"What happens to a dream deferred?"

It nags you, kvetching, "Are we there yet?"

For decades I have dreamed of driving Route 66. The fabled 2,451-mile interstate highway that stretches diagonally across the United States from the western shore of Lake Michigan to the Pacific Ocean has a special--call it mystical--appeal for the nomadic spirit.

You’ll learn more about this particular nomad as we travel together. In the meantime, may it suffice to say that traveling is a way of life for me, the youngest daughter of a serviceman whose career required yearly moves from one Air Force base to another as he ascended the ranks. In fact, my first experience of Route 66 was in 1968 when we lived in Cushing, Oklahoma, while Pop earned his second star in Vietnam. Our trips to Tulsa and Oklahoma City on Will Rogers Memorial Highway (as Route 66 is known in that state) introduced me to "The Mother Road" that Steinbeck immortalized in his novel The Grapes of Wrath.

Pop, my brother, and me in a C-130 flight simulator.

Like many military brats, I became a vagabond as a result of continual uprooting during my childhood and adolescence. Without a fixed sense of home, I could adapt to virtually any environment—an essential survival skill for a wanderer. 

When I got my driver's license in 1975, I experienced the bliss of being in the driver's seat of my own life. That’s how the title of this blog—"the blissful vagabond"—evolved. I have blissfully driven countless scenic roads and highways, but Route 66 has a special allure for vagabonds like me.

On my way to other places, I have driven portions of Route 66 over the years but not the entire route from its starting point on Jackson Boulevard in Chicago to its western terminus on Santa Monica Pier in California. One thing or another—work demands, family needs, time constraints, financial limitations—had kept me from going. This year the incessant nagging of my dream deferred finally drove me to take action, leaving my homebody self behind in the rear-view mirror.

And so begins this blog as I embark on the adventure of a lifetime on America's Main Street.

To prepare for the journey, I did some research on Route 66. I visited the websites of the Route 66 associations and alliances for each state, plus the website of the National Historic Route 66 Federation. Tom Snyder's Route 66 Traveler's Guide and Roadside Companion and Route 66, by Nick Freeth, were particularly helpful in identifying the most likely places for overnight stays. I also enjoyed reading the oral histories in Michael Wallis'Route 66: The Mother Road and descriptions of popular attractions in Jamie Jensen'sRoad Trip USA Route 66. As for maps, Jerry McClanahan's EZ66 Guide for Travelers is not available in local bookstores, so I will purchase the book en route, perhaps at the IL Route 66 Museum in Pontiac. In the meantime, the Rand McNally Road Atlas will have to do.

Me and T

I won't be making this journey alone. My partner, T, loves adventure, too, and we make ideal traveling companions. We will also have each other as a sounding board for our experiences and a measure of safety for our 2,400-mile trek into the unknown.

I have sketched a tentative itinerary that gives us three weeks to drive The Route, with some leeway to stop at the major attractions along the way. We will also take a brief side trip to do some genealogical work in Oklahoma while we are passing through the state.

Day 1    Chicago, IL

Day 2    Springfield, IL

Day 3    St. Louis, MO

Day 4    Joplin, MO

Day 5    Tulsa, OK

Day 6    Cushing, OK (genealogy)

Day 7    Maud, OK (genealogy)

Day 8    Oklahoma City, OK

Day 9    Elk City, OK

Day 10  Amarillo, TX

Day 11  Tucumcari, NM

Day 12  Santa Fe, NM

Day 13  Albuquerque, NM

Day 14  Gallup. NM

Day 15  Holbrook, AZ

Day 16  Flagstaff, AZ

Day 17  Williams, AZ

Day 18  Kingman, AZ

Day 19  Hesperia, CA

Day 20  Santa Monica, CA

While planning this trip, I thought long and hard about where we would stay along the way. Should we stay exclusively at motels on The Route like travelers of yore? Are iconic motels like Wagon Wheel, Blue Swallow, El Rancho, The Oatman Hotel, and Wigwam Village just as much a part of Route 66 experience as the road itself? Would it somehow be cheating if we stayed at hotels that aren’t directly on Route 66? Could we be loyal to The Mother Road and our favorite hotel brands? We can’t decide, so I won’t make any reservations yet. As we have so many times in the past, we will trust that our Travel Angels will help us to arrange accommodations when we’re ready to stop for the night.

The Ladybug Mobile

Our car, a 2014 Ford Focus, is fueled and packed. I am taking a 21-inch suitcase with plenty of clothes for at least two seasons; a small duffle bag with supplies for several overnight stays; a daypack for office supplies, document holder, CDs (Deva Premal, Jonathan Goldman), electronics (camera, CD player, iPad), books (The Creative Life, by Eric Butterworth; Oyster, by John Biguenet); and a laptop bag. 

Today, we will drive to Chicago and stay overnight at the Holiday Inn Chicago-Downtown, the most reasonably priced 3-star hotel closest to Grant Park, so that we can get an early start. 

Tomorrow, I will finally wake up to the sound of a dream rejoicing.