I was a teenager in the 50’s. During those years growing up, it was a carefree fun time for me. My eye view of life and America was different back then...life was slower, safer, easier. If you don’t believe me, just Google the popular songs back then, or the type of movies that were produced.
A highlight of my late teenage years was a road trip along Route 66, from Chicago to L.A. Known now as the Mother Road or the Great American Highway, that old path still exists today but is no longer a U.S. highway nor found on our current maps.
I remember how exciting it was for me to have the opportunity to travel through parts of eight states. Seeing so many states and viewing the people and landscape scenery was pretty awesome for a teenager who was mostly a home person.
2006 marked the 80th birthday of Route 66 and several movies came out celebrating this time. When the animated movie “CARS” came out in 2006, it rekindled old thoughts and feelings from my experience as a youth. I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful fun movie as I understand most of it included characters, cars, places, and even the plot itself was based on real people and places along Route 66.
Another movie which came out in 2006 was:
“Cars on Route 66” .. To mark the 80th birthday of America’s famed Route 66, author Michael Wallis hits the road from the Midwest to the West Coast in search of both unique and antique classic cars, talking to the often eccentric personalities who collect them. Stops along the 2,000 mile journey include the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois, the Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the Historic Route 66 Museum in Kingman, Arizona.
I recently discovered two fun websites about the old Route 66 highway that has photos and wonderful history. You might enjoy them also:
http://www.theroadwanderer.net/route66.htm
http://www.historic66.com
