Family Friendly Prices for a Chicago Visit

I just wanted to share this article with you all especially those coming to Chicago to visit for a while before moving down Route 66.

The article "20 Things to do in Chicago for $20 or Less" from Digital Journal gives some great tips for having fun herd in Chicago without blowing all your vacation money. The items the list are also family friendly.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/355099#ixzz2acb2Uoof

I would like to thank my friends at the Willis Tower Skydeck (mentioned in the article) for passing this along.

Great Stays: #1 The Georgian Hotel - Santa Monica, CA

There is something that can be said about a great hotel or motel stay after a few days of road tripping. Although many places to stay on Route 66 are nice, hospitable, and even unique, there are times when you need to be pampered, and to rest in luxury.

The Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica is one of those places to rest in luxury. The 1933 Art Deco hotel not only exudes the class and sophistication of the era it was built, but on top of that offers a level of service that you only see in really fine hotels thanks to its pleasant and helpful staff. Part of the reason this hotel always ranks high on travel websites.

The Georgian Hotel is located at 1415 Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. Meaning that the hotels west side has some breathtaking views of Santa Monica Pier, Beach and the Pacific Ocean. Not to mention via some pedestrian bridges the hotel is only a short walk from Santa Monica Beach, and Pier, and if you forgot beach towels the hotel will lend you some for your stay.

The Georgians history definitely connects it to Route 66 since that section of Ocean Ave was a section of Route 66 leading to its western terminus  at Santa Monica Pier (or Will Rogers Hwy marker at nearby Palisades Park). Plus dating back to 1933 this hotel defiantly saw Route 66 and the LA area in their respective heydays.

The Georgian offers some unique dining experiences as well. The Georgians restaurant "The Veranda" serves Breakfest, Lunch, and Dinner, as well as cocktails with recipes dating back to prohibition served in the afternoon and evening. The food and drinks served at The Veranda for all meals are first class just like the hotel itself. But be prepared prices can get a little high on their menus, but the food is worth it.

On that note you may also like to know that the Georgian can get a bit high on room prices as well anywhere from $200 to $450 (Ocean views) per night. Which after days of Route 66 classics charging you $50-$100 a night can seem expensive but the stay at the Georgian is worth it, especially to celebrate reaching the end of Route 66 in style and luxury.

Now don't let the prices make you think that the Georgian is not family friendly. The establishment is remarkably welcoming to families including leaving a special little gift named Georgie for kids on the Bathtub. Plus the rooms come with optional Nintendo systems which may help ease your kids traveling angst. But with the beach and the amusement park on Santa Monica Pier nearby I doubt your kids will feel like spending a lot of time in your room.

Here is the website for the Georgian:
http://www.georgianhotel.com/about-our-santa-monica-luxury-hotels

Also here is the site for the Santa Monica Pier which is close by the Georgian, and a must see for the Route 66 traveler:
http://santamonicapier.org/

Route 66 Kids Picks #2 - Wigwam Motel, Holbrook, AZ

 A Kids Opinion – James 9 Years Old

“I liked it because it was like sleeping in a tent, but really being inside. I liked the old cars around other tipis, and the town was really cool because of the petrified woods, and the dinosaurs near the one place that sells the petrified wood. The tipi had was white like a real tipi and had a red stripe on it. We got to park our car right in front of it. It also had a TV in it, I liked staying there.”

The Holbrook Wigwam Motel is actually just one of two of these motels on Route 66, the other being in Rialto, CA. Although I should mention that these structures are not strictly confined to Route 66, since Wigwam Motels was actually a chain once found around country originating inKentucky, where the third surviving Wigwam Motel still stands. Many of the structures date back to as early as 1935 making them true historic Route 66 landmarks.

Both the Holbrook, and Rialto locations are well restored and maintained and worth staying in if you have the chance. Essentially each ‘Wigwam” is a small concrete cabin in the shape of a tipi. Although a bit smaller then a standard motel room, the one we stayed at in Holbrook was still very comfortable and allowed us room to move around, and bring some of or luggage in. The rooms come in one or two bed varieties and have there own private baths complete with showers. So although they look small they actually have everything you need.

