and had time to recuperate a bit from the trip, it's time to finish up with a few quick posts to wrap things up.
On Friday, I left St. Louis and headed out to find Route 66. My plan was to take it from the Illinois border up to Chicago, going nice and slow, getting some good photos, and memories along the way. I'd planned the route pretty carefully using a dedicated "Route 66 in Illinois" map, and Google Maps on my laptop. Using these side by side, I wrote out simple directions to myself that I kept on the front seat as I traveled.
After sitting in the parking garage since Tuesday, the car started right up, and off I went. Followed my first set of directions, and was happy to find right where I expected it, this sign;

Took the right turn, as indicated, and there I was, out on 66! Since being decommissioned back in the 80's, Route 66 is no longer just one road with a single identifying number. The original path of the road has changed over the years, as development got in the way, and in some areas, there is nothing of the old road left. In many cases, this occurs where the Interstate, in this case I-55, just ran right over the old road, thereby completely eliminating 66 from existence. In other areas, the original path of 66 twists and turns through local streets, and it can be tricky to follow, again, due to development and abandonment of existing pavement. The first dozen or so miles of this leg, however, were pretty easy to follow, and for long stretches, the 'original' Route 66 pavement was parallel to the road, just a few feet away;

Looking out through the windshield, you can see the old, original 66 pavement. Some of the road is in good enough condition to ride on; the state of Illinois has put steel barricades across the old pavement to prevent this. Here's a good shot of the pavement that shows these barricades;

Of course, these don't stop people from walking on the old road, and being that I'm just a typical tourist, I had to do that. So I took a little stroll on the pavement; now I can say that I walked on the original road!

As noted, you could drive on this pavement, certainly not fast, and there are plenty of really bad spots that would cause damage to your tires, or your car, but, it could be done.
Back in the car, and off we went. My first planned stop was just short of Springfield IL, for lunch. I hoped to make it to the Cozy Dog Drive In. This first portion of 66 was pretty easy to follow, the road only went back and forth across I-55 a couple of times, and between my directions, and the Route 66 signs, I made good time, and found Cozy Dog.

The parking lot was jammed, I waited a few minutes and a nice spot opened up right in front. Makes a good picture, I think!

Here's a place that celebrates it's heritage on 66! And nice also, to see that Hampton Hotels has a program to identify and honor these places. Right outside the door, another sign;

Turns out that a lot of places on 66 have these little signs posted, sort of a nice snapshot of what the road has to offer along the way. Inside we go;

Yeah, this place is a mini Route 66 museum/gift shop/roadside attraction! Loads of nostalgic items on shelves and on the wall. T-shirts and souvenirs for sale, lots to look at while you're waiting for, and eating, your food. Oh, yeah, food! That IS why I stopped here! Cozy Dog claims to have 'invented' the 'cozy dog', which is a hot dog dipped in cornmeal batter and deep fried. Rumor has it the original owner got the idea after visiting the Texas State Fair, and sampling a Fletcher's 'Corny Dog' - which most folks agree is THE original battered and fried dog. No matter, whether it was Fletcher or Cozy Dog, they've both been around since the late 1940's, so both must be doing something right. Ordered two cozy dogs and a medium order of fries.

 Talk about a minimalist service! Paper trays on a plastic cafeteria tray; plastic utensils and paper napkins at the condiment table, where I got the yellow mustard and pickles that you see under the dogs. So, were they any good? Yeah, they were. The cornmeal batter was nice and even all over the dogs; soft, warm, good cornmeal flavor, slightly sweet, and perfectly cooked. The dog is a typical 'midwest' dog - bland, with a hint of smoke, but very mild; nothing like the good, garlicky Nathan's we NY'ers love. The Cozy was good, but it did need the mustard to tie everything together. Excellent flavor combination, a winner. I see why they've been here so long and haven't changed. Here's a close up;

You can see how the batter is perfectly distributed on the dog. The side of fries was good also, these were shoestring size fries, but cooked until they were very well done, which gave some of them a consistency closer to packaged potato sticks than french fries. A little ketchup, and they were really good, and went very well with the Cozy. Overall, I'd say if you're passing by, you really should stop. They do have other items on the menu, but let's face it, you come here for the Cozy dogs!
Back on the road, and for the next couple of hours, I had to really pay attention to my directions and the road signs. "Historic 66" as it's called on the signs, really starts to meander once you're north of Springfield. Couple of very tricky maneuvers required to stay on the road. I actually did lose the route once, at a point where I think a sign should have been to indicate a turn, but there was no sign there. Fortunately, I have a pretty good sense of direction, and was able to put myself back on track after only a few minutes.
On I rolled, passing through small towns, where 66 went down residential streets; through some industrial areas; and through large fields of corn. Once in a while, you'd see something like this;

Right in the midst of 'town'. Sign identifies it as the "Bunyan" statue, but for the life of me, I don't recall Paul Bunyan being a connoisseur of hot dogs; what is that, an Oscar Mayer? Armour? Well, in any case, what was originally a tribute to Paul has been purchased by a small cafe' located just to the left of the statue, and it now proudly advertises their fare. Better to be hawking dogs, I suppose, than to be torn down!
Up the road I went, passing up what would have been my third hot dog of the day (even I have to be reasonable from time to time!). After a time, I rolled into Odell IL, and came across this little gem;

