Some of you already know of my desire for my wife Karen and I to enjoy a USA road trip visiting many of the towns along the old Route 66, if not actually following the Route exactly, as well US towns mentioned in song titles. I first wrote of this almost a year ago in this post.

Do you know any musicians?

Originally I had hoped to take this trip last September/October, after the 6 month anniversary of Karen's double lung transplant. Unfortunately her extended, and slow, recovery meant that this date had to be pushed back first to 12 months post transplant and then later 18 months.

Some of the reason for this was financial. While Karen's surgery was paid for under the New Zealand health system (a typical lung transplant costs $NZ 450,000, Karen's transplant costs we stopped estimating at the $NZ 1,750,000 mark), my ongoing costs were much more than anticipated eating up our savings, our credit card limits and finally a couple of refinanced personal loans.

In two weeks time Karen turns 65 and qualifies for New Zealand National Superanuation, a pension paid by the government for the remainder of the persons life. Karen has not had any income since her health deteriorated over 3 years ago and National Superannuation is currently just over $NZ600 a fortnight. As she has owned the house we live in since 1979 and the current mortgage is sitting at just under $NZ 3,000 it was an easy decision to make to raise the costs of our trip by getting a mortgage increase and paying it off over the next few years while I remain working.

Since Christmas I have been refining our itinerary and researched activities and attractions that interest us both.

This last week I have been laid up with a severe head cold/chest infection and have been researching accommodation online via Trip Advisor and Trivago web sites. But I did not make any actual bookings deciding to leave these until we confirm the bank loan around the time of Karen's birthday.

Yesterday (Sunday for me) I decided to check out the costs of flight to see if they had increased since the last time I looked. What I found was that our national airline, Air New Zealand, was holding a special sale on flights in and out of Houston airport until midnight tonight with approximately a 40-45% fare reduction.

Now my reaction was that it was a pity this sale was not scheduled for this time next month, and I resigned myself to having to pay full fare in a few weeks time.

This morning I returned to work after my illness and while eating lunch at a roadside rest stop in my patrol car I had a wild idea. I wondered if it was possible to book a flight through a travel agency and pay for it in another 3 - 4 weeks. I doubted that it was doable but decided to head homeward half an hour early and call in at a travel agent in the main provincial city near us to ask the "stupid question".

I tried telephoning my brother who is currently on a weeks' annual leave to find out which travel agency he had booked his European holiday with last year, as he had told me he had gotten a great deal. Unfortunately he was not answering his phone but purely by chance not only did I walk into the same agency he had used but I also spoke to the same sales agent.

When she checked airfares she found out that the deal travel period actually started the day after we intended to travel, but by moving our itinerary out a day we could save over $NZ2,000 on the airfares, a more than 40% discount.

Initially she told me that they had to pay for the tickets at time of booking, but after establishing that my brother had also been her customer she offered to book me the tickets provided I paid a $NZ600 deposit, which equals the cancellation fee of the tickets, with the balance due at the end of the month.

Deciding to risk $600 to save $2,000 I said "yes", without hesitation. And before I left I enquired about a rental car and was told that for our entire stay she could arrange a rental car for $NZ 1,800, almost another $2,000 less than I had envisaged.

So we depart Auckland late afternoon on Tuesday October 9th arriving in Houston just after midday that same day. Between then and departing Houston again on on Wednesday 14th November we will visit Houston, Waco/Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, Tombstone, Tucson, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Kansas City, St Louis, Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga and New Orleans, plus no doubt a plethora of smaller towns along the way, before returning to Houston November 13th.

And what makes this especially sweet for us is that tomorrow is the first anniversary of Karen's transplant and what ended up being the most stressful 3 months of my life as I waited to learn if she would survive the surgery.

Like the wise man once said, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask.

That sounds wonderful, Kiwi cop! Wishing Karen and you a wonderful trip and much happiness!

Glad to hear your planning worked out so well.

It's really too bad you'll miss out on the prettiest and nicest segment of the U.S.A., but I sure hope you enjoy what you will see.

