ROUTE 66 CHICAGO TO SANTA MONICA A 19 day Escorted Small Group Tour Tour Dates: 25th April 2016 13th May 2016 The iconic road that travels from Chicago to Santa Monica, known as Route 66 is one of our most popular tours. While travelling on this small group tour, we follow the road through the small country towns that make up the real America. We get to meet the locals, and learn the importance that this road played in the history and fabric of the USA. 1
Route 66 Road Trip > Departs 25th April 2016 Days From 19 $ 10,987 * pp Tour Inclusions Pick Up/Return to your own Home Return Airfares from Brisbane/Sydney including Airport Taxes. Road Transport in a late model Mercedes Sprinter Your Tour Highlights Stay at the Congress Plazza which was home to Al Capone and enjoy a city tour and river cruise while in Chicago. Visit the family home and final resting place of Abraham Lincoln. View the marvel that is the Chain of Rocks Bridge and walk along the extremely rare and last remaining one mile of original brick paved Route 66. Take a cruise on the Mississippi River and ride to the top of the Gateway Arch. Take a guided tour through Meramac Caverns, hideout for Jesse James and his gang. Visit the oldest continually inhabited native American village, and drive through the Petrified Forest. Get an up close view of the Grand Canyon, see the lights of LAs Vegas and get to sleep in a Wig Wam. * Tour prices are per person based on twin-share. Chain of Rocks Bridge All Meals, Snacks & Bottled Water No More to Pay (Except for drinks & souvenirs) All Sightseeing and Attractions All Gratuities No need to worry about how much you need to tip The services of a Travelling Made Easy tour guide for the full length of tour. Bonuses Include: Travel Pack Packing Guide Holiday Journal Gifts Membership to Travelling Made Easy VIP Club Information Lunch in Brisbane A USB of Tour Photos 2
Route 66 Tour Itinerary Monday 25th April A direct flight this morning from Sydney or Brisbane to Los Angeles. Once you clear immigration and customs we will take our connecting flight to Chicago. Tonight will be a fun Welcome Dinner as we enjoy Chicago s original Deep Dish Pizza. An optional night on the town with your Tour Guide at the Chicago House of Blues, for the best blues music on the planet. Overnight: Congress Plaza Tuesday 26th April Today we have a Chicago City Tour to learn about the history of this vibrant city with an all day Hop On Hop Off Tour Company. A late afternoon cruise to learn about and admire the Chicago Architecture and Lock System into the Chicago River. Overnight: Congress Plaza Hotel Wednesday 27th April Let The Road Trip Begin! The Mother Road moniker first appeared in John Steinbeck s novel The Grapes of Wrath. In this depression era classic, the Joad family trekked west across Oklahoma on Route 66, an exodus route for hundreds of thousands of real life immigrants escaping the drought stricken region during the Dust Bowl years. Have your photo taken with the Start of 66 Plaque on Adams Street and then head to Lou Mitchells for breakfast. Old school waiters serve fluffy pancakes, thick French toast and omelette s. Free donut holes while you wait and the ladies get a box of free Milk Duds for the road. Leave Chicago and head for the corn fields. See the giant fibreglass spaceman in Wilmington, stop for chilli cheese fries to share at the Braidwood Diner and check out the vintage gas station in Odell. Back on 66 for a little while and we ll reach the throwback hamlet of Atlanta. Stop at the Palm Grill Cafe where thick slabs of gooseberry, peach, sour cream raisin and other retro pies tempt. Tall Paul, a giant statue of Paul Bunyan clutching a hot dog, and the old time murals splashed across Atlanta s buildings provide top photo opportunities in Illinois. Farm House style country cooking at Bob Evans Restaurant for dinner tonight. Overnight: Holiday Inn Express Springfield Thursday 28th April At Springfield, Abe fans get weak kneed at the holy trio of sights...lincoln s Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery, the Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library and the Lincoln Home, all in or near downtown. Leaving corn dogs, Abe Lincoln shrines, farms and grain silos in our wake, we drive into Missouri and stop at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. Take a walk across the pedestrian and Cyclist only, mile long span over the Mississippi River, which has a 22 degree angled bend in the middle. Onto St Louis. Bar-B-Q in America is a whole different ball game to Bar-B-Q in Australia. Tonight we are eating at Bandana s Bar-B-Q for an authentic mid western flavour hit. Overnight: Holiday Inn Express Fenton Friday 29th April This morning we can ogle the most iconic attraction, the 630 foot tall Gateway Arch. We can take an up close look at the stainless steel span and the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial surrounding it. The memorial honours Thomas Jefferson, the westward