It's a former 'filling station' that closed up in the early 1990's. The building is original to the 1930's, and instead of letting it fall into disrepair, or worse, seeing it demolished, the Village of Odell purchased it, and it now serves as a welcome center/Route 66 attraction. Inside, the former repair area now serves as display space for t-shirts, hoodies, wall plaques, trinkets, and all sorts of 66 merchandise. What's neat however, is that they left the area just as it was when it was a repair station. It's loaded with old tools, motor oil cans, windshield wiper supply boxes, etc., as you can see;

What was interesting to me was that the 'store' is operated by the Village of Odell. I purchased a couple of items, and the receipt was "Village of Odell Recreation". Very cool! Hung around a bit, chatted with the gal who was working there, and then decided that a vintage gas station needed to be seen with a vintage car;

Now there's a photo good enough for a postcard, or maybe even a Christmas Card! As it was getting late in the afternoon, I got back on the road, hoping to make it to the Chicago area before stopping for the night. All went well, I followed 66 to where it hooked up with I-55 for the last leg up into Chicago, and stayed on until I was about 20 miles outside of Chicago. At that point, traffic going into the city got really bad; so I decided that I'd stop for the night. Checked in to my hotel and relaxed for a bit, caught up on the emails of the day, and after a little while, it was time for dinner. Fortunately, I was only about half a mile from another legendary Route 66 spot, Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket.

This place has been on loads of television food shows, including Guy Fieri's 'Diners, Drive In's, and Dives'. He allegedly called the chicken here 'the best on Route 66'. We shall see. Headed over, and found that it's sort of off the road a bit, in a small industrial park. My suspicion is that the original Route 66 used to run through here, but now it's been absorbed into I-55. Here's a stock shot of the 66 sign on the front of the place;

Inside, it's split into two sides, the 'dining room', and the 'bar'. It's old, noisy, with simple no frills tables and chairs. Lots of Route 66 stuff in the main dining room, in the bar area, where I sat, three large screen televisions all with the MLB playoffs on. Again, here's a stock shot of the dining room;

 Got settled in, looked over the menu, lots of good choices, but honestly, what else would you order on your first visit here except the fried chicken? They had a 'chicken basket' meal which came with fries and a side, but there was also the 'dinner', which came with 'unlimited' trips to the soup and salad bar for just a couple more dollars, so I decided on that. You are advised to allow up to 30 minutes for the Chicken, as all orders are cooked fresh, so off to the salad bar I went;

Nice enough salad bar, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions, some deli style salads, croutons, couple of dressings. Soup of the day was either lentil or potato bacon, which is what I took. The salad was fine; lettuce was crisp, tomatoes were fresh. The celery and carrots came in stick form, so I had to slice them up with my knife in order to eat them as part of the salad. The 'Italian' dressing was okay, but oddly sweet, a little off putting. The soup however, turned out to be the highlight of the night. Creamy, hot, tender chunks of potato, just enough bacon to give it a nice smoky touch, and surprisingly, lots of pepper (and I suspect, a touch of cayenne), which gave it a nice little kick. I floated oyster crackers in it, and enjoyed it so much that I went back for a second full bowl. An excellent soup, one of the best I've had in a restaurant.
And then came the chicken;

Good grief, there's enough food on this plate for two, maybe three people! Along with the chicken came mashed potatoes and 'sauteed' green beans, and a small cup of chicken gravy. The potatoes were good, and obviously made fresh on site. Nicely mashed, bits of potato skin, some small lumps of potato, nice texture. Sadly however, not a lot of flavor, they desperately needed butter, salt and pepper. The green beans were okay, as another reviewer noted elsewhere, they had a bit of a greasy texture to them, and were just a touch undercooked. Overall, nothing to rave about.
And then there was the chicken. Looks good, doesn't it? Golden brown and delicious, as Alton Brown might say. Piping hot, it was too hot to pick up and eat in the traditional manner, so I carefully sliced into the first of two full breasts, and immediately noticed that the coating was rather difficult to cut through. The meat was properly cooked, juicy and tender. The coating however, was odd. It's a cornmeal based breading, and it wasn't really crispy, it was more on the side of 'tough', as it was difficult to bite though. And honestly, the coating by itself didn't have a lot of flavor, it was just sort of hot and chewy. The meat itself on the first breast was fine; chicken breast meat doesn't have a strong flavor profile, and with a touch of pepper, this was okay. The second breast, however, was not good. In addition to the rather odd coating, this breast had an odd taste to it. Took me a minute to place it, but then I realized that it reminded me of salt water. Almost as if they'd brined the chicken before frying it, but left it in the brine too long. Now, I don't know if they do use a brine, but boy, this piece of chicken sure tasted that way to me. Overall? Nothing extraordinary. Good (huge) portion size, good value for the dollar, but the main attraction, the chicken, was definitely disappointing. One surprise, however, was the drink;

