Route 66—The Mother Road May 15 2014 - Eight Days & Seven Nights

Fares Per Person: $2499 Double $1899 Single Airfare is not included

Includes:

8 days Coach Transportation Oklahoma City 7 nights Hotel Accommodations “Official Route 66 Museum” Chicago—Official Start of Route 66 Abraham Lincoln's Home & Museum Cowboy and Indian Country Will Rogers Museum Classic Route 66 Cadillac Ranch Joplin, MO Gratuities and Luggage Handling Meramec Caverns 5 Lunches—7 dinners

Travel the Most Famous Highway in the World—Route 66.

Immortalized in folklore, cinema and song, Route 66 remains the iconic symbol of the great American road trip; a journey of adventure, discovery and the freedom of the open road. Cruising "America's Main Street," from snow-cones and corndogs, to cowboys, and rock-n-roll - its classic Americana all the way, as you travel through the heartland on the worlds most famous road.

Daytripping 759 Mendocino Avenue Santa Rosa, CA 95401 > 707 577 8894 Itinerary

Thursday, May 15: Fly to Chicago to begin your Historic Route 66 Adventure at the beginning—Michigan and Adams Street down- town Chicago. Overnight in Chicago.

Friday, May 16: First stop on the route is Chicago’s longest-running breakfast restaurant -– Lou Mitchell’s. “We were here in 1923, and Route 66 didn’t start until 1926. We were here waiting for them,” Now hit the road for a good, old-fashioned American road trip. Just outside Chicago, see several of Route 66's original gas stations. Explore the history and cultural impact of America's Mother Road at the Route 66 Association Hall of Fame and Museum. Roll on southwest stopping for a photo of the 36-foot muffler man statue near the Launching Pad restaurant, the legendary drive-in at Willmington, Il and on to Springfield, Il for two nights at the Route 66 Hotel.

Saturday, May 17: Today visit Shea’s Gas Station. A favorite photo stop for Route 66 travelers from around the world, Shea’s is a charming and eclectic collection of over half a century of gas station memora bilia. Owner Bill Shea is always eager to share his stories about his collection and his life over 50 years alongside Route 66. Lunch Route 66 Diner. Next, the final resting place of Abraham Lincoln—Lincoln Tomb – Within the walls of this granite monument lie Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary, and three of their four sons. It is a tradition to rub the nose of Lincoln’s bronze visage for luck! Tour the only home Lincoln owned. Purchased in 1844 as a 1 ½ story cottage, this lovingly preserved home grew along with the Lincoln family to the structure it is today. View actual Lincoln family furnishings and period artifacts.

Sunday, May 18: Get ready for a real taste of America's Midwest today, along the way a stop at Ted Drewes Fro- zen Custard, who have been serving Route 66 travelers since 1929. Visit Meramec Caverns, a timeless attraction visited by millions travelling Route 66. Meramec Caverns were used by Jes- se James, of famed James Gang fame - who locals knew as "just a nice Missouri boy" - as a hideout when escaping the Law. The owner of Meramec Caverns, Lester Dill started the Amer- ican advertising institution, the bumper sticker, when he gave away portable advertising to all who stopped by to visit. In the late 1860’s, Jesse James used them as a natural hideout. What follows is a marvelous stretch of The Mother Road, through Cuba (what beautiful murals) to Devil’s Elbow into Ozark Country. Dinner at a favorite roadside retreat, Hicks BBQ in Cuba, serves up some of the best BBQ you will ever sink your teeth into! Overnight in Waynesville, MO. Monday, May 19:

First stop today is Carthage, MO at the Jasper County Courthouse. Built in 1894-5, this Rom- anesque Revival building is constructed of Carthage stone and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its turrets, towers, and arches evoke a feel of a medieval castle looming over the city below. The courthouse houses a Route 66 Museum. Today Route 66 takes you through Jop- lin, MO, a city that was hit very hard in 2011 by a massive tornado. From Joplin the road heads west through Oklahoma following the contour of the land as if it’s always been there. Visit the Old Rainbow Arch Bridge and Colman Theatre before stopping to tour the Will Rogers Memorial, a tribute to America’s famous humorist, in Claremore, OK. Tonight’s accommodations are at The

Ambassador Hotel in downtown Tulsa.

Tuesday, May 20:

An early jump on the day today as you begin with breakfast at the Rock Café in Stroud. You cover 100 miles of the Old West’s Indian country between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. In the 1830’s all this land, held to be useless, was set aside as Indian Territory – a convenient dumping ground for the so-called Five Civilized Tribes who blocked white settlement in the southern states. Further west and into Oklahoma City, the heart and soul of Route 66 country! A guide takes us on a highlights tour of Oklahoma City. Relax and see the sights along the Bricktown Canal from the water taxi cruise. Visit the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Enjoy your stay tonight in the heart of Oklahoma City at the historic Skrivin Hilton hotel. Dinner at Cattleman’s Stockyard Res- taurant.

Wednesday, May 21:

Back on the route today travel through Sallisaw, OK said to be the setting for Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath novel. Tour the Official Route 66 Museum in Clinton, MO for the ultimate Route 66 experi- ence. Encounter the iconic ideas, images, and myths of the Mother Road. Learn about the dreams and the labor needed to make the road a reality. Experience the dust bowl as thousands streamed along the road, away from drought and despair and towards the "land of promise." Listen to the sounds of the Big Band Era, when the roar of the big trucks and the welcome home cries to return- ing soldiers dominated the road. Sit at the counter or a booth in the 1950s diner and feel the open road as America's families vacationed along the length of Route 66. Next stop, the tiny, way- western-Oklahoma town of Erick was brim-full of celebrity before Harley and Annabelle Rus- sell ever set up shop. Erick was home to Roger Miller (he wrote "King of the Road" and the musical Big River) and Sheb Wooley (known for "Purple People Eater" and his rolls in High Noon and the TV show Rawhide). A few blocks down from the intersection of Roger Miller Boulevard and Sheb Wooley Avenue, you'll find what currently keeps Erick highlighted on the map: Harley and Annabelle, the self-proclaimed Mediocre Music Makers, performing at their Sandhills Curiosity Shop. Visit the Roger Miller Museum. Spend tonight in Amaril- lo, the heart of Cowboy Country. Dinner at the Big Texan.

Thursday, May 22:

Cadillac Ranch "Delightful piece of Americana. A bunch of cars turned on end. Spray paint caked in layers. An archaeological dig of pop culture. Standing along Route 66 west of Amarillo, , Ca- dillac Ranch was invented and built by a group of art-hippies imported from San Francisco. They called themselves The , and their silent partner was Amarillo billionaire . He wanted a piece of public art that would baffle the locals, and the hippies came up with a trib- ute to the evolution of the Cadillac tail fin. Ten Caddies were driven into one of Stanley Marsh 3's fields, then half-buried, nose-down, in the dirt (supposedly at the same angle as the Great Pyra- mid of Giza). They faced west in a line, from the 1949 Club Sedan to the 1963 Sedan de Ville, their tail fins held high for all to see on the empty Texas panhandle. Next, The Legendary Road" murals of Route 66 in Tucumcari, . Historic neon signs still glow on old Route 66 through Al- buquerque, which is now Central Avenue. Alongside the vintage signs you will see new version put up by businesses that are continuing the aesthetic traditions of old Route 66, adorning their shops with bright , buzzing neon. Lunch in Albuquerque before heading to the airport.