I can tell you for certain that the Holbrook Wigwam is very clean and well kept, and from reviews the Rialto Wigwam is as well. Pricewise on the other hand the Holbrook Wigwam will set you back in the neighborhood of $50 a night depending on the day of the week, and the Rialtoabout $100.

These motels are true Route 66 gems, and definitely pop culture icons, ala the Cozy Cone Motel in Cars. Your kids will love it and it will defiantly make and impression. The Wigwams are a great and fun family stay.

Holbrook

http://sleepinawigwam.com/index.html

Rialto

http://wigwammotel.com/

Like this Blog? Follow me, and be sure to look for my up coming Kindle Book Traveling Route 66 with Kids

Lure of Route 66 - Preface

What is route 66? In once sense Route 66 is a teenage dream, that place of fantasy we have after we obtained our drivers licenses and want to step out into the freedom bought by driving a vehicle. The mere daydream of boys 14 or 15 years old completely unexperienced behind the wheel.

Just saying Route 66 conjures up images of the American landscape, the open road, and ultimately that freedom that comes from both.

Route 66 in essence means adventure. The thought of traveling it conjures up the image of a great odyssey. An adventure in which one may seek to find a new place to live, a beautiful woman, a new job, a new way to live, or might also seek to find themselves on this road.

The open road no matter where it is or what it is named always presents a chance for self-discovery and self awareness. Ultimately any road traveler no matter what the age, no matter what the relationship status, or their lot in life travels upon the open road to discover something new about themselves. Route 66 even though it is a particular name that travels through a particular place in essence embodies the spirit of the open road no matter where it is.

Traveling route 66 weather by yourself or with a girlfriend or boyfriend or with your family is always an adventure. It is a journey through history, a journey through many different types of terrians, a journey through many different types of regions, and it is a journey to discover what is in your own soul.

I won't lie to you there is a certain amount of hype in Route 66. This is hype and myth that has been left to us by previous generations. Yet at its core there's something unique and special about this journey. When you start your journey on it you will start as a stranger you'll find yourself feeling as out of place as the road itself is in our modern age. You will feel the call to travel the interstates to travel quickly to travel safely. You will feel the call to climb upon airliner and get to where you're going in a couple hours. Route 66 at first will not feel right but as you continue on your journey something about it will feel right, something about it will make you feel whole. You will find that the open road beckons you, and you will also find so too does it's many ghosts. For this route is not only a route from modern city to modern city it is also route through time and through the remains and graveyards of a world that once was.

These graveyards will present themselves in forms of forgotten towns. They'll present themselves in the forms of long-lost gas stations, tourist courts, roadside attractions and cafes formally all teeming with tourists and travelers but now forgotten to deteriorate into ruins next to the interstates and modern facilities that have replaced them for good.

Although Route 66 may have many ghosts so to does it have many of the living. Those who remember the route and it's heyday who are willing to pass down it's stories whether positive or negative. You will meet those who remember the route as it was, and who made their business and their lives upon the road. But you will also find daydreamers those who have staked their existence upon the road as it once was to bring it back to his former glory. Those who have purchased and are restoring businesses and buildings that once used to represent the road and all that it epitomized. You will also find a road that is very much alive. You will see as it travels through Chicago and as it meanders through Los Angeles that the route although sometimes forgotten very much lives and is used every day by people on their way to work or to home or any other place they may have to travel. You will also see the route as the main thorough fare through many other small towns and small and medium-size cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, and Flagstaff just to name a few. Not to mention you'll see 66 as part of the famous Colorado Boulevard through Pasadena California meaning that Route 66 is the star of every New Year's Day as Pasadena presents it's Parade of Roses.

That's the thing about Route 66 there are so many juxtapositions. From farm fields to deserts, from urban blight to urban renewal, major world cities to forgotten small towns, rich to poor, from future to past. In many ways there is a surrealism about the whole route. On a three day trip down the route one could find themselves at Navy Pier in Chicago indulging in the cities luxury, and twenty-four hours later find themselves in the flatlands of Oklahoma sharing a cheap motel with oil field roughnecks. Then the day after that sleeping in a Wigwam Motel in the deserts of Arizona, and the next day starring out accross the Pacific on Santa Monica Pier. 2000 miles of changes, 2000 miles of different ways of life, 2000 miles of incongruity bought together for one uniform past.

