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Owens Family Vacation – Chicago (t2i)

Has anyone from chicago area in the last year or two taken a family trip on the Historic Rte 66 ?

Did you go all the way to L.A.? and how long did it take? And about how much did it cost in total? What’s there to do in L.A. once you get there? I have a 2 year old and my husband and I were thinking of saving up now for a family vacation to travel the “mother road” and wanted to get some idea of what were in for.

Hi I have driven Route 66 many times and now I live on it. It does take a lot of research to drive the existing road. There is about 2,000 miles left that you can drive. The thing is you have to get off the interstate and find the roads. There is a very good website that I use for all my trips down 66. It has turn by turn directions with the new street names. They are very easy to follow and also list some of the landmarks. They are very accurate. Here is the site:

http://www.historic66.com/

The first time I drove Route 66 from start to finish I took a month to drive it. With some careful planning and deciding on some of the sites you want to see before hand you can do the route and see a lot in two weeks. I recommend about $2,000 for the trip. You have to figure in gas and food. For a trip like this I also recommend that you take a cooler and stock it with goodies. I recommend contact the chamber of commerce for the towns along the way. They are very helpful in planning your trip. If you request it they will send you a ton of FREE information, maps, attraction info, coupons and ideas for things to do. Don’t be afraid to stay at the mom and pop motels most of them are cheap, all that I stayed in were clean and hey you get to stay at a historic place on the Route. .

There are so many great places to stay see. Okay well first let’s start with IL. There is a ton of good places to eat. There is Lou Mitchell’s in Chicago, Dell Ray’s Chicken Basket in Willowbrook. There is also the Cozy Dog Drive In in Springfield IL. The Polk A Dot drive in which is in Atlanta, Scoty’s in Hamel best Horseshoe on the Route! There is also DeKamp Junction which is cool Al Capone and his guys robbed the place. Be sure to check out the Rivera Restaurant, again Al Capone came here in fact his “throne” is here. Located in a basement that is decorated like a cave this place is cool Behind the Rivera is an old diner cart. The National Route 66 Org. has done a wonderful job restoring it! Best part FREE! As for places to see in IL the Atlanta has a great Route 66 Park, there is also the Hall of Fame in Pontiac which is really nice. Henry’s Rabbit ranch is a visitor’s center and museum and yep they have rabbits and lots of them. Very cool place! There was the Pig Hip Museum but on 5/11/07 it burned down. They are rebuilding it and it will be pen soon! Oh yeah and don’t forget about Funk’s Grove been here before 66 they make real maple Surip and yes that is spelled right. Still family owned today!

Okay MO. My favorite place to stay is the Munger Moss Motel. Ted Drews of course has the best custard on the Route located in STL. There is also Route 66 state park which is new pretty nice. Who can forget about Merimac Caverns? You see sings painted on barns for this all over the Route. Also you get to drive through a town called HOOKER, very funny to take pictures of and who could forget a place called that. Right by Hooker is Devils Elbow a very nice drive on the route. There is the Skyline Motel in Springfield MO still looks like it did back in the day. Oh Yeah and Fantastic Caverns is there, a drive through cave how cool is that. Springfield MO is Route 66 crazy and there is a ton of stuff to do here. Check out their website. In Carthage there is a very cool drive in theater that is still working. Very fun to go to. The Castle Court in Joplin is also a nice place to stay at.

OK has some of the best parts of Route 66 all over you will find one lane roads, parts of the old brick road and more. I love going to the Blue Whale and the World’s Largest Totem Pole. Don’t get more touristy than that! There is also Yukon which has a Route 66 Museum, also home to Garth Brooks as the let you know when you pull into town The Rock Café is also a great place to eat at, I believe the girl that owns it was used as a character in the movie “Cars”. In Clinton there is a really nice Route 66 Museum try to go to it each time I drive the Route. The Lincoln motel in Chandler has been there forever and it is a great place to stay. The round bar is crazy it is located in Arcadia; across from it is some restaurant and motel called Hillbilly something. They were closed when we went so we just visited the Barn. There is also the new POPS which just opened. I have not had the chance to go, but it has the world’s largest soda bottle, windows made out of soda bottles, a diner, gift shop and more. They have a website, check them out! El Reno has a Route 66 Museum that is connected to the town museum and it is just cool! Huge fun and we spent hours there! Elk City is home the National Route 66 Museum a must stop for all Route 66 Travelers! Love the place! There is also the new Route 66 Interpretive Center in Chandler OK that just opened up. They also have a very nice Route 66 Museum.