Yup, genuine "RC", Royal Crown Cola! Haven't had that from a fountain in I don't know how long. Always the 'third place' cola, it was readily available where I grew up, but over the last decade or so, it's mostly disappeared. Happily, it still  has a good flavor, and for those who've known me a long time, yes, it still gave me the hiccups as soon as I took my first sip. It's funny, RC has had that effect on me since I was a kid.
Ate as much as I could, filled up so that dessert wasn't an option, and headed back to my hotel, my Route 66 day now over. I decided to avoid going all the way to Chicago the next day, as there were a couple of events going on that promised to make traffic rather nasty. With the old car, and it's sometimes balky 'three on the tree' transmission, the last thing I wanted to do was to fight traffic. 
This was a really fun day. Following Route 66 all the way though Illinois was a great experience, and I'd recommend to anyone who's thinking of doing 66 that they do Illinios first. I've been on 66 in AZ, TX, OK, CA, and it's a fun ride. But honestly, this section of the road is pretty easy to follow, while some of the other states are not. In 2007, Illinois managed to get their section of "Historic Route 66" designated as a National Scenic Highway. This allowed them to tap into a tiny amount of money to properly mark the road. They have good, clear, easy to spot signs, which really help to keep you on course as you track the road through the state. Of course, driving 66 means you don't make the kind of time you would on the Interstates. The top speed limit I saw on 66 was 55 mph; many areas, especially in 'downtown' districts, had limits of 25 or 30 mph. So you're not going to make great time while touring 66; but that's not really what it's about. It's about traveling a road that's steeped in history and heritage. Of re-living the trips of the past, seeing how America used to look, how we used to travel. And taking this trip in the Yellow Fish was really special, the car seemed to like 66 very much; it's happiest at between 50 - 60 mph, and that's about the limits for Route 66. And the people who are on this road, when they see the classic car, you get tons of thumbs up, horn honks, and other happy signals. Overall, taking the old car, and the old route, sometimes has distinct advantages. I'll post the wrap up of the last two days of the trip shortly.

It Was Only A Matter of Time, I Guess

Sometimes, it seems, just thinking about something can make it happen. I've been out on the road with the Yellow Fish since Sunday, and while, for the most part, all has been good, I had this sneaky feeling that trouble was just around the next bend.
Got up on Tuesday, and took the car to one of those 'squirt it yourself' car wash places to clean some of the road grime off, so it would look nice rolling into St. Louis. Did a fairly good job, got back in, headed towards the Interstate, and decided to stop for coffee at a convenience store. Back in the car, turn the key, and......nothing. Not a crank, not a groan, not a click; dead silence. But, I could see the oil pressure light dim as the key moved to the 'start' position, so I knew I had a good battery, and I figured the starter solenoid spring might be stuck. Went into the trunk, grabbed a hammer, popped the hood and gave the solenoid a couple of taps; got in, turned the key, and she fired right up. Okay, not bad, dodged a bullet!
Out onto I-70 I head, and immediately I realize it's going to be a little different drive, 'cause the sun is already out, and it's getting warm outside. Not good for the temperature inside the car (see my last post). Anyway, made real good time, and had a lot of horn honking and thumbs up from people as they passed me. Even had a couple of people take photos of the car as they went past me! Riding in the right lane at 65, I'm being passed by everything on the road, which is fine. I've decided I'm not going to push the old car any more than I have to. Did my calculations, and figured I want to stop for gas about 20-25 miles from St. Louis. Sure don't want to have to be riding around downtown looking for gas if I can avoid it. Spot a good looking intersection coming up, in Troy, IL. So, off I go, and pull into a nice Pilot gas station/truck stop. Gas in the tank; clean the windshield; check the oil and add a quart; climb back in, turn the key, and......nothing. Just as this morning, not a sound. Must be the solenoid, stuck again. Grab the hammer, tap the solenoid, try the key again, and......nothing. Uh-Oh. Hammer out again, harder taps on the solenoid; try the key again, and.......yeah, you guessed it, nothing. It's dead in the water, stuck right in front of one of the gas islands. In the middle of nowhere (with apologies to the good people in Troy). Spotted a Pilot employee working on a gas pump, so I ask if there's a repair shop anywhere nearby. Says he doesn't know, but his boss, inside, would know, and also has the number of a tow service. Nice fellow, he gives me the number for a tow, says there is a Meineke about a mile up the road, and also tells me not to worry about blocking his pump, he understands I'm stuck. Really nice guy, also gives me the number to the Meineke shop, good idea to call to see if they can/will look at the car. I get Corey, the Manager on the phone, and he says, bring it in, they'll be happy to take a look at it. Frankly, I figure it's the starter motor, and it's going to be a little while to get one, and put it in. Fortunately, there is an O'Reilly auto parts shop, and a CarQuest shop right on the main road here in Troy.
Call the tow....they show up about an hour later. You'll love this, the driver says my call to their shop came in 'just as we started lunch', so they waited 'til they finished to send the truck. Now, in NY, they'd have climbed into the truck immediately, carrying their sandwich, pizza, egg roll, whatever, with them. And I'd have been hooked up a lot sooner. But, I remind myself, I'm NOT in NY at the moment. Tow guy is a nice fellow, he is very careful putting the tow bar on the car, and then drives very slowly and carefully to the Meineke shop. Tow, $45.
 

 Give my information to the receptionist at Meineke, then Corey comes over and says it's going to be a while, he's short handed on mechanics and they're already working on a couple of cars. Upon hearing this, a gentleman sitting in the waiting area stands up and says to Corey, "please take this fellow ahead of me, he's on the road, I live just up the street a bit". Wow. Such a nice gesture. I sit down in the waiting area and have a lovely conversation with this fellow, who's just the nicest guy you'd meet. Not a real car guy, but he's fascinated by the Fish, and we have a real nice time. After what was only 15 minutes, Corey comes in and says "Paul, how quickly would you like that car back"? Of course, I'm figuring it's bad news, but I say, as soon as possible. And he says, "Great, 'cause it's done. wasn't the starter nor the solenoid, you had a bad cable connector on the wire from the solenoid to the ignition. We put a new connector on, and you're good to go". Cost $47 for the diagnosis and the work. Back on the road in less than two hours for under $100? I'd sign up for that in a heartbeat! Pay the bill, give 'em $20 and tell him to buy his guys coffee, thank the nice man who offered to have his repair wait, and I'm headed back to I-70. Major respect to the Meineke guys, who could easily have run the bill up to include a new starter, but didn't.
20 minutes later, and I'm in St. Louis! Avoided a major traffic tie up on my way into town, which was kind of nice, because I got to roll through some side streets and check out the town. And got several comments on the car, which is always nice. Found the Hilton, put the Fish in the garage, checked in, and here's the view from my room on the 20th floor;

