The rusty old 51 Buick ready to head to Santa Monica to pick up sister Anne for the start of our 10 day adventure, end to end on Route 66.  Click on “Get your Kicks on Route 66″ below to hear Chuck Berry sing the song.

The license says it all. For more information on the 51 Buick, click on '51 Buick Super' in the column to the right .

The three travelers in front of the Route 66 Kiosk on the Santa Monica Pier Wednesday afternoon the 10th.

The end of The Mother Road and the beginning of the trip.

View from the Santa Monica Pier as we left. Were this 1951, that would be Jerilyn frolicing in the waves out there.

Driving Miss Annie - Route 66 from the back seat.

Bagdad Cafe from the movie of the same name.

Typical of the abandoned businesses all along 66.

A couple of dudes from Argentina enjoying a Route 66 root beer at Roy's Diner, all that is left of Amboy CA. They rode all the way up on Harleys.

One of 13 trains we counted along the old Route 66 crossing the Mojave. During one 70 mile stretch, we saw 9 trains but only 3 cars.

Stretching our legs toward the end of the day.

Before leaving Laughlin, Jerilyn yielded to her gambling compulsion for a few minutes.

Good-by to beautiful Laughlin and the Golden Nugget

First stop Kingman AZ and the Dream Machines custom car dealer for a photo op.

The Hackberry General Store in, you guessed it, Hackberry, AZ. Jerilyn asked the owner what was the most interesting thing that happened at his store. He said one afternoon he was about to close up for the day when five women pulled up on Harleys topless. Turned out they were five generations of a Swedish family from 18 to 80 years old. He decided to stay open for a little bit longer.

A few of the Hackberry ladies at the soda bar.

Annie made me include this image for it's artistic value.

"If you don't know - whose signs these are - you haven't driven - very far."

We had a great lunch at Rod's Steak House in Williams AZ, elevation 6762 (nice and cool). There was a car show going on all along the main street - fun.

From Williams we took a detour up to the Grand Canyon which Anne had never seen. As we walked toward the edge of the rim we told Anne to close here eyes and we lead her right up to the railing where she opened them and was blown away. This is an image of her first glimpse of the Grand Canyon.

Anne and Bob just before they jogged down to Phantom Ranch and back.

Full moon rising over the Arizona desert.

Arriving in at the beautiful La Posada Hotel in Winslow AZ.

La Posada Hotel in Winslow AZ

Jerilyn by the entrance to the Secret Garden at La Posada

The hallway leading to our room at La Posada

An isolated rain cell as we approached the Continental Divide. A short time later we were in a downpour that lasted 30 minutes.

Passing a load of onions that Anne thought was cool and since I'm using her computer I feel compelled to include it.

Some of the beautiful rock formations in western New Mexico.

We arrive in Santa Fe and head directly for the the Pink Adobe Restaurant per Sandy and Dave's recommendation. Awesome!

Seemingly unsupported spiral staircase in the Loretto Chapel.

The Route 66 Auto Museum in Santa Rosa MN.

Once inside the Route 66 Auto Museum five bucks gets you behind the wall to see 30 or so cars, most of which wouldn't make the cut at the dumbest car show in California.

One of literally thousands of abandoned businesses along old Route 66. If you look real close under the window to the left of the door it says "Cold Drinks".

Arriving at the Blue Swallow at dusk.

Bob with our hosts Nancy and Kevin. That's their 63 Pontiac Bonneville convertible to the left.

Room 8, half of "The Suite" at the Blue Swallow.

The two 51's as they might have looked 60 years ago.

Lots of murals in Tucumcari of which this is touted as the best.

Hungry traveler at the Midway Cafe. Can't eat till we take the picture.

A dozen old beauties 10 of which are already buried.

Grafitti is the name of the game.

Anne leaves her mark.

Our constant companion.

A welcome end to a fun day at the Ramada in Clnton OK.

The reflecting pool at the memorial in Oklahoma City.

Each chair represents one of the 164 people killed. There are nine rows of chairs representing the nine floors of the building. You might remember that there was a day care center on the second floor so many of the chairs in the second row are child sized.