Texas has the small part of Route 66 so I have never stayed there but, the Shamrock Restaurant in Shamrock has a killer chicken fried steak! You also must go to Amarillo, not only is the Big Texan Steak House home of the 72 oz steak there but also Cadillac Ranch. Wow you get to spray paint on these cars, 10 caddy’s nose in the dirt sticking straight up! One on my favorite places to eat is the Adrian Café in Adrian this is the Midpoint of the route. They have the best everything here, get some pie! They also are very nice and answered all of my questions, and told us their stories of the route. Glenrio was this wonderful little ghost town on the border; we got some really cool pictures here. The old buildings are very neat to see.

NM is cool because if you do your research you can drive parts of Route 66 that are still unpaved. The other cool thing that I remember as we were driving these parts in some places you could still see marks from the wagon trains and big ruts on the side of the road that were made by them. Okay there are a couple cool places to stay in NM. My favorite has to be the Blue Swallow. This place is still awesome! The blue neon will knock your socks off. It has been restored and you still even have your own little garage now that is cool! I will never forget this place. There is also the El Rancho Hotel very famous the old movie stars used to stay here and all the rooms are now named after a star. Located in the heart of downtown they also have a really good restaurant in the place. Tee Pee Curios is also in NM an old store still fun to go into! Gallup has the best shopping around and is home to the Native American Nations. They also have the best shopping for Native American jewelry around! I also like Gallup because the El Rancho Kitchen wonderful eats! You also get to see the Continental Divide which runs on the boarder of NM and AR, something you will never forget.

AZ is also a great state for 66 they really have done their best to preserve it and the coolest part of driving Route 66 can be found here. I love the drive to Oatman which was a ghost town but they are bringing it back to life. The drive is very twisty and turny and there is nothing to keep you from falling off the side of the mountain this part of the road is one of the most photographed on Route 66 and is not for the faint of heart. My favorite place to Stay in AZ has got to be at the Wigwams, now how cool is that to sleep in a Tee Pee okay so they are not really but, you do get your own little wigwam made of concrete. There is also the Museum club in Flagstaff been on the route forever, nice bar good music. The Petrified Forest, Painted Desert and The Meteor Crater are all breath taking. Seligman this whole small town is Route 66 Crazy! I love going to the Snow Cap, great food and a ton of stuff showing the pride of Route 66. This place is just hard to describe, they have old cars, signs and all kinds of things! The Route 66 motel is also a very nice place to stay here. Now the funniest part of Seligman has got to be the Roadkill Café, um yep that is what it is called and that is why I remember it! Oh yeah I almost forgot that I stood on the Corner of Winslow AR just like the song! Um it is a nice site to see, don’t know if I would call it lovely.

CA you get to drive through the Joshua Trees and that is really cool. You don’t even have to go to the park they are right outside of your window. Barstow is one of my favorite stops, sorry not because Route 66 runs through it but, this is the first In-N-Out Burger on the Route. Victorville also has another good Route 66 Museum. I really liked it. The Santa Monica Pier is where Route 66 ends, although this was not true back in the day. Still the pier is fun and there is some great food, games and fun. Love ending the trip there. There really is just a ton of cool things to see on the CA drive, you go through LA, and Hollywood. There are a ton of old builds and wonderful restaurants.

There is just too much that I could list here. I spent a while researching it, some things you just stumble upon. Be sure to get off of highway 40 that is not the real Route 66, get directions from the site I gave you and do the turn by turn directions. They really are great and you get to go through the small towns, the interstate goes around them and some are not even labeled on the exit signs. Also keep an eye out for the brown Historic Route 66 sings they will help guide you along your way. Well I hope this helps you, again I just love driving 66 it is a great part of American history, if you need any more assistance just email me I will be happy to help.

Helpful websites:
www.national66.com
www.route66.org
www.oklahomaroute66.com
www.missouri66.org
www.bygonebyways.com
www.route66university.com
www.theroadwanderer.net/route66.htm
www.azrt66.com

http://www.theroadwanderer.net/route66…

http://abe66.com/

http://www.route66buzz.com/

http://www.tucumcarinm.com/visitors_gu…

http://www.lacusveris.com/MotherRoad/A…

http://www.route66photographs.com/phot…

http://route6

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Kiratiana’s Travel Guide to Black Paris Launch Party

