Sixty-Six and More at DennyGibson.com

Postlude - November 28, 2016
I surprised myself just a little by staying on Historic 66 all the way westbound with the exception of Amarillo which was bypassed during a storm. I surprised myself even more by following US-50 from its departure from I-70 just a couple dozen miles into Colorado all the way to Ohio. The US-50 route was an on the fly choice made to visit a cousin but it also allowed me to see the two Madonna of the Trail monuments I was missing. The trip's objectives, attending the LA 66 conference, visiting my son, and attending a Dirk Hamilton concert were all accomplished and greatly enjoyed.

Computer and internet problems put me behind in posts to this journal from the very beginning and I never caught up. The final day was posted just now, nearly three days after the trip ended.

November 25, 2016 (day 25)
I continued on US-50 to the Ohio line then headed toward home on the circle freeway.

November 24, 2016 (day 24)
All Madonnas of the Trail have been seen and so have the Guardian of the Grove, the stump of the Council Oak, and the capitol of Missouri. And that's just the tiniest smidgen of all I have to be thankful for.

November 23, 2016 (day 23)
I checked off my eleventh Madonna in Colorado then headed for the twelfth in Kansas. Along the way I followed some of the Santa Fe Trail and passed through Dodge City.

November 22, 2016 (day 22)
Take that Denver. I crossed a two mile high mountain pass in (a wee bit of) snow and visited a cousin before stopping for a second night in Colorado.

November 21, 2016 (day 21)
I awoke to snow and had either snow or rain to within just a few miles of the Colorado border.

November 20, 2016 (day 20)
Off of the Queen Mary and out of California then on to Utah through Nevada and Arizona. I've started home.

November 19, 2016 (day 19)
Today I moved from San Diego to Long Beach to listen to Dirk Hamilton and sleep with the Queen.

November 18, 2016 (day 18)
The Old Spanish Trail marker has been restored and I have a picture. All is well.

November 17, 2016 (day 17)
I played the big version of chutes and ladders on the San Diego waterfront then checked another brewery off that "best in state" list.

November 16, 2016 (day 16)
After enjoying breakfast with Kumar from Wigwam Village #7 and checking out a restored gas station, I met my son and family at La Brea Tar Pits.

November 15, 2016 (day 15)
I used the Rim of the World Highway to enable a repeat of a little of Wednesday's drive and finish the day at a different motel.

November 14, 2016 (day 14)
Much of the day was spent drooling over cars at the Petersen Museum but I also worked in a coffee shop, a beanery, and a peek at the moon.

November 13, 2016 (day 13)
I finished off Sixty-Six and even took a little hike before finding a brewery.

November 12, 2016 (day 12)
A group of us rode the Metro to and from a historic restaurant for a delightful e-group breakfast and I then did nothing.

November 11, 2016 (day 11)
Really good presentations continued on the second day of the conference and we had another nice lunch. I also got a better look inside Clifton's and we got a tour of the fantastic Los Angeles Theater. A group dinner wrapped up the day.

November 10, 2016 (day 10)
The conference opens on Broadway with good eats and bright lights.

November 9, 2016 (day 9)
It's hard to beat that Oatman Road and the Mojave Desert is pretty neat, too.

November 8, 2016 (day 8)
Although I did make a couple of stops, most of the day's pictures were taken on the move. The first batch were taken in New Mexico with all the rest coming from Arizona.

November 7, 2016 (day 7)
Very heavy early morning fog disappeared fairly quickly and I had a very nice drive to the middle of New Mexico. Near Albuquerque I had a repeat meeting with a mobile roadside attraction.

November 6, 2016 (day 6)
I stopped at a couple of new spots while driving to Texas in rain and fog.

November 5, 2016 (day 5)
It was a beautiful morning for the DAV 5K which I finished without incident. I made a couple of brief stops on the way to Oklahoma then checked out a brewery once I got there.

November 4, 2016 (day 4)
Today was a mix of familiar and new sights along with meeting both old and new friends. The weather was outstanding and I even wore shorts until sundown.

November 3, 2016 (day 3)
It was a warm but sunless day as I drove by and occasionally stopped at mostly familiar sights and a couple of new ones.

November 2, 2016 (day 2)
Now it's a Route 66 trip. Today I drove from the route's eastern end to the town of Carlinville, Illinois, where things got wet and windy.

November 1, 2016 (day 1)
There was no Route 66 today but there was a little Lincoln Highway and I did get in position to start down the Mother Road in the morning.

Prelude - October 5, 2016
Even though it's a well known fact that a journey needs no justification beyond itself, the majority of my road trips do have some sort of reason behind them. This one has several. It started simply enough with a decision to attend the International Route 66 Festival in Los Angeles. Of course, a visit to my son in San Diego is pretty much an automatic addition to any southern California outing but it could have stopped there. I could fly to either of the target cities, rent a car, spend a few days in each, then fly home. The primary reason I'm driving is that I hate to fly but I've bolstered that by adding a couple of activities to the trip.

The first to be added was a concert. Dirk Hamilton, who has been the focus of a couple of past trips (Hail, Hail Rock w/o Rail and Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Rail), will be performing in San Pedro the weekend following the festival. Dirk was born in Indiana and now lives in Texas but California is his home. Seeing him there will be a special treat. Choosing to go to the concert served to firm up another aspect of the trip. Without the concert it didn't matter a lot whether I visited my son before or after the festival. With the concert on the agenda using the days between the festival and it to drive south would be most sensible.

I created a couple of scheduling problems when I decided to drive. By flying I could leave Cincinnati as late as November 9 after voting on the 8th but that obviously wouldn't be possible if driving. Driving also essentially ruled out walking in the November 5 DAV 5K which I've done for the last three years. In 2013, the DAV 5K's first year, it took place in Cincinnati only. The DAV (Disabled American Veterans) was founded in Cincinnati in 1920 and is currently headquartered just over the river in Cold Springs, Kentucky. I recalled that an event in San Diego had been added in 2014 and, although it seemed unlikely that dates would line up, I took a look. Date alignment was not an issue. There is o DAV 5K scheduled for 2016 in San Diego. I was a little disappointed to see that but was happy to see that Tulsa, Oklahoma, will be hosting a DAV 5K this year. Tulsa is a Route 66 city and is on my planned route to the Los Angeles festival. The Tulsa event will take place on November 5, the same date as the Cincinnati event and a date I could work into my trip. So I registered for the Tulsa event and made arrangements to vote by mail. Then I started nailing down plans to attend a race and a festival, visit some family, and take in a concert. Check out my DAV 5K page here.

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