I moved from Philadelphiato Los Angeles in May 2008 and took the opportunity to do something that I had been wanting to do since I was a kid: ROUTE 66! There's a place in my heart for Americanna. I grew up in a small Philadelphia suburb, and I watched it grow more and more urban every day. Farms became scarce and highways flourished, fieldswere replaced by housing developments. I had seen a special on the Old Mother Road and the towns of the past and became fascinated with the road. I made it a goal of mine to one day ride on top of her warn down asphalt and enjoy the things that many people had forgotten. The decision was easy to drive to Los Angeles. LA traffic is the worst and I wouldn't trust the buses to get me to work on time if my life depended on it. The decision to drive to Los Angeles was easy; I needed my car and this was the perfect opportunity to get my kicks on Route 66.

My Dad drove out to Cali with me in my bright orange convertible Beetle. We had nothing in the car but our clothes, maps, a camera, a camcorder, and about fifteen mix tapes I had created just before we left.

Good old 66 starts in Chicago. Well, it used to anyway. Technically Route 66 doesn't "officially" exist anymore, but in most cases she remains, waiting for you to coast across her. At times she's easy to find, having been re-numbered by the state or county in which she occurs, but at other times she's difficult to find, merely serving as an access road. From Chicago she heads south toward Springfield, Illinois before crossing into Missouri. West of Missouri you hit a very small patch of Kansas before crossing into Oklahoma. After Oklahoma you cross the pan handle of Texas, then New Mexico and Arizona before coating into the sunny state of California. Let's take a closer look at the things you won't want to miss when driving across the Mother Road.

Don't miss one of the Mother's Road most popular men, The Gemini Giant at the Laucnhing Pad Restaraunt in Wilmington, Illinois. "Muffler men" once filled the roadways as signage for automative muffler shops in the 50s and 60s. Many owners personalized their "muffler men." They now stand in remembrance of years past. The mufflers that they held in their hands were replaced by something else. This one at the Launching Pad Restaurant was replaced by a rocket!

West of the Gemini Giant you'll want to stop and see the World's Largest Ketchup Bottle in Collinsville, Illinois, located at the old Brooks Foods plant. Constructed in 1949. Built originally as a water tower, the bottle stands atop a 100 foot base and is about 70 feet tall. Legend has it that a red headed offspring may result when a pregnant woman passes by the Collinsville Ketchup bottle too closely.

Once in Oklahoma you will not want to miss the Catoosa Blue Whale - built by a man for his wife and family as a swimming hole. Later, it became a roadside route 66 attraction to many travellers. Today, it's just awesome to looks at, but no swimming allowed.

One of my favorite towns along Route 66 was McLean, Texas, but I didn't know whether to cry or smile upon entering this town. The town was almost a ghost town, still home to some old folks who ran the local barbed wire museum and sold Route 66 trinkets and maps. These folks were the kindest, and it made me sad to see their town in such a states of decay. I could imagine the town in its heydey, and it made me sad to think that this once thriving and bustling town was expendable. The highlight of the town is what's left of the famous "Rattlesnakes Exit Now" sign, a sign that used to stand hundres of feet in the air announcing a Rattlesnake, etc. museum in McLean.

Furhter west and you'll hit my two favorite spots along Route 66, the Bug Farm in Conway, Texas and the classic Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. The Cadillac Ranch was created first, a work of public art created by an art co-op that called themselves the Ant Farm. The Cadillac Ranch is ten Cadillacs buried nose first into the ground. Over the years, spectators have added their own artwork to the cars using spray paint. The Bug Ranch was made as a spoof of the famous Cadillac Ranch, consisting of a set of five Beetle buried nose first into the ground.

One classic Route 66 hotel that I will recomend is the famous El Rancho Motel & Hotel in Gallup, New Mexico. We stayed at a lot of Route 66 hotels along our way to California, but many were as old as the Mother Road and it showed painfully. However, the El Rancho has managed to freeze itself in Mother Road era while at the same time growing with its customers. Many classic stars used to stay at the El Rancho during Hollywood's Golden Age - Gable, Stewart, Lucille Ball, etc. Their logo is "Charm of Yesterday - Convenience of Tomorrow."

Once in Arizona you absolutely cannot miss the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. The Painted Desert, rightfully named, is miles and miles of beautifully colored sand and stone. Route 66 used to run through the Painted Desert / Petrified Forest in Arizona, but today that stretch of road is dry and overgrown.

A can't miss for sweets along Route 66 is in Selligram, Arizona. A shack sized restaurant called the Snow Cap serves the best ice West of the Mississippi. The decor of the place was neon and wacky, equipped with brightly colored chairs, a Route 66 garden, and hippie paintings of flowers, mushrooms, and peace signs all over the outside of the building. The service was phenomenal as well. The restaurant is manned by a lovely couple who for sure will put a smile on your face with their "fake" ketchup bottle trick (don't worry, they don't really squirt you with the ketchup)!

Another do not miss town is Hackberry, Arizona. Hackberry is home of one of the only trading posts dressed as it would have looked during the heydey of the Mother Road. The post is cluttered with trinkets and road signs (even a urinal with a cactus planted in it). It was here in Hackberry that I saw my favorite Burma Shave sign. Burma Shave was an American brand of brushless shaving cream. Burma was famous for its advertising gimmick of posting clever rhyming poems on small, consecutive highway billboard signs. The one in Hackberry reads, "Big Mistake...Many Make...Rely on Horn...Instead of...Brake."

Last but certainly not least, do not miss the beauty of Santa Monica pier as you complete your journey across Route 66.

Should you choose to travel the Mother Road this summer, do not plan your trip ahead of time. Buy some guide books and become familiar with the road (I highly suggest Route 66 Adventure Handbook by Drew Knowles) and then throw away all rules once you begin your journey. The best parts of a road trip are the unplanned mishaps that occur along the way!