Pat & Jennifer's Honeymoon on Route 66

Day 6: Wednesday, June 19, 2002 - Gallup, New Mexico to Seligman, Arizona

Day 7: Thursday, June 20, 2002 - Seligman, Arizona to Needles, California and back to Williams, Arizona

Day 8: Friday, June 21, 2002 - Williams, Arizona to Adrian, Texas

We enjoyed a great stay at the El Rancho Motel in Williams, Arizona on the eastbound side of Route 66, on the east end of town.  We highly recommend this motel.  It's independently owned, friendly service, clean, nicely furnished, and has great amenities - our room had a refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker...all at a reasonable price! This is a perfect example of a place which makes you want to support Mom & Pop.

We had breakfast at Goldie's Route 66 diner and walked around Williams for a bit and visited a few gift shops.

We had to take the Evil I, and continued east.  As we neared Holbrook, we had limited visibility due to smoke from the wildfire about 30 - 40 miles south, near Show Low.

We made decent time through New Mexico until Albuquerque, where we hit both rush hour and construction traffic.  Unfortunately, taking Route 66 in this area would not have been a viable option, since it's the very busy Central Avenue through town!

We did turn off in Santa Rosa and take the route there, to grab a quick bite to eat.  We finally pulled into Adrian at about 8:30, and were very happy to see the Midpoint Cafe was still open!  We had two slices of Joann's chocolate peanut butter pie, and were able to meet yet another fellow e-group member, Fran, the owner of the Midpoint Cafe.  We talked outside for a bit, and when we said good bye, we had planned on continuing to Vega.  Instead, we decided to stay next door at the Fabulous 40 Motel, owned by an 85 year old woman.

Day 9: Saturday, June 22, 2002 - Adrian, Texas to Joplin, Missouri

We had an early breakfast at the Midpoint Cafe, which was excellent! We met with Joann again, then parted until next time!  We both felt the Midpoint cafe was our new favorite place to eat along the route!

We took the evil I until the Jericho Gap

We continued on the Interstate until east of Oklahoma City, where we took 66 through Edmond, Arcadia, and Warwick.  We stopped by Seaba Station and met with list member Sue Preston and her husband Sonny...what great people! We stayed and talked for about two hours!  We wished we could have stayed longer and gone to dinner, but we knew we had to be back home Sunday night so Pat could be in work Monday morning. Sue's station is wonderful and an absolute "must stop" on any Route 66 journey!

In total contrast to the wonderful independently owned El Rancho Motel in Williams, our first choice of a motel in Joplin was a perfect example of when NOT to support Mom & Pop.  Based on the exterior, the Roadsite Motel in U.S. 71, near the I-44, seemed to be an "OK" place to stay - cool neon sign, too. But after checking out the bathroom, the floor was crawling with insects, and a few dead ones too!  These additional guests didn't confine themselves to the bathroom, so we immediately went to the office and got our money back. It was the first time we ever did that! And if we ever encounter a place like that again, it won't be the last!

We opted to stay next door at the Hampton Inn...as you might expect, it was an excellent choice. We stayed there because of their support of Route 66 and assistance in restoring/preserving Route 66 landmarks.

We had the continental breakfast at the hotel, and turned back to

Day 10: Sunday, June 23, 2002 - Joplin, Missouri to Speedway, Indiana