I read the NZ Herald (online) everyday, and I hope one day to visit your great country.

Cheers,

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Wrangler of stray Chiefs
Bob

First, I'm glad to hear that your wife will be ok.

Second, this board has people all over the country. I'm sure you can find someone to meet and visit with in every city you go to. I for one would be happy to meet you when you're in Memphis. Maybe we could get in a little range time and a good bar-b-que dinner.

Route 66, the Mother Road.
Houston Texas is about a 9 hour drive north to Joplin MO.

I'm in the Ozarks of S/W Missouri with Branson MO being a short drive from my house with a lot of C&W, Ozark Mountain musicians, performers and craftsmen.

Great indoor ranges and outdoor public areas to go shooting too.

Good luck on your trip and best wishes for your wife.

Grayfox's offer reminded me to tell you I'm in Springfield MO and we have good BBQ here also.
A great excuse to breakout my Smith & Wesson's for some fun shooting.

I'm glad that it is a go at this time and really hope that ya'll get to actually do it.

If you've got bad troubles, listen to someone else's and you'll take your problems and be happy to have them.

My wife and I took a similar trip through the Southwest years ago. We had rented a V-8 T-Bird and I really felt that it was appropriate for cruising down old 66!

I remember one night there was a lighting storm and it was so dark that it felt like we were off the road driving through void, kind of like being in space without the stars. Very surrealistic feeling.

It was a great trip for us and I hope for both of you,too.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Your welcome to visit anytime. And yes, I would love to see your part of the country but our time is finite and we have a lot we want to see during that time.

And please do not believe all your read on the NZ Herald website. They went from broadsheet to tabloid trash format a few years ago and the quality of their journalistic integrity went with the change which widened their liberal views.

Some better websites for Kiwi news are Latest breaking news NZ | Stuff.co.nz and Your Home for the Latest and Breaking News | Newshub.

Newshub is the news arm of our third, and only privately owned, free to air TV channel. (We have a few more TV channels but they are mostly limited in scope with their content.) We particularly like their AM Morning show which can be viewed or listened to online at ThreeNow | Three | Watch Episodes or on the RovaNZ app for both Android and iOS systems.

Thanks Greyfox.

We'll have just under 3 days in Memphis starting late on the 1st November. And as Karen is a big Elvis fan we ahve a bit planned, but if it works out would love to meet you.

PM me sometime and we'll see what works out.

At this stage we're not due to overnight in Springfield but it's on the list for a lunch stop between Kansas City and St Louis. (Yeah I know its not the direct route but....).

Still I may rejig the itinerary a bit in the next month or so.

Back in the early 1960's we had a TV show called Route 66 about 2 guys running around in a Corvette through various towns. A lot of the shows were made on location, and one of the towns was Carlisle, PA, which is about 45 miles northwest of where I live. If you can swing up into the northeast it's a nice piece of small town America to visit.

Best wishes to you and your wife. Looks like you will have a great trip and I am sure you will meet many nice people.
Back in the 70's I attended an international police school in Denver, Colorado and one of my class mates was a constable, Peter Birge, from the ACTP, (I believe the Australian Capitol Territory Police). What a neat guy we hung out together for the whole week. Interesting that we all took along our department's uniform shoulder patches to trade with other departments. He carried sets of their department's police uniform buttons to trade. I still have the set he traded me along with some Australian coins. Another interesting thing, we were discussing our department's duty weapons. I told him our duty weapon was the Mod 58 .41 mag. His was the Mod 36 Chief's Special. I remarked "that's kind of a small caliber/weapon", he remarked back "yeah, but were the only ones that have them".

You're still welcome to come visit in the KC area if your schedule permits.

Back in the early 70’s the only police forces in both New Zealand and Australia who carried firearms were the ACT, a small place like Washington DC, New South Wales and Western Australia.

The first time I saw an armed police officer (other than on TV and in movies) was in 1986 in Adelaide, South Australia, and it felt so different to what I had known all my life.