Settled in and took it easy the rest of the day. I'm on one of the 'Executive' floors, which gives me access to the V.I.P. Lounge up on the 22nd floor. Very sweet - nice lounge room, open from 6 am to 11 pm. In the morning, from 6 to 11 am, it's breakfast; scrambled eggs, sausage, home fries, oatmeal, fresh berries, cereal, pastries - a very nice spread! From 11 am to 5 pm, the room is open for 'snacks'; coffee, tea, fruit juice, water, soda, chips, trail mix, yogurt. From 5 pm to 7, they serve a light dinner. Last night it was penne with alfredo and chicken, shells with artichoke and peppers, sauteed veggies, and a very nice salad bar. And, from 7 pm to 11, cake cookies, yogurt, drinks. You could easily stay here and never go out for a meal. And while I did that yesterday, tonight I'll be meeting the rest of the NY gang for dinner and a few cold ones. Looks like we're in a good spot, right next to the Cardinals ballpark, so there are lots of pubs, restaurants, etc. within a block or two of the hotel. If I get to anyplace good, I'll sure post a review.
That's it for today, I'm not sure when I'll post again, as the next few days will pretty much be going to educational sessions and a couple of meetings, then socials in the evenings. I'm scheduled to be back on the road on Saturday, but I'm sort of thinking I might head out on Friday, I want to leave myself some wiggle room in case I run into issues on the way back. I'll let you all know what I decide.

This Might Not Have Been Such a Great Idea

Reporting to you today, day two of the Yellow Fish road trip, having stopped for the night in  Cloverdale, IN (about 20 miles west of Indianapolis).
Now, I've done some dumb things in my life. Really stupid stuff. Heck, you can ask anyone who's known me for the past 40 or so years, and I'd bet there would be a list longer than my arm. This trip, though, just might top the list. Think about it, somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,200 miles in a 51 year old car of questionable heritage. A little 225 slant six engine screaming loudly, pushing modern highway speeds through a 3 speed transmission. The engine and road noise alone is enough to make you crazy! The car runs nicely, and is happy, between about 55 and 60 mph. Unfortunately, if you do that speed out here on I-70, you risk being flattened by a tractor trailer. So you push the little thing up to 65-70, and you realize you're really just asking for trouble. 'Specially when you see that you're putting a good amount of blue smoke out of the tailpipe. Yeah, she's burning oil at these speeds, which probably shouldn't surprise me. Not sure the engine's ever been worked beyond the valve job I had done last spring. My suspicion is that the piston rings have all the integrity of rubber bands, and oil's just pouring past them. Hopefully the plugs won't get too gunked up and the engine will keep going. Happy news, at least I'm getting decent mileage, it's averaging a touch over 20 mph, which, for this heavy car and small engine, is not bad.
Got the trip started on Sunday morning, and made it most of the way through PA before stopping for the night in Washington PA. Day one, just a little over 400 miles on the car, through some drizzle, mist, and occasional sunshine. Unfortunately, I stopped in a location where there was nothing to eat except 'the usual suspects', so dinner was a small Caesar salad and chili at Wendy's.
Today dawned very foggy and moist, with lots of condensation on the car windows. Of course, with that huge rear window on the Fish, that means lots of misting and fogging up of the glass.

 For those of you who may have forgotten, or perhaps never knew, these cars didn't have complex (or even efficient) air handling systems. No A/C in this car, certainly no controls like we have now, where you can mix heated and cooled air, direct it out of vents to clear the door windows, or bi-level vents, and certainly no auto temperature control. No, here's what we had to work with:

A simple two speed fan, with not much difference between 'low' and 'high'; two sliding levers, one directs the fan's output to either the floor vents, or onto the windshield; the second controls the temperature of the air, from ambient to warm. Knowing how this system struggles with de-fogging things, I held off getting on the road until the fog at least started to lift. Once I got on the road, things cleared up pretty well, and it was a good day to drive, with some high clouds keeping the sun, and the temperature, down a bit. The back window of this car acts like some sort of convection oven, when it gets even moderately sunny, the interior of the car gets extremely hot. Fortunately, that didn't happen today. I-70 through PA and OH isn't a bad ride. Lots of the road has 3 lanes, so I was able to stick to the right lane and not impede traffic. It's fairly level as well, which helps the gas mileage. Crossing into West VA, there are some pretty steep grades, 5 - 7%, and the little car struggled trying to hold speed going uphill, but did okay. Kept rolling along, and made my goal of getting to at least Indianapolis before the day ended. As it turns out, I got about 20 miles past Indy, and that leaves me about 211 miles to go to reach St. Louis. If all goes well, it's less than 4 hours there, so tomorrow will be the 'easy' day of the trip.
Settled in to the motel, and looked around for dinner. Didn't see a lot of choices, so I asked the desk clerk. He didn't hesitate, and said 'the little Mexican place two doors down is the best restaurant in town'. Of course, the others are Taco Bell, Burger King, Subway, and a scary looking place called "Chicago's Pizza". So, taking him at his word, off I went to 

Cantarito's Mexican Grill. Huge menu, six full pages, with literally dozens of combinations, a la carte, and 'especiales'. Chips and salsa arrived, and I ordered a Negra Modelo to start the meal.