thinking president behind the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. A sightseeing cruise aboard the Tom Sawyer or Becky Thatcher riverboats while the captain narrates the cruise. We ll learn about the Mississippi River, the Gateway Arch, and the landmarks, architecture and rich history of St. Louis, Missouri. Jefferson was also an early fan of ice cream, so we need to stop at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard to honour his culinary vision with a creamy treat. Choose one of the 27 toppings to swirl into our concrete...so thick they hand it to us upside down. Overnight: Holiday Inn Express Fenton Saturday 30th April Be on the lookout for the kitschy billboards touting Meramec Caverns. This camp ground has lured road trippers with offbeat ads since 1933. From gold panning to river boat rides there would easily be a day s worth of distractions, but we don t want to miss the historical and geologically engaging cave tour. Dinner at Elm Street Eatery for some authentic American meals. Meet Ramona at the nostalgic, 1940 s era Munger Moss Motel. She keeps the spirit in Lebanon, with a bright neon sign and Route 66 themed rooms. Overnight: Munger Moss Motel Sunday 1st May This morning we take Highway 96 to Civil War era Carthage and its 66 Drive In Theatre. From Joplin follow Highway 66 to Old Route 66 and hang on tight. Kansas is on the horizon. This tornado prone state holds a mere 13miles of the Mother Road, less than 1% of the total. After passing through mine scarred Galena, we ll stop at the red brick Eisler Brothers Old Riverton Store where we can stock up on Route 66 memorabilia. The 1925 property looks like it did when built including the pressed tin ceiling and outhouse. Cross Highway 400 and continue to the 1923 Marsh Rainbow Arch Bridge, from where it s 3 miles south to Civil War minded Baxter Springs. From Afton to Tulsa, Route 66 parallels 1-44, now a toll road, crossing it twice before entering Vinita, a side dish to Clanton s Cafe and its lip smacking chicken fried steak. Continuing west we ll ponder the world s largest concrete Totem Pole (yes...why?) near Foyil, pay homage to Renaissance wrangler Will Rodgers in Claremore, 3
Route 66 Tour Itinerary (continued) swoop over the Verdigris River then snap a photo beside the 80 foot long Blue Whale, the happiest creature to ever get beached in the town of Catoosa. Art Deco Tulsa is Oklahoma s second largest city. It s also home town of Mother Road route maker Cyrus Avery, The Father of route 66. Tonight you will experience the freshest of seafood, flown in each day from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico, at the White River Fish Market. Overnight: Holiday Inn Express Tulsa Monday 2nd May In Arcadia, 90 miles southwest, the cavernous, red painted Round Barn decks it out with a 66 foot bottle of soft drink for attention. This is the eye catching calling card for Pops, a glass walled gas station built in 2007. The station s spare, space age contours are kept grounded by the retro charms inside. There are 530 varieties of soda pop, a burger and shake serving Diner and waiters who don t mind answering the inevitable soda pop questions. It s boots and chaps and cowboy hats in Oklahoma City, home of the fantastic National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. The Field of Empty Chairs at the Oklahoma City Memorial and Museum is a moving reminder of the 168 men, women and children killed by a terrorist explosion here on April 19, 1995. The first onion fried burger was served in 1926 in El Reno, Oklahoma. Today this kickin delicacy(ground beef combined with raw onions and cooked on the grill to caramelise) wows diners at burger joints state wide. Tonight it s Soul Food at Cajun King for the great tastes of New Orleans Cajun/Creole cooking. Overnight: Holiday Inn Express Oklahoma City Tuesday 3rd May Route 66 rolls west from here. Tip your hat to Garth Brooks in Yukon, the country crooner s former hometown. West of Hydro, look for the distinctive out thrust, live over porch at Lucille s Service Station, built in 1929. Lucille s Service Station, a classic and historic gas station along Route 66 near Hydro, is one of only two upper-story, out-thrust porch style stations left on Oklahoma s stretch of Route 66. Built in 1929 by Carl Ditmore, the service station was renamed by Provine Station in the 1930s. In 1941, the Hamons family took over the operation of the station and Lucille Hamons, for which the service station is named, ran the business for 60 years. Lucille, who quickly became known for her friendly assistance to motorists, earned the nickname Mother of the Mother Road. Flags from all eight Mother road states fly high beside the memorabilia filled Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton. This fun loving treasure trove, run by the Oklahoma Historical Society uses music and videos to dramatise six decades of Route 66 history, including a faux but fun drivein theatre. Continue west