Help us get our kicks on Route 66!

October 8, 2006 9:45 AM

Honeymoonfilter: How realistic is our plan to celebrate our honeymoon by traveling Route 66?

My fiance and I love taking road trips, and for our honeymoon this summer we want to travel Route 66 all the way from Chicago to California (we live in Milwaukee, so it would be easy to rent a car in Chicago) and then fly home.

However, we know nothing about how long it would take to drive Route 66, and most of the websites I've seen talk about spreading the trip over a month or two. We'll have a week, at most two.

How realistic is our plan? Does anyone who's diven Route 66 have any tips? I've never taken it farther west than St. Louis so I'd love to hear what sights are worth seeing and what problems we can avoid.

Thanks!

posted by christinetheslp to travel & transportation (14 comments total)

Personally, I hate rushing a road trip. Long driving shifts, crap food from drive-thrus, no time to get out and look around. Choose something shorter, I say, and build in lots of walking around time.
posted by Sara Anne at 9:49 AM on October 8, 2006

Route 66 also isn't complete any more. You can follow most of it, but some stretches have been de-commissioned, a lot of the rest has been turned into Interstates.

Nevertheless, I think it's a great idea and the parts that you can follow should be interesting. The bits I've done have been filled with exactly what you'd expect: kitschy architecture, great landscapes, etc.

If you want to do this, I'd suggest not assigning a destination ahead of time. In the true spirit of a good road trip, get the map you want, get in the car, and go. Stay in motels when you feel like stopping, and after a week is done, fine the nearest airport and fly out. You'll take exactly as much time as you want in the places you're seeing and if you don't finish it, you can always return. Enjoy!
posted by one_bean at 10:21 AM on October 8, 2006 [1 favorite]

What One_Bean said. Just get in the car and go, travel at whatever pace you find enjoyable, turn around when you need to get home. The goal should be to have fun, not to get to point X.

On the other hand, two weeks is a pretty good chunk of time, you might very well be able to travel the whole thing without feeling too rushed. My family and I camped the length of the Lewis and Clark Trail a few summer back in just over two weeks. We did drive by a few things we wished we had tome to stop at, but not many.

Look us up when you get to Carthage, MO and I'll mix you a gin and tonic.
posted by LarryC at 11:23 AM on October 8, 2006

If you need a couch to crash on in Chicago, let me know.
posted by rbs at 12:29 PM on October 8, 2006

I dont know how realistic it is to try and drive what's left of route 66, but I think it's an awesome honeymoon idea!
posted by supercrayon at 12:40 PM on October 8, 2006

The bit in Arizona-California is still fun. Spend the night in Oatman AZ, in the Gable-Lombard honeymoon suite
posted by A189Nut at 1:00 PM on October 8, 2006

Add - I'd almost fly to California and do it backwards - I have the impression the interesting bits are further West
posted by A189Nut at 1:00 PM on October 8, 2006

there are a couple of sites to help you with this
posted by pyramid termite at 1:19 PM on October 8, 2006

If you need a couch to crash on in Chicago, let me know.

'Cos if there's any one thing that says "honeymoon" it's sleeping on couches.

No, wait.
posted by The Monkey at 1:36 PM on October 8, 2006

It sounds great. Plan on spending enough money to get yourself a really nice hotel room the first night, and at least one other night when you're on the road. Don't spend your whole honeymoon sleeping in fleabag motels or in the car (even if you're very low-maintenance types, this is a time to give yourselves the option of clean bed with soft sheets, clean bath/shower).
posted by LobsterMitten at 2:15 PM on October 8, 2006

You could do it in a week, but two weeks would be better.

I think you have to go east-to-west, and all the way to L.A. That's how the song goes. That's how the Okies went. The Wikipedia page has tons of info.

Route 66: The Mother Road is a nice book.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:16 PM on October 8, 2006

I second the "fly to California" notion.

Trust me, the interesting things are in the southwest. I've driven from Chicago to NM/AZ more times than I care to count and it's always a bear. But I do love the drive from the NM/TX border to California. Do it backward if you really want to do it.

Also, know that renting a car one way is usually much more expensive.

Enjoy the trip.
posted by FlamingBore at 8:22 PM on October 8, 2006

I wish I had seen this sooner! I took a course while in college at The University of New Mexico called "Route 66 - An American Road." We travelled 66 from Texas through Arizona, staying at dive motels, stopping to look at cool old buildings, and meeting quirky people who were there in the road's heyday. I can't speak for the stretches outside of the Southwest, but there is plenty to see and do in NM, TX and AZ. For nice lodging, plan to spend the night at La Posada Hotel in Winslow, AZ. It took us a week to cover those three states, with lots of stops. A fair amount of it is interstate, but you can usually see the old road from I40 when the two are not following the exact same path. The most interesting stops, in my opinion, were the abandoned places, like the trading post at Two Guns, AZ (once a zoo of sorts, with an interesting history). If you go, be sure to get out of the car a lot and just explore. If you want more in-depth tips, the professor/guide/visionary who ran the trip, Ned O'Malia, is a fantastic human being, and I'm sure would be glad to advise. His contact information is on the class website. Have fun!
posted by carlitos at 12:30 PM on October 9, 2006

I've done Route 66 trips three times, and each was only about a week. I think a longer trip would be nice, as you'd be able to see more of the roadside kitch & ephemera.

I think the fact that 66 isn't complete (as mentioned above), is actually a benefit. On my trips, we found that we could use the highway if we wanted to plan a "fast day," so that we could spend more time on the sections that are more populated.

I recommend the Arizona leg for sure. I've only been from Arizona to Missouri, so I can't speak for California and Illinois.
posted by trixie_bee at 2:45 PM on October 12, 2006