66 Motor Palace

Joe & Aggies Holbrook, AZ. To complete the Holy Trinity of Chile, we took an early ride to Joe and Aggie's. Most of the 66 alignments dead end or go to dirt, but we got about 20 miles in. Definitely want a Jeep or 50 lbs less luggage for more exploration of this area.

Route 66 / Santa Fe Trail sort of. We skipped breakfast to take the 1937 Santa Fe Trail alignment, a beautiful ride but sort of a scam if you were trying to get to your new job in the California Cotton Fields. The road cuts up north 66 miles (really) to

The morning air was cool and traffic didn't exist. We wanted breakfast in Texas and the Sportsters got us to Mitchell's in Shamrock before we knew it. Chasing my own shadow in the morning is a strange sensation. With the hills, traffic, and that pesky ocean it can't be done. Not that I ever noticed until today but it was kinda cool! Anyway breakfast at Mitchell's Family Restaurant was another stellar occasion. I don't know how but we've had the best breakfasts nearly every day of this trip. I'll post links when I get home so you'll know where to eat. Our plan for today was to ride through all the small Texas towns east of Amarillo, pick up a few alignments, find a mysterious ghost town in New Mexico, and eat lunch or dinner at Joseph's depending on the time. We picked off Shamrock and groom, maybe Conroy, missed Alan Reed completely. While on old Route 66 looking for Conroy we went straight when we probably should have turned. We continued on ...

After a nice sendoff from Frank at the Chelsea Motor Inn we followed the storm to Memaw's in Claremore for a homestyle breakfast. We had a nice conversation with the couple at the next table. They've ridden up PCH and are excited about seeing more of California. Memaw's is on my "Highly Recommended" list. The people who work here are why it's fun to travel. Catoosa and the Blue Whale are just down the road so we had to stop. The Blue Whale was built as a swimming hole and little park. You can't swim there anymore but it's a well maintained little park. On the ride east we bypassed Tulsa to avoid traffic but this being Sunday we took the old road right on through. Tulsa is hands down the coolest of the larger cities we navigated. It's clearly marked, has lots of restaurants, and it looked like a few good motels. The ride on Route 66 from Tulsa to Oklahoma City is among the best. It gently curves over rolling hills and small towns and the Seab...

In California they change the plants every week so they're fresh and look the same year round. Here they seem to keep the same ones and we got to see some leaves turning red and gold. Small piles formed and whirled in the draft as Lori rode by. It's only been a week and a half and it feels like another place. We stopped at Shelly's Route 66 Diner after another comfortable stay at the Wagon Wheel. The food is down home and delicious. We saw a couple cute Pit Bulls running around outside and joked about them being "motorcycle eating dogs." Lori immediately made friends but they liked her so much they didn't want her to leave. When she tried to roll they would lunge and bite her front tire. Shelly and a customer came out and held them 'til we could escape. At the next stop sign she still had slobbery chomp marks! We pulled up to the Elbow Inn with a German Tour group on their way to Chicago. One of the Germans was walking my way and yelled "De Kat...

Guess! Another less than fun time in Chicago resulted in a premium experience in Pontiac. This time it was Chicago traffic. We traveled 40 miles in about two hours because of traffic. We don't think it's legal to split lanes in Illinois so we played car. This put a big dent in our 300 mile goal. Anyway Lori wanted to stay in Pontiac IL. since we passed through last week but it's only 200 miles out. We were beat from the heat and traffic and Pontiac was looking like a good place to rest. As we removed our helmets I spotted a sign for Lydia's loft so we asked if they had a room. We about fainted when we saw the place. It was beyond our wildest dreams. Check out the pictures. We want to live in it. Pontiac is a great town with friendly people excited about their part of Route 66. They have lot's of cool museums that are just the right size, well organized, and staffed with enthusiastic and knowledgable people. Thanks Pontiac! I'll have more details whe...

This poor building's probably gone now. We've seen old friends and made some new ones. We've walked miles and gained a couple pounds (walking and great food go hand in hand here in Milwaukee). Milwaukee is a beautiful city filled with nice people and good food. It has all the amenities that make a city fun without the hassle and stress. An Australian I sat with at breakfast nailed it when he asked, "Is every day Sunday here?" Anyway as much as we like it we're told it may get cold in this fall so it's "Westward Ho!" for us. The plan is to return on Route 66 picking up alignments we missed and staggering the stops we made traveling east. We'll catch more in Oklahoma west of Oklahoma City and try to overnight it Texas. Otherwise the road rules! Now we try and navigate the Illinois toll road system on motorcycles. Visit Lori at: www.Bondorella.wordpress.com Willie G. New CVO Breakout! Old Sportster. The storm we pa...

Outside Frank's Diner. We were still kicking ourselves in the butt for not planning our big night in Chicago better and chose to ride Highway 32 along Lake Michigan into Milwaukee to drown our sorrows. We skipped breakfast 'cause we wanted to get out of our Hotel Room and back on the Sportsters. (They always help us feel better.) The ride through the towns and along the lake is slow and relaxing. Lori signaled me to pull over, she wanted to see some of the town we were passing and led as we wandered the streets. A few turns later we approached an interesting building. It looked like a very old trolly or train car with tables and people out front. My heart's pounding when Lori pulls over and says, "This looks like something you'd like." Franks Diner was dragged into Kenosha by horses in 1926 and has been serving great food ever since. The place tiny and crowded. It's loud, it's busy, and if you don't follow the directions of staff and m...