Tag Archive for: Route 66

As we continue along on our week-long journey of unique containers, I thought that I would share with you one that is portable.

Marigolds and Dianthus

Marigolds and Dianthus

This old wheelbarrow makes a very useful container because you can move it easily to a shady or sunny area as needed.

This antique wheelbarrow is filled with marigolds and dianthus and was located along Route 66 in the historic downtown of Williams, AZ which is a place that we spend time every summer.

This stretch of Route 66 is filled with fun and quirky examples of Americana that I shared in an earlier post.

With any container, you need drainage holes, so you would have to add some to whatever unique container you decide to plant.

Tomorrow, I’ll show you a container that you may find yourself sitting on by accident.

Have you ever traveled through a part of Route 66?

Route 66 through Springfield, Illinois

Route 66 through Springfield, Illinois

For me, I love the pure sense of ‘Americana’ that seems to pervade this historic route that travels through Illinois all the way to California. 

Grand Canyon Railway

Every summer, my family and I spend a week up in Williams, Arizona.  For those of you unfamiliar with this small town – it is the ‘Gateway to the Grand Canyon’ and is home to the ‘Grand Canyon Railway’, which brings people up to the Grand Canyon itself.

Williams, Arizona

Williams, Arizona

Many tourists visit this little town on their way to the Grand Canyon.  As you walk down the main street, you hear many different languages.

Williams, Arizona

Williams, Arizona

Williams is up in the mountains and is approximately 3 hours north of Phoenix and a half-hour west of Flagstaff.

As you enter the town and cross the railroad tracks, you are greeted by the sight of the Red Garter and its ‘loose’ woman waving from the top window, above.

Williams, Arizona

Both sides of the main street, which straddles Route 66 is contains a mixture of stores, restaurants and local businesses.

Each year, in preparation for our trip – my kids save up their allowance to spend in some of their favorite stores.

Williams, Arizona

One of our first stops was at a new store called Alien Jerky.  To be honest, I had no idea what was in store for us when we went through the door…

Williams, Arizona

We met some resident aliens while we shopped their selection of specialty nuts, jerky, old-fashioned soda and candy…

Williams, Arizona

Soda like ‘Sioux City’ Root Beer, ‘Brain Wash’ Carbonated Soda, ‘Death Valley’ Black Cherry were awfully tempting to try.

But, my daughter, Gracie, decided to buy some candy from their unique selection, which included Sonic, Pac-man, Hello Kitty and Betty Boop.

Williams, Arizona

Gracie chose the Sonic candy.

On our way out of the store, we said goodbye to one of the aliens…

Williams, Arizona

As you walk down the street, you expect to see examples of cool neon signs…

Williams, Arizona
Williams, Arizona
Williams, Arizona

 I would love to spend only $3.50 for a hotel room, wouldn’t you?  Too bad I am over 50 years too late.

Williams, Arizona

What you don’t always expect is another aspect of what makes traveling along Route 66 fun.

Here is a sampling of what we ran into…

Williams, Arizona

Did you know that Elvis can be spotted on the main street?

Williams, Arizona

You can also find an Indian with a headdress made out of feather-shaped lollipops. 

Cruisers Cafe

One of the more popular restaurants is Cruisers Cafe.

Route 66

They also have a pretty cool mural painted along the patio wall.

Iconic Discoveries

The kids met up with one of their favorite characters…

Iconic Discoveries

Gracie used to be terrified of him because he talks, moves and even ‘farts’.  But now that she is older, she could handle standing next to him for me to take a picture 😉

old gas pumps

There are of course, antiques that pop up now and then like the old gas pumps, above. 

old gas station

This old gas station has been turned into a museum that harkens back to the past of Route 66.

old gas station

Of course, one of the fun things that we enjoy doing is eating on Route 66.  So, we headed down to our favorite restaurant…

Quirky and Iconic Discoveries Along Route 66

My son, Kai, was in charge of pushing Lily in her stroller (Lily is our granddaughter and Kai is her uncle).

Quirky and Iconic Discoveries Along Route 66

On our way, we passed a hotel with a map of the entire Route 66.  Someday, I would like to travel this route.  So far, I have been to parts in Illinois, Missouri, Arizona and California.

Quirky and Iconic Discoveries Along Route 66

On our way to the restaurant, we passed a few more shops, likes this one with the ‘largest Route 66 sign’.  We were so hungry, that we didn’t go in.

Quirky and Iconic Discoveries Along Route 66

This was where my husband spent his ‘allowance’ – on pie 😉

Quirky and Iconic Discoveries Along Route 66

We actually came here a few times during the week.  Besides pie, they have fabulous food – I loved their chili.