The Modela, as expected, good. The chips, nice texture, a little thicker than a lot of places, but sadly, lacking in taste. Someone needs to take a step closer to the salt shaker when they're making these things, because as served, they're like crunchy pieces of cardboard. Salsa was good and thick, chunks of tomato and onion, Cilantro (yuk), but no discernible heat. Easily fixed, a couple of shakes from the hot sauce on the table gave it a good zing. Overall, better than you'd expect.
Tough choice for dinner, I was tempted by the Arroz Con Pollo, but it was sauteed with not just the usual onions and peppers, it also had mushrooms, broccoli, and zucchini. Not a fan of mushrooms, love broccoli but it really seemed out of place here, and zucchini, well the world would be a better place without that junk in it.
So I ordered the Pollo Loco.

Two thin chicken breasts, seasoned and grilled, topped with queso sauce. Served with 'salad' (a couple of tablespoons of chopped lettuce and tomato and sour cream', refried beans, and Mexican rice. The chicken was good; nicely seasoned, perfectly cooked, not dry. The melted cheese sauce was a little thin, but had nice flavor. The rice was, as in most places, just okay; could have used a little seasoning. The refried beans were a little disappointing, they were pretty much like canned ones, but they had a slightly deeper flavor, as if they'd been cooked a minute or two longer than they needed to be. Overall, a pretty good meal, a nice change from the chain places, and at a cost of $15, reasonable.
Back to the hotel to finish up this post, then a nice quiet night. I'm going to hit a local 'you spray it' car wash in the morning before I get on the road. Might as well scrape some of the road dirt off the car before cruising into St. Louis.
 

Getting Out On The Road Again!

Now that summer's over, and before all the CPO Classes get rolling again, I've a short window of opportunity to get back out on the road, and I've got two trips planned that should be fun, as well as interesting. Or maybe 'challenging' is a better term for the first trip.
The National Recreation and Park Conference is being held in Saint Louis this year, and I've decided to attend. Although it's been some time since I was employed full time in the Recreation field, I try to keep up with what's going on in the profession, so that I can advise clients, field questions, and even put some of the newer ideas to use at places I work. Plus the last time the Conference was in St. Louis, I couldn't go, so I'd like to experience it this time around.
Normally, I'd jump in my 2014 Challenger/Cuda and head down the road. But, this trip gives me a chance to do something cool. St. Louis sits right on Route 66, on a portion of the road that I've not traveled. And, I've been asked to give a presentation next month at the Cortland State Recreation Conference about Route 66 and it's lasting effect on American Culture. So, what better way to prep for that than to cruise for a bit on 66? And better yet, how about taking that ride in a classic car? Yeah, that's the ticket! Take the old Yellow Fish out to Saint Louis, then cruise back to NY along Route 66, taking loads of photos, eating great road food, and stopping at the tourist spots! 

Yeah, that sounds like a solid plan! Take that old gal for a nice long ride; no power steering or power brakes; no air conditioning; a three speed manual transmission; what could go wrong? Of course, I did have my mechanic give the car the once over, generally speaking, it's in really good shape. I've packed extra anti-freeze, oil, a spare fan belt and a couple of ballast resistors (the slant six's Achilles heel; a $2 electrical part that blows out regularly, causing a 'no start' condition). And I'm feeling pretty good about the trip. Of course, you can't make the same kind of time in this old car that you can in a modern one. So on the way out, instead of two days to St. Lou, it'll be 3, most of which will be done on Turnpikes and Interstates. I'll certainly post short notes about that trip. But the fun stuff will be on the way back, as I trace Route 66 up through Illinois. I've not ridden on this part of 66 before, so it will be a learning experience, and hopefully full of new and interesting places. I've got my Route 66 maps out, and while the trip looks a bit tricky, it also looks like fun! So keep your eyes out for posts starting next week, and keep your fingers crossed that I don't have to call for any tows!
After St. Louis, home for a day or two, then back out on the road for a trip to Nashville, TN, to do a CPO Instructor School with my buddies. This time, I'm taking the Challenger, and will do the trip down rather quickly, figure two days. 

Karen is flying in to meet me, and we'll have a couple of days together to sight see before the school gets going. Nashville is a cool town, I was there years back for a conference, and there's a lot to see and do, so I'm looking forward to this trip as well. On the way back, I'll probably take a little detour off the interstates, and cruise some of the nicer more scenic roads coming north, perhaps the Shenandoah or Blue Ridge Parkways. We'll see. In any case, two fun trips in the next couple of weeks, a good way to get into the new season.

West Coast Wrap Up

After a nice, relaxing weekend back home, it's time to do a little housekeeping, and wrap up the amazing trip that I just had out to L.A. for Mike Nesmith's final Monkees show.
I've posted a few videos, and some thoughts, over on my Facebook page, so if you search for me by name (Paul Blake) you should be able to spot those; I'll not repeat them here, exactly, but might reference them in this post.
First off, the reason for the trip, the concert. Since Michael made his announcement about three weeks ago that this would be his final performance as a "Monkee", lots of interest was sparked among fans and critics alike. It was refreshing to see that most of the articles and short essays that came out were extremely positive about The Monkees and their legacy. It would appear that most of the media finally got the story straight, and the guys are finally getting the credit they deserve. Honestly, I think a lot of the negative vibes went away after the documentary "The Wrecking Crew" came out. The old 'they don't play their own instruments' insult became pretty lame once it was revealed that very few of the big acts in the 60's actually played on their records. I won't go over the whole list here, but suffice it to say there are some pretty big names on it.
With that in mind, of course the guys do, and always have, played 'their own' instruments; although Peter did joke that the ones they played on Friday were rented! And, over the years, their musicianship has only gotten better, and their backing band, most of whom have played in various incarnations of the group for 20+ years is outstanding. So I was expecting a great show, and I was not disappointed.