to Erick, hometown of King of the Road composer Roger Miller. With the song s first breezy line floating through our speakers (Trailers for sale or rent...) it s an easy cruise through Texola into the Lone Star State. Standing along Route 66 west of Amarillo, Texas, Cadillac Ranch was invented and built by a group of art-hippies imported from San Francisco. They called themselves The Ant Farm, and their their silent partner was Amarillo billionaire Stanley Marsh 3. He wanted a piece of public art that would baffle the locals, and the hippies came up with a tribute 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 Pyramid 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. That was in 1974. People would stop along the highway, walk out to view the cars, then deface them or rip off pieces as souvenirs. Stanley Marsh 3 and The Ant Farm were tolerant of this public deconstruction of their art, although it doomed the tail fins and eventually came to encourage it. Decades have passed. The Cadillac s have now been in the ground as art longer than they were on the road as cars. They are stripped to their battered frames, splattered in day-glo paint splodge, barely recognisable as automobiles. Yet Cadillac Ranch is more popular than ever. It s become a ritual site for those who travel The Mother Road. The smell of spray paint hits you from a hundred yards away; the sound of voices chattering in French, German, and UK English makes this one of the most polyglot places between the UN and Las Vegas. Getting into Amarillo, the Big Texan Steak Ranch and Motel, with its giant cowboy sign, flashing lights, longhorn limousine and shooting arcade is about as kitsch as they come. Your 72 oz steak is free if you can eat it within an hour. That s over 2 kilograms of steak. $72 if you fail! Overnight: Big Texan Ranch and Motel Wednesday 4th May Wandering into Vega we ll find the nicely restored Magnolia Gas Station. The 1950 s diner style Midpoint Cafe in Adrian marks the halfway point between LA and Chicago and serves some good ugly crust pie. From here its 63 miles past the chillies on the New Mexico welcome sign and through the vast desert flatness of the Llano Estacado, named after the seas of stalk like yucca, to Tucumcari. With plenty of roadside kitsch and old school neon, this tiny ranching town is a favourite for Route 66 aficionados looking for a remnant of the old southwest, a southwest before the damming of the rivers, the arrival of the snowbirds and the Chain of Comfort Suites. Check out the 1936 Blue Swallow Motel, a roadside classic with pull in garages beside some rooms, vintage decor and blue neon boasting 100% refrigerated air. The interstate stretches endlessly from Tucumcari to the horizon, dry and windy, mile after mile, with the emptiness of the plains falling to the east and flat topped mesas dotted with pinion popping out of the nothingness as we head west. After 1936 Route 66 was re-aligned from its original path north through Santa Fe to a direct line west through 4
Route 66 Tour Itinerary (continued) Tijeras Canyon, sandwiched between the 10,000 foot limestone capped granite Sandia and Manzano Mountains, and into Albuquerque. Today the city s Central Avenue, an eclectic treasure trove of Route 66 landmarks peppered with boho coffeehouses and funky restaurants, tattoo parlours (any one for a Route 66 tattoo) and New Age shops, follows the post 1937 route. Central Avenue is one of the best stretches of the old road, a 7 mile cruise through trendy Nob Hill and downtown Albuquerque, past the low flung adobes and quirky museums (think rattlesnakes, atomic bombs and turquoise) of Old Town and over the Rio Grande River. We also don t want to miss the spectacular tile and wood artistry of the Kimo Theatre, across from the old Indian Trading Post downtown. This 1927 icon of pueblo deco architecture blends Native American culture with art deco design. The prominent swastika for example is a Navajo symbol for life, freedom and happiness. Dinner tonight at the famous Route 66 Diner. Overnight: Holiday Inn Express Albuquerque Thursday 5th May West from Albuquerque, vestiges of old Route 66 continue to cluster in the cities, so it s back to the interstate to drive the 60 miles to Acoma Pueblo. Known as sky city, this Native American community perched on a 370 foot sandstone mesa vies with the Hopi Village of Old Oraibi and Taos Pueblo for the title of longest continuously inhabited settlement in the United States. Tribal members have lived in the pueblo since 1150 and many of the dwellings remain much as they have for centuries with no sewer, water or electricity. We ll need to allow a few hours for a walking tour to the Mesa if we decide to do this and then head along the interstate 90 miles to Gallup, where Route 66 dips off 1-40 to act as the main drag past beautifully restored buildings. Continuing on the interstate it s another 70 miles over the Arizona border to the surreal Petrified Forest National Park. The