In a way that also sums up Route 66's history, incongruity bought together for one uniform goal. 66's past is that of a country with growing pains, and ever changing opinions. The route was aligned, and realigned over and over to suit the needs of the country that traveled it, till finally it had popped its seems and needed to be superseded. Much like the philosophy and beliefs of our nation had been superseded as we moved into a more progressive and unfamiliar new era.

Dont misunderstand me the journey down 66 does not require some deep philosophical understanding of history and politics. It just requires that the traveler be willing to grasp a new understanding, and appreciation for the route and our nation. Most travelers on Route 66 discover the route engages them and not the other way around. The route presents a level of awe, hospitality, and lighthearted playfulness to the first time traveler. It's story may be sad but it's a story about life going on, and drawing inspiration from the pasts mistakes and triumphs to move forward, expressed on a level of accessibility and optimism.

All I can tell anyone is to take the journey, and most importantly if you have children make it a goal to take the trip. Experience Route 66's wonders, and emotions. Feel the adventure, and the excitment of the unpredictable around every corner, just as life always is for children. Be open to what the road had to show you, and be willing to discover. 

Route 66: How long does it take?

This is one of the biggest questions I hear from people when I talk about
traveling the route. Often I have to counter ask "how much time do you have?" or
"how much do you want to see?". There is no right or wrong amount of time,
although I would say that anything less than 3 days is unrealistic, unless your
flying over the route in a plane.

If time is a factor you’ll have to ask yourself some basic questions. Start with how much time do you have and how much do you want to see? Then ask yourself how long do you want to travel each day? And lastly how well does my family take to long periods in the car? This last one should be asked even if time isn’t a factor.

For my family and I our first trip true to the route took 7 days. The 7 days allowed us enough time to see a majority of 66's sites and even linger at some of them a bit. By the end though we were exhausted and our two days at the Georgian Hotel, and at Santa Monica Beach where greatly appreciated. But being our first trip there was also a
learning curve, we had a few long travel days brought about by time wasted here or there that could have easily been cut to bring us shorter travel days or to have shaved a day off the trip.

Three days may be enough time to travel the route, just be prepared to have long travel days and to have very little time at the many sites. Obviously, though the longer you can take the shorter your travel days. Ideally speaking two weeks would be perfect for this, but some RVers, and motorcyclists have been known to take a month making the trip. Traveling with kids though I could tell you a month would be exaggerated, and probably lead to
boredom and discontent. This is why it’s also important to know how your family behaves on the road. For some families 4 hours a day in the car for 14 days maybe as bad as 12 hours for 3 days.

Ideally speaking, to give yourself enough time and to see as much as you can I would suggest 7-10 days. Keep in mind that unlike the long an boring interstates Route 66 has plenty of distractions along the way perfect for kids, and spending time at these sites can make for an enjoyable trip for the whole family.

It is my hope that through this blog I can pass what I have learned on to you,
so you can avoid or at least be aware of time eaters so as to properly prepare
for them.

Summer is Here!

Well summer is finally here and I am hoping some of you are considering "getting
your kicks on Route 66" this year. I hope in some way I can help you make the
trip through what I have written on this blog.

So let's talk about options. You really want to travel the whole route, but
maybe time, your budget, or just traveling with kids are factors why you can't.

First of all nothing says you have to travel the whole route, although it's my
guess that would be your preference. Remember, Route 66 is just like any other
road you can use it to travel from point A to Point B even if A isn't Chicago,
and B isn't Santa Monica. Catch the route where you can and enjoy the drive,
trust me what you do see is worth it.

Secondly keep in mind that most of old 66 is located within close proximity to one of the interstates that replaced it. In some cases such as some portions in Arizona, and New Mexico, the interstate is old 66, or what the old timers refer to as the interstate being built on top of old 66. This means that as your travel factors allow, you can hit portions of 66 and easily return to the interstate to move things along.

Lastly remember that 66 can be taken ala carte. By this I mean that you can
choose to just stop and see sites significant to the route without traveling it. Most of the sites are near the interstates as well, and stopping to see the sites may wet you and your families appetites towards traveling the route while giving you some appreciation for the experience.

I will be covering different trip ideas and sites to see along the route
throughout the summer, so be sure to stop by again.