The People Along Route 66

One of my fondest memories of Route 66, alongside the road itself and the differing landscapes, will always be the people we met en route. This was brought home to me even more having flown down to Fort Lauderdale where I used my holiday ownership to secure a week at the beach in Lauderdale by the Sea. The photos I’ve included were taken on a river boat trip around Fort Lauderdale known as the Venice of America.
The plan was to rest up for a week before embarking upon the second half of our road trip along the Eastern seaboard from Lauderdale to New York. 

When we were out on Route 66 everyone we met was either a fellow traveller or someone who owned or worked on the Mother Road. Without exception they were all friendly and welcoming. Suddenly we were thrust back into a world where we were the “odd ones out”. We were travellers, the word itself didn’t resonate with the people now surrounding us. 

We arrived mid evening at our accommodation in Florida and the keys were left in a lock box ready for us to check in the following morning. On leaving our apartment the next day at 10 am we aimed to pop into reception to get the formalities complete before heading out on foot to the supermarket for groceries. Descending the stairs we found ourselves amidst an unannounced “Welcome Meeting”.
We politely stood to one side as each individual announced their name, where they came from and their favourite drink. 

Given we hadn’t sat down amongst them I figured they would pass us over but no that wasn’t happening. I tentatively gave my name, said I was from England and didn’t drink. Amidst some astonishment at our non alcoholic lifestyle we were then suddenly declared the winners of longest journey. I decided to rectify this mistake saying we had flown down from LA . This led to me explaining why we had flown from LA. 

Driving Route 66 from Chicago didn’t even register with these new visitors. They were proud timeshare owners who were part of the “Week 28” club. Guests who came back here the same week(s) every year. Don’t get me wrong I had done the same in the past. 
When I bought my first holiday ownership in 1999 I returned to my home resort every year for two weeks in the school summer holidays for about six years. The actual weeks I owned were in the spring but I could easily internally exchange them to weeks that suited my childrens’ summer vacation from school. 

It suddenly came home to us that we were no longer holidaymakers but travellers and we were simply not on the same page as these people. 

Memories of wonderful old Rose at the Route 66 Museum in Pontiac came flooding back. She was so friendly, so welcoming along with Robyn who worked in the shop and shared her own travel plans with us – see previous post “The Essence of Route 66″.
Robyn fully understood our motivation and why we were heading out on the journey across America. 

Whilst some of the guests at the apartment complex had travelled across states to get to Lauderdale, they had driven 12+ hours on the interstate, ploughing through the miles, SUV laden down with family, food and everything they were going to need for the beach and their one or two week break from normal life. They didn’t understand our need to take it slow, to follow old Route 66 and arrive maybe six hrs later at our next destination having only driven 200 miles. To them this probably seemed a waste of time.

People who owned businesses on Route 66 were genuinely pleased to see us.
Robert at The Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari cheerfully showed us and a French family around the property before giving us the keys to our room for the night. Leaving us with the declaration that he made the best coffee in New Mexico and “be sure to come to reception in the morning and get a cup!’ My husband duly did so and as a bit of a coffee connoisseur declared it the best on Route 66 at the end of our journey!!

Cindy way out at the Jack Rabbit Trading post in Joseph City, Arizona greeted me with a cheerful smile and welcomed me to her store. She didn’t know me from Adam but she was genuinely pleased when people called in.

Mirna and Clarissa in Seligman at the Original Route 66 Gift Shop were busy taking an inventory of their stock when we popped in early one Thursday morning. They both stopped what they were doing, gave us a big smile and welcomed us, pointing us in the direction of Angel’s barber shop.

In contrast the owner of the Lauderdale property, in response to us being British said “we usually have a couple from London here this week but for the first time this year they haven’t booked. The Brits aren’t coming to Florida anymore!” My immediate response was “well the pound is back up against the dollar so maybe that will change”.
I could have launched into an explanation of how inflation is still at 9%, utility bills have trebled and mortgage repayments have gone through the roof which has meant lots of families are refraining from taking holidays this year or if they are, they are keeping the cost down by only venturing to Europe but I chose to keep my response brief.
Despite encountering the owner a couple more times during our week long stay her mood towards us didn’t improve! Instead of being pleased that we had chosen her resort she seemed to hold us accountable for the absence of fellow British holidaymakers.

As the week wore on it became obvious that the “Week 28” club had their own routines, events and get togethers.
We, meanwhile, enjoyed our own company and reflected even more upon our Route 66 travels. Our conversation included new plans for the future, for example traversing Canada, travelling The Oregon Trail or even returning to Route 66 which brought to mind a previous conversation we had with fellow travellers.
When we had been in Cuba, Missouri at The Wagon Wheel Motel there was a central area provided for guests to sit, chat and even gather around a fire pit if the weather was chilly. We were sat out there mainly because it provided better wifi than in our room but were soon joined by Brennan Matthews, his wife Kate and later his son Thembi.
Brennan is the editor of Route Magazine and this was their third or fourth trip along Route 66. He had even written a book, recently published called Miles To Go about his first Route 66 encounter which I had duly purchased and read whilst we were completing our own journey.
At this early stage in our Route 66 trip we thought this was a bit odd, why would you want to do this again and again? But here we were in Florida not even a week after finishing it and contemplating a return, talking about the parts we wanted to explore further, the detours we might do next time and how our plans would be more fluid second time around.

When we left our accommodation at Lauderdale it wasn’t with a feeling of regret but one of anticipation as to what our next adventure was going to bring as we set out on the road once again, knowing it would eventually end at JFK airport in another six weeks time.

We wouldn’t unfortunately be greeted here with delight as we had at the specially placed booth on Santa Monica Pier when we finished Route 66. Ian Bowen was so pleased to see us, we chatted to him for ages before entering our names in the Route 66 role of honour and receiving a signed certificate of our achievement alongside two other families who arrived around the same time, one from America and the other from Norway!

The people who drive Route 66 are travellers, a unique band of brothers who enjoy the open road, who share a camaraderie and welcome new members to their invisible club. We were now members and how we missed that feeling when sat amongst the holiday makers of Florida.