Get Travel For Conditioning Or A Day Spa Vacation

You desperately want to take a cruise but you also really want to go to some sort of spa for physical exercise and maybe slightly pampering. Nowadays you can carry out both. Yrs ago you were lucky to get a spa on a cruise ship. If clearly there was one, it was in a really remote part of the ship. As for physical fitness there is very little equipment and most of it had been tired. When people began to become more mindful of their looks along with health the cruise lines revised their way of thinking. Cruise trip travel now can double like a spa vacation along with learning a new health and fitness program. The newer cruise liners have gone in order to great lengths to accommodate the cruise traveler who also wants to beautify and develop up. The cruiselines have installed high tech equipment, extra numerous exercise lessons, and gives the newest attractiveness treatments available. Many of the cruise lines get relocated their fitness gyms to the top decks in the ships with plenty of windows to help you have a view when you are on the treadmill machine, cycle, or weightlifting. Tucked up to the corner is a large TV to help you watch the news from at home. The cruise liners now have three distinct areas, just one for fitness, one for spa treatments and another for the beauty salon. Earlier, the fitness centers on cruise ships are now a thing for you to behold. All of them will definitely have got treadmills, Stairmasters, dumbells rowing machines as well as bikes. Some cruise companies even have total Nautilus machines. Well-known exercise machines, mainly on sea days and nights, may need you to sign up for the particular time and will limit how much time you will use the machine. If you need to use your cruise travel being a vehicle to start a physical exercise regime there are generally physical trainers on the deck of. Their services, however, can cost you extra. Your trainer will ask you lots of questions about your quality of life and diet after which will come up with a personal regime for you personally. He / she will then book times through the week that you can work together. All cruise companies offer exercise courses, pilates, aerobic exercise, dancing, water aerobics, also Pilates and kickboxing. Some of these may require a small fee. To learn when these lessons are held seek advice from your daily message for times as well as fees, in case any. Now, you’re thinking why would I commence a physical fitness regime while with a cruise ship, especially simply because they serve all that will food, 24 hours a day? Well together with the newer, shinier as well as better facilities the cruise lines have also instituted what they call spa cooking. Everyday they will offer a “lighter side” menu when you are really serious with regards to you new health and exercise regime. Don’t assume that if the ship will be older, it won’t use a decent fitness along with spa area. Consult your cruise travel agent to find out what facilities are usually onboard the cruise ship you have decided. As an example, the QE2 can be an older ship however it has a magnificently outfitted spa along with a large staff. Celebrity’s small older Century has a Thalassotherapy pool with regard to their passenger’s enjoyment and it has become quite well-liked by their cruisers. When you board your cruise ship navigate to the spa area. Usually about the first day the staff will be explaining their therapies and occasionally demonstrate how it really is done. Sometimes they are going to raffle off therapies, so displays bursting with demonstration just for that reason. Should you have definitely decided you happen to be doing some solutions, e-book them on day one to find the best times. 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Undoubtedly the highest proportion of staff are generally women but there some men. In case you have a preference between man or woman spa technicians, state it when you make your session. A number of people are uncomfortable lying naked with a table with a therapist on the opposite sex. Check the luxury cruise ships policy on tipping. Some cruiselines automatically tack on a 15% charge in your bill while on others possibly you have to pay throughout cash. To save lots of embarrassment, check when i bought it you make the appointments. You will find three lines that allow you to make your massage appoints before boarding the actual ship. Little princess, Windstar as well as Celebrity all offer this option. In some instances they even have packages that one could book in advance. Take care here though, they can give you some very morning hours appointments this means you have to go and change them on the very first day. This is not the best policy since they must be giving you best appointments for choosing ahead. Beauty salons will give you a full range of services. You will get your nails performed, flowing hair colored or side and foot treatments in addition to just a reduce. The vast majority of beauty salons have got Europeans staffs. That is not necessarily a awful thing. Spots like Austria demand their beauty students to attend the equivalent of your college. View, you are able to turn your cruise in a spa vacation or conditioning week. Just simply follow what your current trainer or your beauty technicians tell you and eat the spa cuisine. You’ve just simply achieved three desired goals, a small amount of pampering, a workout regime, as well as a light and healthy diet. This can be a new way to view cruise travelling. Content Cruising! Copyright laws (c) Mary Hanna, All of Rights Reserved. This information may be distributed freely in your website and within your ezines, provided that this entire content, copyright laws notice, links along with the resource box usually are unchanged

What is the best travel guide for children in Chicago?

Going to Chicago with the kids this summer and want to know the best places to take them. On a budget of course.

The City of Chicago website has a page for family activities. I would post the specific link but the website is down right now. Below is the city main page, look for family events. If I get the chance I’ll post a more specific link

A free place is the Chicago Cultural Center at Michigan and Randolph, and Millennium Park is right across the street. There is lots of great free things to do and see between both of those.