Now even The “unarmed” NZ police have a G17 and M4 Bushmaster in every front line vehicle able to be drawn and carried at the drivers discretion while all of the Aussie forces carry openly on duty as a matter of course.

You can’t make a Route 66 pilgrimage without going to Southwest Florida

When Martin Milner & “Route 66” Detoured Through Cape Coral | Glenn Miller Writes

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

The RT 66 TV Show Troopers detoured to a lot of places.
Once I spent several hours watching them film in Hernando, Mississippi.
Not exactly on Route 66! But on Highway 51!
I have travelled on most of the Mother Road from W Okla to Nevada.
It comes and goes, but a lot of it is still there and a lot of fun to travel!
So do your homework and don’t hesitate to post specific questions here on the Forum.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

My wife and I live about an hour west of Waco and are certainly between there and El Paso. It would be a pleasure to host you and your spouse for a night (or more, if you have the time to spare) as you travel across Texas.

It is about 500 miles from our house to El Paso through some country the good Lord made to help hold the rest together. Some of it is spectacularly beautiful and some may not be His best effort.

I will PM you contact information just in case you need a friendly contact while you are in the Lone Star State.

Bro. Dave

Congratulations on the anniversary, and enjoy the trip!

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Common sense isn't so common.

Thanks Dave. I have already replied to your PM.

Your offer is very generous and I thank you for it, but my wife is a very private person, particularly given the events of the last few years. She still tires suddenly at the end of the day and she does not like staying with other people. Whenever we visit even her favourite brother on Australia's Gold Coast she refuses to stay with him and his family, insisting we get an apartment nearby so she can simply collapse on a couch or bed and do her thing without worrying about offending our hosts.

But we will pass through and find a place to overnight so we can meet both you and, hopefully, your wife.

And to others who have or may extend similar invitations, thank you all for your generosity and kindness.

When I saw the name Glenn Miller my immediate thought was the Glenn Miller, the band leader of the 30's and 40's.

Both of my parents were musicians. My mother played tenor sax and piano while my father's instrument was the trombone, but he could play most brass instruments. In fact it was not until his death a few years ago that I found out that until shortly before my arrival he was a professional musician and only got a real job because my imminent arrival on the scene forced him to.

I'm not 100% certain but I believe it was my father who was the Glenn Miller fan. I have so many of his and other swing era musicians' albums I inherited from both my parents (I am the only one in the family who still has a turntable) sitting in my entertainment unit across the lounge from me right this second.

I really do need to get them out and play them again.

It's truly awesome that you and your wife are able to make this trip happen. It's been several years since my last trip there, but I quite enjoyed visiting your country a few times.

I realize, of course, you'll have a long list of places and people to see, but my wife and I would be happy to show Y'all around San Antonio (the Alamo, etc.), should you have time on your way through. If nothing else, we can help ensure you get to try some proper Tex-Mex food. I'll send you a PM with contact info, in case you're interested.

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"...toujours l'audace"

I've been a reader of the NZ Herald since long before the change you mentioned. I didn't then, and still don't, care for the change, and I avoid the politically charged hyperbole. Thanks for the new news links! I give 'em a look.

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Wrangler of stray Chiefs
Bob

Kiwi if you and your bride make it to Pensacola I would love to meet the two of you. Good Bar B Q and fresh seafood here too and a beautiful beach. Open invitation.

Don’t miss Winslow Arizona, it’s such a fine sight to see:-)

Just don’t pay too much attention to any girls in flat-bed Fords.

My familiarity with Rte 66 goes between Amarillo TX and Kingman, AZ.

There’s “Amarillo by Mornin” by George Straight. Not much to see there except the Cadillac Ranch and Big Texan steak house. Except for Palo Duro Canyon, the TX Panhandle is a boring, monotonous landscape. Flat, barren, and windy. Based on the pictures I’ve seen of New Zealand, that may be a novelty for you, but as you travel across, it will get old very fast.

