Artist Ken Auster’s “Turnin-A-Burnin” (Courtesy of Jack Morris)
The only Ruby Tuesday restaurant left in Illinois is off of Route 66 in downstate Litchfield. I’ve had the chicken and broccoli pasta a few times there over the past year. On every visit, I’ve paid a little more attention to the artwork. The walls contain restaurant themed paintings that recall Edward Hopper’s sparse realism.
On the north wall of the Ruby Tuesday, there is a giclee (inkjet printing process) of a waiter in a creased white shirt serving two men at a small table with a white tablecloth. A chef with a [...]
ELDON, Mo.—During the 1960s and 70s, tiny Eldon, Mo. was known as “Gateway to the Lake of the Ozarks.” Old U.S. 54 curved through town like a rainbow. The Randles Court and Coffee Shop greeted tourists at the north end of a bend in the road. Clear sailing ahead, ten minutes to the lake.
Loyd A. Boots built what was originally called the Boots Cottage Court in the early 1930s in Eldon. He was from Bagnell, Mo. In 1931 the 2,500-foot long Bagnell Dam was constructed, which created the lake. Boots had a foot up on tourism. There were no motels at the Lake of the Ozarks. (In 1939 his brother Arthur opened his Boots Motel on old Route 66 in Carthage, [...]
Ilse Dietsche, 2014
People are saying there are lessons to be learned from these hard times. Lines of communication have been refreshed and some things are no longer taken for granted.
On the evening of April 2, I sent a short e -mail to Ilse Dietsche. I had not done this in a long time. I wrote about Ilse for this website in September 2014 when she decided to drive Route 66 alone.
Ilse was 86 years old in 2014.
Her determination and wonder became one of my all-time favorite travel stories.
I called her “The Grandma of the Mother Road.” I had Ilse and her daughter Christine on my [...]
Hank Aaron’s childhood home, Mobile, Ala: This image shows the reverence coaches and players from four historically African-American high schools have for Hank Aaron. Grassroots photographer Jean Fruth left Hank’s rocking chair on the porch empty, out of respect. The home is now located next to the Mobile BayBears Ball Park and has become a museum. (Courtesy of Jean Fruth)
The road is always a good place to change gears.
When I need to refocus I take my camper van to the Driftless Region of southwest Wisconsin. The summer after covering the 1990-91 NBA champion Bulls for the Chicago [...]