The little ones have fun playing around the Picasso Sculpture at the Daley Center.

There is also the Chicago Children’s Museum at Navy Pier, there is admission. Strolling Navy Pier and being close to the lake is nice. There are lots of shops and concessions that will have the kids begging you to get them something so I’ll warn you of that. Having twin 11 year old daughters they beg us to let them do the rides regardless of how many times they’ve been on them. The ferris wheel is cool though as you get an audio history of the city during your ride.

Update – still not working for me but I found a second page that will help.

Between the Buried and Me Disease Injury and Madness pt 1 11-23-09 New Brookland Tavern Columbia, SC

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The Pitchfork Indie Music Festival In Chicago

The annual Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, IL is the mecca of music festivals for those who love the kind of “hipster” music that music blogs go nuts over.

If you are planning to travel to the Windy City for the festival then you will likely want to make online Chicago hotel reservations at Chicago Hotel Deals. It’s a great site for finding the lowest available prices and it can even help you find Chicago pet friendly hotels.

What follows is a short synopsis of each of five of the best bands/artists that will be performing at the 2011 Pitchfork festival.

Animal Collective may just be Pitchfork’s favorite band (after their not so great response to Radiohead’s The King of Limbs.) My own feelings on Animal Collective are a bit more mixed. While I respect that they make music that really challenges me, I don’t always really enjoy listening to it. That said; I have had some interesting experiences listening to Animal Collective and I would love to see them perform live (I have not yet.)

Fleet Foxes create pretty tunes that put a slightly modern twist on the late ’60s sounds of Crosby, Stills, & Nash and Simon & Garfunkel. If you love acoustic guitars, poetic lyrics, and lovely vocal harmonies then you should definitely give Fleet Foxes a chance.

Guided By Voices have sixteen studio albums to their name from 1987′s Devil Between My Toes to 2004′s Half Smiles of the Decomposed. 1994′s Bee Thousand and 1995′s Alien Lanes are thought by many GBV fanatics to be their best albums so I would probably start there if you’re new to the group.

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti is one of the strangest bands I have ever listened to. I’m not really all that sure I actually like their music but I do find them quite interesting and I do love “Round and Round.” Their shtick seems to be doing a bizarre version of schlocky ’80s style pop.

Battles creates intense rhythmic music. You are quite unlikely to hear yourself humming a Battles song in the shower. They make the kind of music that I can enjoy a lot if I’m in the right mood but that I find pretty much unlistenable most of the rest of the time.

Hotel reservations online – Advantages of making hotel reservations online

The advantage with booking your hotel reservations online is that you can literally have a tour of the hotel you are planning to stay at, without moving an inch from your home. Most of the hotel websites (and travel agent websites as well) will have a virtual tour of the hotel ready for those who want to see the details of the premises. In this way, you could see the rooms and the amenities, such as the bar, the restaurants, the shopping arcades, the entertainment areas, etc.

Booking your hotel reservations online would also mean the possibility of a substantial discount – if you make the booking some three or four months in advance. There are many hotels that offer heavy discounts when accommodation with them is booked well in advance. You need to plan your vacation well enough and avail of this wonderful opportunity.

When it comes to tourist attractions around the world, Orlando and Boston cities are a great tourist attracts among all of others. Making hotel reservations in Orlando by online or through your trusted travel agent, a click of the mouse sends you on your way quickly. Of course, there is always the option to pick up the phone and make your reservations the old fashioned way, but which ever you prefer; hotel reservations are usually the easiest part of booking your vacation.

Inexpensive is a relative term when looking forward to making your reservations in Orlando. What is inexpensive to one may be a budget breaker to another. Therefore, it is best to lay out your desires first. Make a list of the absolute arrangements must have, would like to haves and the – wow that would be nice to haves. Then look at what is available in the “everything I wish for” category first. If you can afford those rates, stop there. If not, narrow the list a little more until you find the perfect match.

There are even a large number of online travel agencies that put together special packages for almost every hotel reservation in Boston. You can find luxury hotels, those that specialize in theme park venues, hotels overlooking the water, or those with nationwide companies that are familiar to you by name or logo. Finally, there are some well established and experienced websites are offering these hotel reservations online to their valuable clients. For more information and details, please do not hesitate to visit their valuable website.

Get hotel reservations in Orlando from Rez2go. By making hotel reservations in Boston, you can get amazing discounts and concessions.For more information on hotel bookings online you can visit rez2go.com

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