Back when we had a national speed limit of 55 mph, you did not want to make the trip without a radar detector.

Surely there’s a song with Vega somewhere in the title. I’ve traveled the route many times and have zero recollection of Vega, so that should tell you something.

Maybe there’s a song titled “Mary from Tucumcari”. I don’t remember much of that one, either.

Albuquerque is somewhat interesting. There’s the Sandia Peak tram. And my favorite steak if it’s still there at the Black Angus.

More to come

Winslow, Arizona is definately on the itinerary. I’m just not sure which corner to stand on as I’m certain there’s more than one.

And I am wondering why Tony Christie had to keep asking “Is this the way to Amarillo”? It’s clearly marked on all the maps. Mind you he didn’t have Google back when he recorded the song.

Mary owns the Main St Gym in Tukumcari but is that really a reason to write a song about her? (Thanks again Google )

And as Mr Christie also said the Devil made Las Vegas. I’m not sure if Vega was included. Probably not from your description.

Standing on a corner across from The Corner, Winslow, AZ.
Notice that Flatbed Ford?

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Well, on your way from St. Louis to Memphis stop in the sand flats and get a roll throwed at you. Give me a shout and I'll meet ya' . . .

Lambert's Cafe

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Kiwi Cop, I am so glad to hear you and Karen will be able to make your long anticipated trip! I just returned from a two week trip to New Zealand with my daughter and daughter-in-law, my third trip there. I hope you find our country and people as warm inviting and helpful as are those in your country.

I hope to return in October for some trout fly fishing in Turangi and the New Plymouth area. I also miss a meat pie or sausage roll with a flat white for breakfast.

Have a wonderful trip and I look forward to your account of the trip when you return. Kia Ora

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John. SWCA #1586

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I think the Very Best place to visit on the itinerary that you posted is In Waco Texas. "The Texas Ranger Museum" UNFORGITABLE !!! If you want to see U.S. history at a time that Police could be Policemen instead of social workers, you won't find a better place. Personally, I would skip Austin to spend more time in Waco as most people in Texas would rather ship Austin to Calif.(Same mindset)

If you are going from Oklahoma City to Tulsa, you will pass thru my hometown. (Not much to see here except my airstrip)
Hope this helps as I've never met Anyone who has ever been to he Texas Ranger Museum that didn't think it was time well spent. It is Truly Amazing.(You can check their website)
Here's wishing you a truly great trip.

Art

Today was the big day. This afternoon I went back to the travel consultant and paid the balance owing on the tickets plus booked and paid for the rental car. All up, plus a NZ $600 premium for booking exit isle seats both ways on the flights for comfort and ease of getting up and walking around, it cost only NZ$400 more than originally budgeted for the airfares.

6 1/2 months to go.

I have lived in Taranaki for over 20 years now. The river that runs only 400 meters from my house has trout in it’s upper reaches but is salt water where I am, only a few mi utes ride in the boat from the river mouth. Still I have never gone out fishing for trout.

Pity that I’ll be in the US when you are here. We could have met up for a Kiwi breakfast. But whoever told you a meat pie or sausage roll was breakfast food was telling porkies. They are Kiwi lunch fare. A real Kiwi breakfast is bacon, sausages, hash browns, eggs and toast.

I had a few of those breakfasts also. My scale was groaning under my weight when I returned home. As it was a clear day we could see Mount Taranaki on our flight from Christchurch to Auckland, a very impressive sight!

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John. SWCA #1586

I’m not really a Strat player. I much prefer Tele’s, Les Paul’s and hollownody guitars. And in fact until today I only had one Strat in my collection, a Squire budget model I bought solely for a recording project because it was a nice “sea foam green” colour that you don’t often see here.

But this morning I got up early on my first day off to drive the 3 hours to Wellington to pick up the almost new (hardly used gift) white Squire Strat I purchased last week on an online auction to accompany us (and feature in those photographs) on our U S road trip.

Just over 12 weeks until take off. Even Karen is now getting excited.

