The Road That Is Barely There

By Sylvia Frommer-Mracky, Travel Editor

Route 66 - Many years ago I traveled this historic road from Detroit, dipping down to continue the drive to California through Texas. Never bothered to learn more on what we were driving, I wasn’t the driver only the passenger whose only concern was being anxious to get to sunny California – after all, it was a typical snowy and chilly February in Detroit.

Over the years I did learn that the road was also known as the Will Rogers Highway - an old road built in 1926 and then became known and made famous through a popular television series in the 60’s and a great song that is still hummed by the old timers “Get Your Kicks on Route 66”.

I started to know just how special this Main Street of America has become all around the world when in Japan my friends told me they were coming to America to drive this iconic Mother Road, Route 66. It has become America’s finest tour souvenir.

With all the time I spent at old Barney’s Beanery in my youth, a great restaurant on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood, I did not know that it was the last stop on Route 66 - the road that brought most of today’s Californians to California - the road that was America’s highway to California,

I most likely would not have discovered this if not for coming to dinner at Barney’s Beanery with our cousins from Australia. Unbeknown to me their trip to America was to finish their long held adventure to drive the entire Route 66 and they finally reached the “finish line”. I could not have picked a more momentous restaurant.

Their knowledge of this iconic part of America was astounding and when, to our surprise the meals were served on Route 66 plates I learned the connection between Barney’s and Route 66.

Barney’s Beanery, with its walls and ceilings full of hundreds of license plates from the states of Route 66, remains a great destination on its own, a true Americana for any overseas visitor. The laughter had to stop to give me some time to listen to their adventure of the wandering roads, towns and cities and famous eateries - they filled me in on the Route’s history that anyone coming or new to America should know about.

At first the Route was known as “The Great Diagonal Way” because the Chicago-to-Oklahoma City stretch ran northeast to southwest. Later it became known as “The Main Street of America.” This thanks in part to a great American writer John Steinbeck and his novel “The Grapes of Wrath”. The name suits the famous road because it winds the traveler around inner U.S. and into areas that could easily be missed.

As with the Barney’s Beanery in Los Angeles and now with many other locations, Route 66 had and in many cases still has, some very famous dining spots, as well as the funky, deco-style “eating joints” that introduce you to the real and rural America.

Out of Chicago, the Route 66 starting point from east to west, the oldest continually operating eatery is Lou Mitchell's Restaurant right in Chicago on Route 66. Gino's East Deep Dish Pizza (a Chicago pizza thing) is a fun place to visit before starting your Route 66 adventure. The traditional starting point of Route 66 is the Buckingham Fountain located at Jackson Blvd. and Michigan Ave. in Chicago, of course.

Driving into Joliet, Illinois, there is Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket operating since 1940's; the White Fence Farms Restaurant which was established in 1954. On to Wilmington where the Launching Pad & the Gemini Giant of Route 66, just before driving off to Braidwood and on to Dwight and Dwight's Becker Texaco Marathon Gas Station (est. 1933) the only Route 66 shield painted on the roadbed in Illinois is located in Dwight and a gas station listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Further on in Odell there is a classic example of an early 1932 Standard Oil Station.

From Odell to Bloomington, Shirley, Lincoln, Broadwell (the towns passed through in Illinois) and then arriving in Springfield, in the capital of Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln's Tomb is worth a visit before visiting Shea's Historic Route 66 Museum and have lunch at the Cozy Dog Drive-In around since 1946. In Litchfield (still in Illinois) there's the Ariston Café, feeding travelers since 1936.

There's more on the route such as Mt. Olive, Edwardsville (where Mustang parts can be picked up if you're a Mustang lover and collector just as our Australian cousins are). In Mitchell the Luna Cafe opened in 1924 and still in operation. This also has the notorious history as a gangster hangout, brothel and visits from Al Capone. The route now enters the state of Missouri driving through Cuba, Rolla, Devil's Elbow, Lebanon where you should spend the night in the historic Route 66 Room in Munger Moss Motel est.1946.

Next visit Gay Parita Sinclair Station in Paris Springs on to Carthage and the last Route 66 Drive-In Theatre built in 1948. Drive through Joplin with a quick stop at the 1930's

Phillips Cottage style Station and the Dale's 66 barbershop.

Kansas where there are abundant Route 66 shields along the roadway carrying different histories. Baxter Springs where Jesse James and Cole Younger did some bank robbing.

Now in Oklahoma and driving through Miami where the buffalo used to roam and to Chelsea to view the tallest totem pole, Catoosa and now Tulsa where there is a Route 66 Museum of the Road, Chandler, Arcadia, Calumet (Cherokee Trading Post); Mustang, Clinton, Canute and a visit to the Canute Service Station on old Route 66, Sayre, Erick where it's goodbye Oklahoma and hello Texas.