Part of the chain link fense that was installed right after the bombing. It immediately became a focal point for remembering the victims and was left in place after the memorial was completed and is still actively used.

The old Round Barn in Arcadia OK has intrigued travelers for 100 years.

The inside of the Round Barn looks like a giant basket. There's no center support.

Route 66 is 12 miles long in Kansas and we did the whole thing.

And then Missouri.

Outside of Crabby's Fish House in Joplin after dinner. That's our waiter Dave "The most incredible waiter in all of Missouri".

The Grand Avenue Inn in Carthage, a beautiful old Victorian B&B where we spent Tuesday night. By the way, the old Buick has been running perfectly the whole way. With the AC on and ambient temperatures over 100 degrees F every day, I've kept one eye on the temp gauge the whole time. It climbs up toward 22o pulling long hills but drops back to 205 on the flat which is all normal for an LS1. And since getting the hose fixed in Winslow AZ the AC has performed flawlessly.

Nice staircase leading to our rooms. You can get these banisters at Home Depot now.

Our room.

Jerilyn tried to get me to create a diversion so she could steal this writing bench.

The ladies relaxing in the front yard while Bob does the heavy lifting loading the car.

One of the many signs in and around Joplin offering encouragement to those impacted by the tornado.

Still open and operating on weekends.

The Whitehall Merchantile in Halltown MO.

The owner Mr. White, who still had almost half his teeth, using his most persuasive sales techniques on a hapless customer.

Wrink shows off her new sign.

Approaching the old iron bridge at Devils Elbow on the Little Piney Creek.

The Little Piney Creek from the bridge.

Don't miss the Elbow Inn right on the river next to the iron bridge. It's a biker bar that serves the best brisket sandwiches we'd ever had. Elbow Inn - locking elbows - clever!

The decorations on the ceiling had all been signed and according to the waitress, had all been worn into the bar. Bob's imagination is running wild.

One last stop before crossing the mighty Mississippi into Illinois where we spent the night.

Even with 8 service windows open the lines were impressive as was the custard.

The old Buick is like a people magnet. Everyone has a story to tell. I think if everyone drove old Buicks there would be no more war.

The St. Louis arch. If I get out voted, we'll start tomorrow by back tracking 10 miles in morning commute traffic first thing in the morning to see it up close. Wish me luck.

Here we are, first thing Thursday morning, at the Arch. Anne and Jerilyn didn't even count my vote this morning when we were deciding on whether to backtrack 10 miles in rush hour traffic to see the arch up close or head for Chicago from the hotel. Big surprise.

This is what you get when you ask a passer-by to take your picture under the arch - no arch.

First stop after St. Louis is Springfield IL, home of President Lincoln who lived with his family in this house for 16 years before moving to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

This train station is in Lincoln IL where I went to college my freshman year. Every night at 10 PM a north bound train would stop by to pick up passengers and the mail. I had a girlfriend at the time who lived in Chicago to whom I wrote a letter almost every day. If I could get the letter on the 10 PM train, she'd have it the next day so every night, rain, sleet, show, freezing temperatures be damned, I walked the 3/4 mile to this station to deliver my letter. Lots of other guys in the dorm were also writing to girls in Chicago and when they found out what I was doing they were willing to pay me 25 cents to deliver their letters as well. This was my first business. With the profits from the mail delivery business I started my second business, Honest Bob's Loan Company - "Cash in a flash on your signature only". I made pay day loans at 10% per day. "Need $20 on Wednesday and allowance doesn't come until Friday - no problem, only gonna cost you $24 due on Friday."

Built the year Lincoln died, the old Administration Building at Lincoln College is where I had frequent visits with the dean.

The Dixie Truck Stop in McLean, has been open every day since the 30's except for one, the day the original building burned down.

The hilite of the day was having dinner with Tim Pyle and his wife Carol at the Chicken Basket on old Route 66 in Hinsdale. Tim and I were classmates at Hinsdale High School. They drove their beautifully restored 36 Ford to the restaurant from their home in Hinsdale. Tomorrow morning we drive the remaining 25 miles of Route 66 to the lake in Chicago and then head to Northern Michigan for a week of down time before returning home.