Quirky and Iconic Discoveries Along Route 66

Lily ate some of my cornbread and a tiny bit of my chocolate cream pie.

Quirky and Iconic Discoveries Along Route 66

Lily was determined to make sure she ate all the food that fell into her bib.

As we finish out tour of the Williams portion of Route 66, we see a couple parked in a old Buick…

Quirky and Iconic Discoveries Along Route 66

You can’t see the couple that well in the photo, but he had a hairstyle that looked a lot like Elvis’s hair…

Quirky and Iconic Discoveries Along Route 66

Thank you for taking the time to look through my Route 66 photos.

We had a great time and I have one more part of our trip that I can’t wait to share with you…

Believe me, you won’t believe the ‘story’ I have to tell you in my next post.  

Do you have a special place that you spend your vacation every year?

Our family is very blessed to have a special place to visit every summer.

Now, when I say ‘family’ – I mean my mother, sisters, brother and their families as well.  It really helps that we all really like each other and get along.

Our special place is in Williams, AZ and is approximately 3 hours away and is up in the mountains.

 special place

My sister-in-law’s family owns a few cabins up there and they always make them available to all of us.

We look forward to this trip all year long.  

 special place

Cousins play together during the day.

 special place

We go fishing…. a lot!

 special place

We play games.

Deer Farm

We visit local attractions, such as the Deer Farm.

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is close by too.

Grand Canyon

Our first year that we visited, we all came up along with my parents.

They treated us all to a trip on the Grand Canyon Railway for a train ride up to the Grand Canyon…  

special place

We were visited by some train robbers on the way though…Kai looks petrified doesn’t he?

special place

Thankfully, the sheriff showed up and arrested them.  He stopped to pose with Gracie too 😉

special place

My parents had a great time too – although as soon as we arrived at the Grand Canyon – they ditched us kids and spent the day alone 😉

The next year, we decided not to go to our special place.  The reason for this is that we had a huge family trip planned in my grandmother’s memory to Europe.

We were all very excited to go.  But sadly, just 3 weeks before we were to go, my dad died suddenly.  So, we cancelled our Europe vacation and decided to go to back to our special place to rest, grieve and have a little fun if possible…

special place

Despite our grief, we did have fun.  There was the treasure hunt (courtesy of my mom).

special place

We followed our map to the treasure…

special place

We found the treasure – $1 gold coins for everyone!

special place

We spent time in town, which is on Route 66 and has some fun, quirky stores and ‘people’.

special place

We saw some ‘loose women’ in town.  Not really, just my sisters, sister-in-law and me 😉

We like to take lots of pictures on vacation since we are all together.

Family Vacation

But this time, we could feel my dad’s absence.

We did all wear our matching track jackets that we had made for our Europe trip.*Even though it looks like there are quite a few people in our family – we have added 5 people since then.

Family Vacation

The next year we visited, the kids had fun sailing boats that my husband had made for them.

Family Vacation

My son, Kai, was so proud of his boat with his homemade sail.

Family Vacation

Kai had just had surgery a few weeks before our trip, but it didn’t keep him from bowling and fishing.

In fact, his favorite superhero came up to see him…

Family Vacation

‘Super-Duper’ made a surprise visit and challenged Kai’s cousins to a race.  Kai in his wheelchair and his cousins had a go-kart.

Kai and ‘Super-Duper’ won.

In case you are wondering….’Super-Duper’ is actually Kai’s uncle, who is a children’s pastor who just happens to play many characters for the kids at his church.

*Believe it or not, Kai didn’t know Super-Duper’s secret identity when this happened 😉

Family Vacation

The next year, Kai was back up on his feet and ready for fishing.

Family Vacation

We had great luck fishing that day.

Family Vacation

Every year, we also visit Twister’s for hamburgers, hot dogs and great ice-cream sundaes.  Then we visit the nightly shootout with the cowboys downtown – strictly for the tourists, of course.

Family Vacation

Each family takes turns making dinner for everyone and we get to taste each others delicious cooking.  Then, in the evening, we walk from our cabins down to the road to see the deer and elk come down for the night.

Family Vacation

The kids all pose for our annual family photos.

Family Vacation

Sometimes, they get a bit silly.

This year, we will do much of the same including more fishing…

Family Vacation

AND there is a new family member to come along…

Family Vacation

It’s hard to believe that just a year ago she wasn’t even here yet.

**Thank you for letting me share some of our vacation photos from past years.  I’m sure I will have more from this year to show you all – of course, you might have gotten your fill of seeing my vacation photos by now 😉

**Do you have a special place that you visit?  Where do you go and what do you do?