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Make time for the WWII Museum in New Orleans. I've not been, but have friends there who constantly harass me to come down and visit it. I might just drive over when you're there! OK, that will be a stretch, but a great reason to visit.

If you are into music, you will want to spend a few days in Memphis. There are many clubs on Beale Street and the music is great. You will also need to see Graceland. I am on 66 about 150 miles North of St Louis.

The Route 66 trip is nice. Have done it myself. If your time permits, you should try to loop somewhat further north, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota (Black Hills) and a number of other worthwhile stops. We did a 2 week road trip through that area 2 years ago. Did not regret a second of it. We are anxious to do it again. I don't think you would regret it either.

As to Memphis, I have eaten at Dyer's on Beale st. three times.

The grease (strained daily) that they deep-fry their burgers in is almost a hundred years old. They taste great.

It's one of those burger bucket list places.

I envy you and Karen this adventure.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

Make sure you hit Ron Peterson’s gunstore in Albuquerque, and walk across the street to Loyola’s restaurant for a good meal.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

When we get to St Loius we turn south for Memphis and Nashville. Gracelands is booked as is the Grand Ole Opry and I have the details of several places to visit in the evenings in both cities.

It’s amazing what you can find to fill in five weeks .

Every day is already full of things to do. Unfortunately there just is no time to go further north than the Route 66 line, except for a side trip to Kansas City.

Just wish we could have doubled our time in the US.

...our vacations always consist of 2 lane roads that follow rivers...

...from FDR Drive along the East River...

...to the Columbia flowing out to sea at Astoria Oregon...

...and most everything in between...

...have a great trip...

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A Country Boy Can Survive

If you’re in Nashville over the weekend: Bluegrass Brunch at the Sutler.

Bluegrass Brunch | The Sutler Saloon | Saturday and Sunday Brunch

I'm glad you and Karen are going to be well enough for the trip. I'm sure you both will enjoy it. Our cultures are just different enough to be interesting but the same enough to understand what's going on.
I fear you may be disappointed as NZ and Australia are very beautiful, more so than most of the U.S.
When I was in the Marine Corps I spent an unforgettable week in Sydney back in the late 80s, absolutely fantastic, but I was jealous because a couple of the ships we were with went to NZ. NZ wouldn't let our ship anywhere near them, something about the nukes we were carrying.

Unfortunately we arrive Sunday afternoon and depart Thursday morning. But maybe we’ll get there for a meal during that time.

Well I simply do not know where the 5 months since I booked the tickets has gone. We are only 8 weeks from our departure date.

I know I have spent a lot of time with guide books, on google (particularly google maps) and fine tuning our itinerary. And over the last few evenings I have gone back through the Route 66 guidebook placing little 'flags' at each town we will be visiting.

So here is the "final" itinerary.

Departing 9th October, Houston 3 nights.
San Antonio 2 nights.
Waco.
Stephenville.
El Paso.
Tombstone.
Phoenix.
Las Vegas 2 nights.
Kingman (via Needles and Oatman).
Flagstaff.
Albuquerque.
Amarillo.
Oklahoma City.
Springfield.
Kansas City 2 nights.
St Louis 3 nights.
Memphis 3 nights.
Nashville 3 nights.
Tupelo.
New Orleans 5 nights.
Houston last night.
Returning home late evening on the 15th November.

In hindsight I should have allowed another day on Route 66, but I found myself with already paid for and unable to be cancelled accommodation the 2nd, 4th and 6th nights. I could have just cancelled and rebooked loosing my payments but couldn't decide where else to cut a day as there is so much we want to do. But some 9 - 10 hour days will not be a big problem. I drive that for work every day.

I still need to get a suitable case for the guitar, believe it or not none of my many hard cases will actually work with this one. Other than that all I need to do is organise roaming for my phone and I'm all set.

Karen still needs a few more clothes as all her older stuff no longer fits her after her transplant. She'll be taking a whole new wardrobe with her.

The closer departure date gets the quicker time is moving.