In Shamrock a visit to the Magnolia Gas Station, Tower Conoco Station and U Drop Inn

Cafe (1936), in McLean the Phillips 66 Station was the first outlet for Phillips in Texas.

Drive through Groom, Conway where the famous art sculpture of five yellow VW Beetles planted nose down, in an obvious tribute to the nearby "Cadillac Ranch."

In Texas a must-stop at The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo with its towering sign of a long-legged cowboy. There you can order the now world-famous FREE 72-oz. steak, is free, providing you can eat the whole steak in one hour’s time. (It’s been done).

Well I think you get the picture. Traveling or more precisely motoring on Route 66 is exciting and introduces any traveler, be they from overseas or from right here in America to the real America. And as the old Chevrolet car commercial used to say “See the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet…” and for those folks from overseas, you can rent your car in Chicago and return it in Los Angeles (check it out first)! And with the help of our Aussie cousins we just made the Route 66 little easier, but leaving enough to explore so you can get those “kicks” after all before you end up in California and the Barney’s Beanery.

Stars in Dakar

Sylvia Frommer-Mracky, Travel Editor

Take a look at the map and rejuvenate your geography knowledge. All should be aware of the West African country of Senegal, one of the most visited countries in that area and the most western point of Africa, actually the closest to the shores of the United States.

Senegal is easy to visit since it’s less than seven hours to fly from New York to Dakar, its capital city, a mere overnight fight.

From my very first visit to Senegal, almost thirty years ago changes in the country were not obvious at first. The top hotel I stayed in then is no longer the same; a new five star hotel took its place. The name is the same however everything has changed, but more later.

Dakar roads appear somewhat improved (since my last visit thirty years ago), now there is a main highway along the corniche with under and over passes to keep traffic moving. However, very noticeable is the absence of traffic lights in such a large and busy metropolis. No stop lights, how is this possible? Possibly because there are very polite drivers. Amazingly, even in the heart of the city the traffic somehow nudges through the “busyiness” of it all without any lights. Most drivers appear to be at ease driving and the Senegal politeness has much to do with this.

Latest in Dakar is the five star deluxe Radisson BLU Hotel Dakar, a stand out not because it is a monolithic hi-rise, because it is not. The hotel’s “five star” is misleading in its simple setting, from the street an unassuming one floor entry with floors that cascading down to the Atlantic. The lobby is the main floor showing off its fantastic light structure of blue and white architectural glass pieces…and runs right down to the second floor below reached by a windingly impressive stairwell or the elevator. The balance of the hotel is below the street level, right down to the beach…not above.

Senegalese owned, managed as part of the Rezidor Hotel Group (formerly the SAS hotel group) the property oozes with a very contemporary flair; exciting art pieces strategically placed throughout the public areas and the rooms reminding you that indeed you are in Africa after all. Everything is up to date in this hotel

How lucky can a hotel get? Something new in Dakar, and directly next door to the hotel, a streamlined, exciting shopping mall complete with fashion boutiques, children’s area, bowling alley, pharmacy, restaurants and a cinema right next door to the Radisson BLU almost as if it were an actual extension of the hotel.

A few short miles along the cornice is another new Dakar addition, The Terrou-BI Hotel Low rise, up to date contemporary, pleasing to the eye with a private beach. Considered a four star luxury property mainly with business travelers in mind, any traveler however would enjoy the amenities provided including the interesting art displayed throughout the hotel. The hotel has a casino and several restaurants (one thing you need not worry about when in Senegal is the food. Plenty of fresh seafood that is African with that French touch).

I do want to mention two old favorites that have been used for groups for years and have recently been renovated. The Pullman Hotel Teranga is situated right in the center of downtown and is considered a “somewhat-almost” five star. I found it attractive and convenient for those who need to be in the center of action.

The other is the Novotel which falls between a 3 ½ to a 4 star hotel. Many of these ratings are based on the amenities a hotel offers, however in the mind of the traveler a hotel can be considered a great “star” value or a failure depending on the personal experience.

The hotel that has the largest acreage, huge in comparison to the very newest hotels is the Le Meridian President Hotel and Resort. A five star hotel offering every amenity a traveler, whether business or vacation pleasure could want. Located along the shore of the Atlantic, it hosts a club house and a nine-hole golf course, where tournaments scheduled from world-wide business corporations are played. The hotel’s conference facilities are spectacular with auditoriums to small meeting rooms and a banquet venues. No resort is complete without a nightclub, huge inviting swimming pool, Jacuzzis, children’s center to keep the little ones happy while the parents enjoy a magnificent lunch in the hotel’s Jardin de l’Ocean.

These are a few of the new Stars of Dakar, the traveler cannot go wrong with any of the above hotels, and all offer airport transfers round trip.

For any Africa, Caribbean, U.S. or world travel questions ask the Travel Editor,
either by email: trvleditor@aol.com

or write:
The African Times/Travel Editor, 5515 West Rosecrans Ave., Suite 213
Hawthorne, California 90250