trees here are fragmented fossilised 225 million year old logs, in essence wood that has turned into stone, scattered over a vast area of semi desert grassland. Many are huge, up to 6 feet in diameter. There is a 28 mile paved scenic drive. Photo stop of the Painted Desert from the park s Kachina Point before driving a final hour to the lonesome little town of Winslow (made famous by the Eagles song Take it Easy ) for forty winks at the La Posada. Designed by Mary Colter for Fred Harvey, the early 20th century entrepreneur who codified Southwestern style in his hotels and restaurants along the Santa Fe Railway, this 1929 hotel features elaborate tile work, glass and chandeliers and Navajo rugs. Colter created some of the most famous building in the south west, including several that blend magnificently into the limestone of Grand Canyon National Park, but many consider this rambling hacienda to be her masterpiece. Small, period styled rooms are named for former guests including Albert Einstein and Gary Cooper. Dinner tonight in the Turquoise Room. Overnight: La Posada Winslow Friday 6th May Hit the road as we take a slight detour off Old 66 to take in the beauty of the Grand Canyon. A powerful and inspiring landscape, the Grand Canyon will overwhelm our senses through its immense size. Unique combinations of geologic colour and eroded forms decorate a canyon that is 277 (446 km) river miles long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and a mile (1.6 km) deep. Dinner in the Arizona Room right near the rim of the Grand Canyon Overnight: Williams Saturday 7th May Rejoin the interstate for the short drive to tiny Seligman. The Snow Cap Drive In here has beenin the Delgadillo family since it opened in 1953. In Seligman, we can have coffee at the Road Kill Cafe. The menu has to be seen to be believed. The Mother Road arcs northwest from Seligman away from 1-40 through blink and miss them towns for 90 miles back around to I-40 and quiet Kingman, home to a couple of fun museums. Once again we detour off Route 66 to take in the sights and sounds of Las Vegas. Dinner at the Hash House A Go Go, (where the locals eat) and you can even try a stack of Southern Fried Green Tomatoes... sounds terrible but tastes great. Overnight: Holiday Inn Express Las Vegas Sunday 8th May Today is a totally free day to enjoy Las Vegas, do some shopping at the discount shops, take in a show or two, watch the fountains dance at the Bellagio, take a Gondola Ride at the Venetian, have a Latte under the Eiffel Tower, play a round of golf or just relax with a cool drink. You ll get cash for dinner tonight so you can eat where ever you like. Maybe you d like to try one of the famous Las Vegas Buffet s. Overnight: Holiday Inn Express Las Vegas Monday 9th May Across the desert, signs of life return as we reach Barstow, home of the Route 66 Mother Road Museum, featuring classic cars, vintage photos and priceless auto repair signage. In nearby Victorville, Uma Thurman hit the Mother Road with a vengeance in Quentin Tarantino s 2004 Kill Bill Vol 2 after a pit stop at Emma Jeans Holland Burger Cafe. Take a stroll back in time at the California Route 66 Museum to glimpse the life s work of trash maestro Miles Mahan: a scavenged 9 foot hula dancer amid a Cactus Garden of wine bottles stuck to fence posts. Taking I-15 out of Victorville, then rejoin Route 66 heading south towards the San Bernardino suburbs to reach the cartoonish Wigwam Motel, which movie buffs may recognise as the Cosy Cone Motel in Pixar s 2006 animation Cars (originally titled Route 66). Each recently renovated 1949 concrete tepee has its own diminutive bathroom and guest room, complete with wagon wheel bed head. Overnight: Wigwam Motel San Bernardino 5
Route 66 Tour Itinerary (continued) Tuesday 10th May Breakfast at the famous Corky s. Follow Foothills Blvd/Route 66 west through retro suburban Pasadena, where we ll spot midcentury homes, motels and diners along palm lined streets. For a Hollywood ending to our trip take Arroyo Seco Parkway to Los Angeles, where Sunset Blvd connects us to Santa Monica Blvd (formerly Route 66). When we reach Pacific Park, we ll park, take a photo on the pier next to the Route 66 sign and ride off into the sunset on the solar powered 130 foot Ferris wheel at the western terminus of Route 66...the Santa Monica Pier. Celebration and Farewell Dinner at Bubba Gumps. Overnight: Holiday Inn Lax Airport Wednesday 11th May A Tour today of Los Angeles with time for last minute shopping. You will have the use of your room until you depart by shuttle to the Airport, approximately 3 hours before your flight. This gives you time to shower and freshen up for the trip home. Your Flight departs at 11.55 p.m. from LAX International Airport Thursday 12th May Lose a day crossing the International Date Line Friday 13th May Breakfast Arrive in Brisbane at 7.00 a.m. Book early to avoid disappointment our Tours are limited and fill up quickly www.travellingmadeeasy.com.au