The theater was sold out, and it was a very enthusiastic bunch of fans. Some dressed in '60's style clothes, a few in red "Monkee" shirts with white buttons, some wearing green wool hats, but all in great spirits. At around 8:10, the lights dimmed, and the large video screen at the rear of the stage came alive; "Bah-Dah-Dum; Here we come...." the intro from the second season of the t.v. show played as the band took their places on stage; the video ended, the spotlights came on, and the introductions of the guys, to thunderous applause. And off they went, kicking right into "Clarksville", followed by Michael taking the lead on "Papa Gene's Blues" - and the crowd went wild. 

What followed was an hour plus of great songs, terrific playing, and very emotional moments. The guys did all the great tunes, plus 3 songs from their new album, "Good Times". The Michael/Micky duet "Me And Magelena" was the highlight of these; their voices harmonize as well today as they did 50 years ago. After Mike did "What Am I Doin' Hanging 'Round", a short 15 minute intermission gave us all a chance to catch our breath, and get ready for the second portion of the show. Right on cue, the guys came back and did a full second hour, featuring hits, album cuts, and songs from "Head". After about a dozen more tunes, everyone left the stage, and Michael returned, by himself, and sat on a stool with just his Gretsch 12 string. 

He spoke about the first time the guys performed to a concert audience, and how there was something extra happening that night, and related how the guys all felt it and spoke about it, deciding that it was us, the audience, that made "The Monkees" come to life on stage. Mike then played "Tapioca Tundra", as a solo, almost ballad like tune, and explained that he had written it after that first concert to try and put the feelings into words. Hearing that, the phrase in the song "It cannot be a part of you for now it's part of me" makes a lot more sense.
It was a very fitting way for Michael to say 'thanks' and 'farewell' to the whole Monkees thing. Back came the band, Micky and Peter, and the last songs; "Daydream Believer", played live but with Davy's vocal. A quick trip offstage, then the return for what has become the standard encore, "Pleasant Valley Sunday", and "I'm A Believer". Wild applause, bows, acknowledgements of the band, and of each other, hugs, smiles, and some tears, and it was over.

If this was the last time, and I do believe it was, the guys hit a home run. The band sounded great, and all three, yes, including Peter, also sounded terrific. A wonderful night, one which will live in my mind's eye for the rest of my life. 
There are some great videos of the show available on YouTube, taken by folks who were on the floor for the show, in the first dozen or so rows. If you search "Monkees Pantages Theater", you'll find links to them. Well worth your time to check them out.
Beyond the show, a couple of short 'bullet point' notes about the trip:
* The hotel. I got some queries about where I had stayed while in L.A., as I had mentioned that I was only a block away from the Pantages Theater. Since this was pretty much a one day trip, I didn't want to have to rent a car, so I did a search for a hotel that was in the neighborhood of the theater, and I came up with the Hollywood Le Bon.

It's right on Argyle St., less than a full block from the theater's location on Hollywood Blvd. And it's two short blocks from Sunset Blvd., so it was a nice central location. It's a small hotel, as you can see, which has only 20 rooms. And the rooms are tiny; not the kind of place you'd want to be stuck in for a week, but for two nights? Just fine. Here's a photo of my room:

As you can see, it's small, but the bed was comfortable, the a/c worked just great, and the bathroom was immaculate. Great choice, as I was right near most of the tourist sites.
Like this one:

It's "Sunset Gower Studios", which was formerly the Columbia Studios lot. It's located perhaps four blocks from the Pantages Theater. Probably doesn't mean a lot to most of you, but this studio is where "The Monkees" show was filmed - and here they are, 50 years later, performing a 'farewell' of sorts so close to where it all began. I'm not sure how many others doped this out, but it didn't take me long to make the connection.
*Ameoba Music. This spot was only a couple of blocks away from the hotel, and while I'd been there before, and didn't really want to buy anything, I had to go there for a while.

With so much of today's music being online MP3's, or virtual downloads, I miss going to a physical store, and being able to flip through the products. Picking up an album, or a CD, checking out the liner notes, looking at the songs, gleaning information about the band, all things we've lost as we transitioned to a digital world. Fortunately, this place has loads of product to look through;

You could easily spend a day browsing here, and probably not see everything they have. I guess I was in there maybe an hour and a half, and although I didn't buy anything, it was a really enjoyable time. Unfortunately, the owners of the store recently sold the property that the place sits on, and the new owners are planning on building a skyscraper of some sort, so this place is on borrowed time. The plan is to relocate to a new location, but I'm not sure it'll be the same.
*The Cinerama Theater. Another iconic Hollywood image, this theater has been around since the early 1960's, and was one of the first wide screen 'Cinerama' theaters in the country.

I always thought it just looked so cool. Back in the day, it was a single auditorium theater, but now, in addition to the wide Cinerama screen, it's more like a local multi plex. I think I spotted either 6 or 8 movies playing there. And, you don't go in the front doors anymore, they're locked; you enter around to the left hand side of the building. I remember being a little kid, and reading about the premier of "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", and how it was being held at this theater. I've always loved comedies, and even as a 10 or 11 year old, I could appreciate the cast of this movie, and I really wanted to see it. I can imagine what that first screening was like at this place

I did eventually see the movie, I think at the Century Floral Park theater, and I loved every minute of it. A few years back, I received as a present, the two disc set of Mad World and a documentary about the making of the movie. Great stuff, and a few references to filming locations. One of the most iconic, is the "Big W", which was located, according to the film, in "Santa Rosita State Park".

