AND SO IT BEGINS

Here on Route 66 in the land of spectacular sunsets and towering spires of stone the Route 66 Fun Run, held on the first weekend in May, serves as an unofficial kick off for the summer season. This is that magical time of year when the international fascination with this legendary highway manifests in endless streams of Harley Davidson motorcycles, the number one mode of transport for our European visitors, vintage cars, and rental cars.

On most any day it seems as though the interstate highway is a futuristic illusion and Route 66 is still the Main Street of America. Parking lots at restaurants and motels fill with the gleaming chrome of motorcycles and proud representatives of the American auto industry from the 50's and 60's.

Every dusty cafe, supermarket, and gift shop becomes a gathering place for the international community. Conversations in German, French, Japanese and countless other languages mingle with the Spanish that has become so common here.

To a lesser degree this phenomena is found along other historic US highways as visitors from throughout the world seek out the wonders of America. Fueling this fascination are guide and history books extolling the virtues of the Lincoln Highway and the Dixie Highway, US 1 and US 101.

These are the months for refreshing, for rediscovering what it is that makes America unique. To see this nation through the eyes of foreign visitors is to see it for the first time.

These are the months where focus on work and the pressing matters of life become increasingly difficult as the wanderlust is fueled by those rolling east and west along Route 66. These are the times where dreams towards the road trip and the adventure only found on the open road.

Dreams may be the spice of life, the incentive to keep the nose to the grind stone but it doesn't pay the bills. So, I will saddle up for the ride to work (bicycle, not Harley) in about an hour.

After another day at the office it will be an evening of catching up on correspondence, working out continuing bugs with the website, and gathering material for the next book - Ghost Towns of Route 66. As this exciting new project progresses I will keep you posted.

As a final note, congratulations Trevor Hilton! I hope you enjoy the books and that they provide your family with countless hours of fun on the backroads of Route 66.