Signs of Route 66

SAVANNAH-SERENDIPITY

In 1983 I had an epiphany of getting healthy and chose bicycling as the method.  I started in late July and progressed so I was able to do three century rides in September.  I was invited to join a group of riders that were going to ride from Atlanta to Savannah following Sherman's March to the sea.  We would do this Thanksgiving weekend, and cover 267 miles in three days. 

We rode in constant rain all day on Thanksgiving with temps around 40 to 50.  We began in Conyers, through Madison, to Eatonton where we stopped on the courthouse square. In the vestibule of a small department store we sat to have our Thanksgiving dinner. Pat's wife Patti had driven there with a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. That meal is one of the most memorable and energy giving of my life.

Restored and warmed for a little while we continued on to Milledgeville.  We stayed at a Super 8 motel. We went to our rooms, and pulled off our soaked riding gear.  We showered and put on dry 'street clothes', and came out of our rooms to sunshine and no rain.

The next day was clear but not much warmer.  Our route took us out of Milledgeville through  Sanders and on to Louisville. We took a pause there to walk through a Civil War era cemetery, and to have lunch. We then pedaled on through to Millen, Georgia

Saturday morning it was 20 something when we got up and went out for breakfast.  I remember the name was Judy's Cafe. I remarked "I sure hope it isn't my ex-wife. As we started, we faced a long uphill grade from the 'git-go'.  That actually was a benefit because it got the blood flowing very quickly. As a cyclist you gripe about the uphills, but they provide some variety of ups and downs, lefts and rights. We were somewhere around Gulton when things got flat and straight for mile after mile. That caused us to celebrate when we finally had to turn. As we got closer to Savannah it became very pleasant temperature wise. I have vertigo, and as we came into the city we were faced with a bridge over Savannah river.  This bridge was made of steel grating and my passage over it on the bike was more thrilling than I like.

We all stayed in a very nice B & B that had rooms over the old carriage house. For our dinner we went to Elizabeth's on 37th for some incredible food.  The most memorable dish was the Key lime pie that I had. I learned that Key limes are pale yellow and that any green pies offered are 'bogus'. Years later I saw it featured in USA Today.

Now the SERENDIPITY part.  I live in Grants Pass, Oregon now, and I have retail space in a crafters/gift mall in downtown........Savannah Faire (www.savannah-faire.com).

Custom/Stock Aluminum & Steel Street Signs
Parking, No Parking & Caution Sign Products

Since 1986 Crossroads Sign Company has been a family owned and operated metal   sign making business.
Our stock metal sign products and custom made steel and custom   made aluminum metal signs are of our own creation, with many novelty   and funny sign designs inspired and influenced by our loyal customers over   the past two decades.

 

My first trip on Route 66-3

As we traveled across Missouri, making the usual stops for gas, eats and potty breaks, I came to realize that everyone in America did not conform to the typical Rockford inhabitant.  The sounds of the language began to have different intonations to them.  The hills had become taller as we motored west from St. Louis.  Little did I know how varied the people and the terrain would become.

I recall that in that time auto dealerships mounted pot metal trim to the trunk of cars that they sold. When we stopped at a 'service station', the attendant would comment about where we were from.  On several occasions it went something like this.  "So you're from Rockford eh?  My uncle was there at Camp Grant in the War.  He went to Italy, and when he came back he decided to live in Rockford.  Name's Bob Stockton.  You know him?"  Far more involved and interesting than, "Thank you and have a nice day."

What this trip, and subsequent ones, demonstrated to me was the tremendous diversity in our country.  That said, we all get along together yet the peoples in the countries we came from cannot do the same.  Cases in point are the slovaks, the Lebanese, the peoples in Africa that are out to exterminate their neighbors.  I never meant to get this somber in this blog, but this thought has persisted over the course of almost 50 years of my life.

My company Crossroads Sign sells authentic route 66 highway marker signs.

Own A Piece of Real Americana
Collect all 8 US route 66 state shield signs or check out our deep-embossed hi-ways & bi-ways metal sign products. Crossroads also offers route 66 clothing that features a 1929 old historic route 66 map reproduction. These make awesome gifts!

 
 

My first trip on Route 66-2

On our first day of driving, I remember us approaching St. Louis and the Mississippi River.  We would cross the river on the Chain of Rocks bridge.  I had never seen a river that was as wide and imposing as the Mississippi. 

We crossed over and into St. Louis, the gateway to the west of the genre of books I voraciously read.  We would continue west going through Lee Summit, Rolla, and eventually to stay at a motel in Springfield.  The motel had a swimming pool that was the first such pool I had ever been in.  The water was very refreshing after the heat of the day.

This trip eventually would change the course of my life.  It took a lot of years but I have ended up in the 'Novelty Signs Business'.  My company Crossroads Sign
sells authentic route 66 highway marker signs.

Own A Piece of Real Americana
Collect all 8 US route 66 state shield signs or check out our deep-embossed hi-ways & bi-ways metal sign products. Crossroads also offers route 66 clothing that features a 1929 old historic route 66 map reproduction. These make awesome gifts!

 

My first trip on Route 66

My grandparents had a new 1956 Buick Century.  It was white and green and we were driving to California to visit my mother and her new husband.  This would take us from Rockford, Illinois to Long Beach.  We traveled down US 51 to Bloomington where we turned on to US 66.  I had heard the song many times before the trip started.

I sat transfixed on the country side, and the many signs and billboards.  They depicted natural wonders: Carlsbad Caverns, the Mississippi River, Petrified Forest, and the Grand Canyon.  They hawked gas:  Whiting Bros, Phillips 66, Chevron.  Road side attractions like:  Jack-a-lope, Baby Rattler, Will Rogers Museum.  One of the most successful advertising campaigns of all time:  Tucumcari Tonight.

This trip eventually would change the course of my life.  It took a lot of years but I have ended up in the 'Novelty Signs Business'.  My company Crossroads Sign
sells authentic route 66 highway marker signs.

Own A Piece of Real Americana
Collect all 8 US route 66 state shield signs or check out our deep-embossed hi-ways & bi-ways metal sign products. Crossroads also offers route 66 clothing that features a 1929 old historic route 66 map reproduction. These make awesome gifts!