Of course, there is no such place as Santa Rosita, nor is there a state park with that name. This is a private estate, and the film's director, Stanley Kubrick, landscaped and planted it with all the tropical trees, grass, benches, etc., to the tune of $40,000. In 1963, that was a lot of money! Through the years, fans have identified many of the filming locations, such as the airport, the winding road that the first car chase takes us on, and, of course, the "Big W".
Unfortunately, over the years, three of the palms have been lost, and only one remains

The current owners of the property have said that they want to re-plant the area and restore the look of the movie - but they've been saying that for years, and nothing has been done. Hopefully, some day, this scene will be restored and open for folks to visit.
*Walk of Fame. On Friday morning, I took a nice long walk down Hollywood Blvd. and Vine Streets, and checked out the stars on the Walk of Fame. I've been down this walk a couple of times in the past, but it's nice to re-visit the stars that are important to me, and to check out the new ones, as they are constantly being added to. The walk goes for about 15 blocks on Hollywood Blvd., and another 3 or so blocks on Vine St., so you get a pretty good workout if you do the entire thing in one trip. Couldn't help but notice how some of the stars are getting pretty worn out and cracked. The stars are not really maintained by any group, it's pretty much fans of the various artists that occasionally clean them. But, in any case, I found a few of my favorites, starting, of course with this one:

Note that their star is for television, not records nor music. Wonder what the chances of the fans getting together to get a second star for the music would be? Many people have multiple stars along the walk for the various areas in which they performed. Not too far from The Monkees star is another of my favorites

George. The only Superman that really matters. It's arguable that no other actor who has portrayed the man of steel had the impact that George did. With television still in its infancy, and the millions of young baby boomer children, just the first run showings impacted so many of us. Then, add in the brilliance of the production company filming 50+ episodes in full color. They broadcast those in black and white, sealing the color versions away in a vault, only to release them in the mid 1960's, when color television was just taking off. The result? The Adventures of Superman, and George, became one of the most long lived and best remembered shows of all time. And it still plays on stations around the world to this day.
As does another early show, The Lone Ranger.

Like Superman, later years of this show were also filmed in color, which gave it 'legs' across the decades. I find it very interesting that Clayton Moore's star does not just have his name on it; it also says The Lone Ranger. Mr. Moore lived his life AS the Lone Ranger, from the first days of doing the role until his passing. The code the Ranger lived by was adopted by Mr. Moore, and to many of us baby boomers, just as George was Superman, Clayton was the Lone Ranger. Hard to argue that fact, given that none of the revivals, or re-boots as they now call them, have been successful.
And finally, the star that brought the largest turn out ever to see an unveiling.

In 1983, the guys finally got their star. Unfortunately, by then, Moe, Larry, Curly, and Shemp had all passed. "Curly" Joe DeRita, although still living, was too ill to attend; Joe Besser, who performed as "Joe" in 16 of the final shorts the boys made, was in attendance, and gave a wonderful speech. Fans were on rooftops of neighboring buildings, on billboard platforms, and generally overcrowding the street for the ceremony. A testament to the enduring legacy of fun and laughter that the Stooges left us.

So there you go (as I say all to often to Karen), a little wrap up of a trip which I am so happy to have been able to make. Those of you who know me well are very aware of my dislike of air travel, and so you'll know how much this trip meant to me simply by the fact that I traveled by air on this one. I still am not a big fan of California, and was relieved to be in the air on my way back to NY on Saturday morning. But that's a rant for another post down the road. For now, I'll finish up with a *huge* Thank You to Karen, whose love, encouragement, and support allows me to take these trips, to experience things that, to an outsider, might seem inconsequential, but which are important to me. Whether it's driving to CA to see the "Superman Plaque" being unveiled, going to Detroit to see the Chrysler Museum before it closed to the public, or getting to Michael's last show, I know that if it's important to me, Karen will understand and be supportive. Now, what's next? Hmmmm...how about taking the Yellowfish to St. Louis for the NRPA Conference, and running it back on Route 66? Yup, that's gonna happen, so check back for updates on this blog.

Out West For a Farewell

Got a little time until the show tonight, so I thought I'd wander around the Hollywood area and check out the sights. Already posted some photos on FB, but I got one that has a cool story behind it.

Kind of hard to see, but this is a photo of the street signs at the intersection of Hollywood Blvd. and Argyle St. Okay, I'll give you all a minute to think of what it could be.

(Paul is humming the theme from 'Jeopardy').

Give up? Okie dokie, here we go!

In 1933, a comic strip about a group of cavemen first appeared; the name of the comic, and the lead character, was Alley Oop. This comic was wildly popular throughout the 1940's and 50's (and is still published in some 500 newspapers to this day). In 1960, a song about the comic was written. Several groups recorded the song, including Dante And The Evergreens, whose version went to #15 on Billboard.

But the biggest version featured a group of studio musicians backing up a fellow named Gary Paxton. Paxton had his own record label (Garpax), and was also under contract to another label as 'Flip' of the duo Skip & Flip ('Cherry Pie', 'It Was I'). Therefore, he needed a name for this studio group that would hide his true identity. The song was recorded at the American Recorders studio, next door to Lawrence Welk's Palladium Theater, which was at the corner of......Hollywood & Argyle. Thus, The Hollywood Argyles were named, and had their one and only hit.

Can I dig up the nuttiest stuff, or what?!?!

