Rte. 66, Hitting The Road

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9 x 12 oil on linen on masonite board

Some time ago during an evening of conversation, a friend of mine and I tossed around the idea of how fun it would be to do a, just girls, road trip. But where to? Route 66 spilled out of my mouth, we looked at each other, wickedly laughed, and the wheels were set in motion, Route 66, the Mother Road, from Chicago to the Santa Monica Pier, 2448 miles of history, our Appian Way.

We decided, we needed a third partner in crime so Mary Jane asked her friend Nancy, she was excited on the idea. We decided to take this trip the following May, a year to map it out, to stay true to the road and all that is still in existence from that era.

Mary Jane, the ultimate planner, subscribed to Route 66 magazine, we bought books on the subject, read and compared notes and mapped it all out, while our husbands just laughed and shook their heads.

Late the following April, we gathered in Michigan at Mary Jane’s ready to start our adventure form Chicago to LA, one month to do it.

We packed our car, not the idolized Corvette which none of us had, but the more comfortable, moderate SUV, after all, we needed room for our favorite pillows.

On May 1^st, set to go we said our goodbyes, Mary Jane turned left out of the driveway, the expressway was to the right, this provided much laughter for our husband for months to come.

Our plan was to start the trip at Michigan Avenue and Jackson Blvd in Chicago, head the car west and drive, but first a stop at “Hit The Road” store in Chicago, slighty north of the famous intersection. The store is loaded with Route 66 memorabilia, information and maps, especially the fascinating maps by Bob Waldmire.

I have decided to do a body of work about this trip, I won’t promise to stay in geographical order with the paintings, but it will be a great trip.

So come with me on Route 66……………