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View from down under

Looks like a great itinerary. Here are my suggestions about what to see and do:

In Houston, visit the battleship USS Texas at nearby San Jacinto. It's the last remaining Dreadnought, and she served in both World Wars. In WW1 she served with the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. In WW2, she fought at the invasions of North Africa, Normandy, Southern France, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Here's a link: Battleship Texas State Historic Site History — Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

In San Antonio, be sure to visit one of the old missions (besides the Alamo). They're ancient and beautiful. Have breakfast at the legendary Mi Tierra Mexican restaurant. It's in the downtown area, and serves breakfast 24 hours a day.

If you have time on your way to El Paso, stop at Fort Davis, (it's sort of on the way) and visit the best preserved western military fort from the Indian Wars of the 1800s. Here's a link: Fort Davis National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)

Since you'll be passing though Tucson on your way from Tombstone to Phoenix, stop at the Pima Air and Space Museum, which may be the best one of its kind in the world. Here's a link: Pima Air & Space Museum

In Albuquerque, take the Sandia Peak Tram. The ride is spectacular, and the view from Sandia Peak is spectacular. However, if heights make you queasy, you might want to skip this one. Here's a link: Sandia Peak Ski & Tramway - Sandia Peak Tramway

And don't forget Winona.

Have fun!

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What, me worry?

St. Louis:

Homepage | The Gateway Arch

Home :: Saint Louis Zoo

Any of the attractions in Forest Park, in addition to the Zoo:

Park Attractions & Destinations — Forest Park Forever

Eat here:

The Hill, St. Louis - Wikipedia

My favorites are Rigazzi's, Zia's, and Charlie Gitto's . . .

Memphis:

Elvis Presley's Memphis Entertainment Complex - Graceland - Memphis, TN

https://www.memphisrocknsoul.org/

http://www.bealestreet.com/

https://stores.basspro.com/us/tn/mem...ss-pro-dr.html

Eat barbecue. My favorite is The Rendevous:

https://www.hogsfly.com/menu

That oughta do ya' for the couple days you're in each town . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Wish you were coming up to Gettysburg. I would like to shake your hand and take you to the range.

When you come to Albuquerque, enjoy the sights and the food.Depending on when you come, you might get to see the Balloon Fiesta from October 6th to the 14th. It's a week long event with stuff going on mainly in the mornings and evenings spending on weather, especially, the wind.

Let me give a couple of tips when visiting ABQ:

ABQ is a high crime city, be aware of your surroundings.

ABQ is in the top 5 in the nation for auto theft/burglary. It is notorious for this. Don't leave anything in your car that can be seen - ANYTHING - Make you car look sterile inside.

I don't mean to scare anybody, but I don't want anybody to be a victim, either. This is the reality of what ABQ has become. Chances are nothing will happen, but travelers should be aware.

Anyway, enjoy your time in the US and stay safe.

PS, To the east of ABQ on RT66 there's this:

A Stretch of Route 66 Will Play 'America the Beautiful' as You Drive to the Side

A Stretch of Route 66 Will Play 'America the Beautiful' as You Drive to the Side

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Thread Killer.

I pray that you and your wife will have a safe journey through the US! I hope and insist that you see the Grand Canyon, i promise it will be a highlight of your trip if you haven't seen it before!

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Old paratrooper in NC

Couple of comments-
Houston to San Antonio then to Waco is kind of backtracking.
Then I see your going to Stephenville?
The only person I ever knew who went there was my Buddy John.
His Mother lived there!
And Yes, the Grand Canyon is a must see!
Its about 75 miles Flagstaff to the Canyon.
The Canyon is a straight shot 55 miles North from Williams, AZ. which is on I-40 West of Flag.
About 325 miles Flag to Albuquerque.
Sounds like a long day, but maybe doable.
Five nights in New Orleans?
Even long ago in my Puppy Dog Days my liver and wallet couldn't handle that many nights in the Big Easy!

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NRA LIFE MEMBER