Hey Hey, They're The Monkees - One Last Time

Hard as it is to believe, it's been just about 50 years since four young men burst onto the pop music/television scene. On September 12, 1966, The Monkees, a television sitcom about a struggling band living on the beach in L.A. was first broadcast. The four actors who'd been hired to portray this band could never have imagined the lasting impact this show would have on our culture, and on their lives.
Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith, and Peter Tork had been hired to act as musicians in this fictional group; it was never imagined that they would, or could, ever become an actual band. The music, considered integral to the show, would be produced by the legendary Don Kirshner, who had a great roster of songwriters at his disposal. The music was to be done by the legendary "Wrecking Crew" studio musicians, and the four actors would provide the vocals.

 Turned out to be a pretty good formula. The first single, "Last Train to Clarksville" was released and climbed up the charts before the television show ever aired! Two albums, done under Kirshner's direction were major hits. And then, things got interesting. The decision was made to send the make believe group, The Monkees, out on tour. And so the four guys threw themselves into the project. Mike, Peter, and Micky were all musicians of some caliber; Mike having played at the Troubador in L.A., Peter having been classically trained at Julliard, and Micky had been in a band (playing guitar) in L.A. Davy, of course, had been performing since childhood, mostly singing, but he was competent on drums, and could strum a guitar as well. Long story short, as Michael has said, eventually it was like Pinocchio becoming a real boy, or, as Micky said, Leonard Nimoy becoming a Vulcan! The guys made music - much of it their own compositions - and toured to full houses all over the world.
And then, as quickly as it began, it was over. The television show was cancelled, Peter left the 'group', the three remaining guys went on for about a year, and then Mike left, and it was really the end.
Until something called MTV came along. In 1986, they ran a weekend marathon of most of the television episodes. Demand was high again, and a 20th reunion tour was scheduled. While Mike did not participate fully in the tour, he endorsed the plan, and even played with the other guys at the Hollywood Bowl. Records were re-released, and a new song, "That Was Then, This Is Now" hit the top 20. A tour that was initially limited in scope and number of dates eventually became a year long one that played stadium shows.
Through the years, the guys would get together and tour. Sometimes Micky, Peter, and Davy. Occasionally, just Micky and Davy. All four toured England in 1996 in support of the "Justus" album. They toured as solo acts as well, and enjoyed good crowds and happy fans. A full reunion was in the works back in the spring of 2012, with all four guys ready to go. And then, it happened; Davy passed away on February 29 of that year. The sadness remains to this day. But, the plans for the reunion went on, and eventually, we got to see the group nobody ever thought we'd see - Micky, Peter, and Mike.

And it was a great tour. Karen and I saw three shows in a row in the NY area, and I can tell you, at the first one, when Michael was introduced, there were a lot of wet eyes in the theater - including mine. I would have gone to every show they did that year and the next, they were that good.
Michael went on a few solo tours after that, and again, Karen and I were lucky enough to see him, and meet him backstage after his show at Town Hall in NYC. Something I'd always hoped would happen, but never thought it would.
And then, we hit 2016. 50 years since they first came 'walkin' down the street'. Everyone wondered, would there be a tour? How about a record? Would Michael join in? To our delight, we got a terrific album, "Good Times", featuring all four Monkees - Davy via a song originally recorded in 1967 but never released. And the album rocked! Debuted in the top 20 download and CD sales charts. The vinyl LP hit #1 on the vinyl charts the week it was released. And Micky and Peter went out on tour, with a great band, doing an incredible show. Michael joined them via "Skype" at their NY show (Karen and I saw that), and onstage at one of their L.A. shows. The tour goes on, and Micky and Peter are heading to Australia and New Zealand. Michael, however, just made an announcement that left some fans stunned.

In a post on his Facebook page, Michael has announced that he has been talking to Micky and Peter about playing with them at their Sept. 16 show at the Hollywood Pantages theater. And, he has said, it will be his final performance as a "Monkee". To quote him, "I expect it will be fun, and a great way for me to sign out. I see the specter of the multiple Sinatra retirement/farewells - and this seems like the perfect time for me to step off, sit down, and shut up".
So there we go. Truly the end of a big part of my life, having been a fan since the early days. Hard to imagine that after the 16th, we'll never see the three guys onstage as "The Monkees" again. As noted, Micky and Peter do a great "Monkees" show, and will carry on. But the finality of this has not been lost on me. And so, as some of you could probably have predicted, I am going to the show in L.A.
Managed to score one of only about 2 dozen tickets that were left after Mike's announcement. Last three rows of the theater, on the side - not a great seat, but I'm IN the theater. Booked the flight (yes, I will be flying), and a hotel just two blocks from the theater. As I told someone the other day, I do regret never having seen all four of the guys together; circumstance just worked against that for me. And I'm blessed at having seen Micky, Mike, and Peter in the past. But this time, circumstances are on my side, and I can manage this. The pool closes on Labor Day, I have some free time before my business kicks in again, and I can squeeze the funds together to do this. Karen, not surprisingly, said one word when I asked her if she thought I should do this: "Sure". She has gotten to know me well enough to understand what this means to me. I did offer to bring her with me, but unfortunately her schedule and workload does not permit it.
And so, on September 16, I will be in the rear of the Hollywood Pantages, which is now fully sold out (with good seats going for as much as $1,500 on the secondary market). I fully expect that I will again be among the folks in there with the 'wet eyes'. In fact, knowing myself, I'll be disappointed if they're not REALLY wet.
I'll do a couple of posts for you on the trip, and certainly will give you a full and complete posting on the show itself.