Actually, that thought first crossed my mind last month, when I rented a car, left my home in the Twin Cities, and drove more than 1,000 miles to Phoenix to see a friend who’d just left his job abruptly. Sure, I could have flown, and, in fact, I did fly back. But as a relatively new resident to the Midwest, I wanted to see Iowa and Nebraska. And even if the scenery in those states turned out to be not that much different from the scenery in Minnesota, I knew the topography of the next states -- Colorado, New Mexico and, of course, Arizona -- would be very different.
Turns out I loved ‘em all. I found a very lively old quarter in Lincoln, Nebraska, where I stopped for dinner and was hard-pressed to find a parking place. (A friend happened to call my cell phone from New York City, and when I told him I couldn’t talk because I was trying to find a place to park in Nebraska, he thought I was crazy.) I found a great chef-with-attitude overseeing a deli off the highway in downtown Colorado Springs, the Black Tie Gourmet Deli (1005 W. Colorado Ave.). I enjoyed a fabulous spicy, southwestern salad for lunch, and another dozen items on the menu tempted me to consider a return trip to Colorado just to eat there.
After a night in a Motel Six in Flagstaff, I took a slight detour and finally saw the Grand Canyon up close and personal (at, ahem, age 57) and was overwhelmed by its beauty. I’d looked down on the canyon so many times while flying over it, I felt as if I’d “seen” it. I was very wrong. Few sightseeing experiences beat standing near the ledge and taking in the rugged panorama of the Grand Canyon. I can’t wait to book a room at a lodge and return for hiking.
Which brings me to Route 66. That iconic road between Los Angeles and Chicago is slowing fading away, as motels (or “motor courts”) and diners close. The influential World Monuments Fund just added Route 66 to its “watch list” for 2008, partly because the federally funded Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program winds down in 2009. Want to take a trip down Route 66? It’s not as easy as it once was, since it’s a bit chopped up, and it’s getting difficult to find the best sites. Check out the National Historic Route 66 Federation for assistance.
WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES
For the second year, Moscow tops a list of the world’s priciest cities, according to Mercer Human Resources Consulting. A CD in Moscow costs $24.83. A fast-food meal with a burger tops out at about $5 while a foreign newspaper costs $6.30, more than a paperback book in the US. London, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong round out the top five. Where’s New York City, you ask? It’s only Number 15, sandwiched between Singapore and Dublin.
Oh, and while we’re talking stats, the average American receives 15 days of paid vacation a year plus ten days of paid holidays. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s Finland, where workers receive a minimum of 30 days of paid vacation a year plus 14 paid holidays. Why, that’s enough days to do Route 66 very slowly. Both ways.
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