Lancaster, OH

Today is the official end of our trip.  It was essentially a Mother Road trip but it did include a few extra weeks in California and another week in Nebraska to see the game.  Though we may make an occasional post to this travel journal in the next few months, we won’t be posting on a daily basis until we leave for a winter’s journey to Hawaii which will begin January 18th. 

Regarding this trip:

Best restaurant; The Turquoise Room at the La Posada in Winslow AZ.  The quail was a remarkable dish.

Best diner;  Roberts in El Reno, OK, home of the onion burger (smash burger)

Best Luxury Hotel; Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, CA  

Best Iconic Route 66 Hotel/Motel; The Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, NM

Best Quirky Hotel/Motel; The El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, NM (Motel of the Stars)

Best Hotel Staff; The Oceana in Santa Monica, CA

Best Visual Scene; The "Tunnel View" at Yosemite, CA 

Best Obscura; Crossroads to nowhere in Texas Panhandle (Tom Hanks movie, Castaway)

Best Athletic Moment; Bowling at the Starlight Lanes in Lebanon, MO

Best Museum; The Richard Nixon Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, CA

Best Surprise; Dolly Parton's Stampede in Branson, MO (I did not anticipate enjoying the show or the food, I enjoyed them both!)

Paid Entertainment; Ohio State 26, Nebraska 17 in Lincoln, NE

Best Weird; Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park in Foyil, OK

Best Harvey House; La Posada in Winslow, AZ

Best Stranger Met; Andrea Pruett owner of the Bagdad Cafe, screenwriter, preservationist, restauranteur, and general good person, in Newberry, CA

Best Natural Wonder; The Grand Canyon in AZ

Best Stretch of Road; Sidewalk Road outside Claremore, OK

Best Freebie; The Folk Legends Trio (2/3 of the Kingston Trio), Bartlesville, OK

Best Music; The Music playing continuously in the Lobby of the Hotel Del Coronado in Coronado, CA

Best New Adventure; Gliding/Soaring over Moriarty, NM 

Best Water Tower

Best Big Thing; Meteor Crater near Winslow AZ

Best Route 66 Fun Thing; The Blue Whale near Claremore, OK

Best Indian Artifact; Ok, I can't count the Wigwam Motel, the real winner is Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque, NM

Best Animal Picture; The picture we didn't take, bear "wrastlin" in Yosemite National Park.

Best Cemetery; Polson Cemetery near South West City, Mo (Last Confederate General to surrender)

Best Statue; Mickey Mantle in Commerce, OK; Johnny Bench in Oklahoma City, OK

Best New Food; The Runza in Council Bluffs, IA

Best Act of Vandalism; Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX

Best Ice Cream/Sweets: Ted Drewes, it is always Ted Drewes in St. Louis, MO

Best Route 66 Town; Williams, AZ

Best Breakfast; The Lewis Café, Saint Clair, MO (Coffee and Cherry Pie)

Best Historical Experience; the Historical Tour of the Hotel Del Coronado