Roadtrip

[Miss Neecerie]

My own upcoming drive across the US (I am moving in 2.5 weeks!) has gotten me thinking about roadtrips and family car vacations.

Sadly my trip will be rather speedy, but I still intend to try and take a few scenic 'I was here' sorts of pictures...


Let's discuss vintage roadtrips!

 

[1961MJS]

Hi

Not necessarily vintage, but my family and my wife's family had two separate and distinct "travel styles". My Dad drove West until the sun irritated him, then we stopped for the night. If we saw something interesting, we stopped and looked at it. We started late in the morning on the way back.

My father-in-law got up before the crack of dawn and drove like the hammers of hell until they arrived at their destination, and then they hurried up and had fun.

I'm amazed at the things I didn't see on OUR family trips. 1. Fort Rucker; 2. Dutch Oven outlet and factory; 3. Fort Campbell; 4. Jesse James Museum; ... We did occasionally relax though.

As a hint, look up your route on the net, and see what there is, BUT don't just look at the "planned stuff".

Later

 

[Fletch]

The deconstructionist in me wonders

...what could be said about the great phenomenon of the Postwar Driving Dad.

I think he was, like any normal man in that era, a product of depression frugality and wartime efficiency. Give him a big roomy family car capable of cruising all day at 60 or 70 and a continent full of cheap fuel, and he was duty bound to Make Time. As dad as well as driver, it was incumbent on him to veto any not-so-necessary stops, up to and sometimes including eatin' and peein'.

You didn't know how lucky you were. Anything was better than slow travel. Anything was better than whatever we'd had before.

 

[PistolPete1969]

In my family, it resembled 1961's FIL's style. For several years we traveled from Arizona to Illinois for summer vacation. My dad would be up before dawn and we would drive until we reached our predetermined destination for that day. We would stop for gas and occasionally at rest areas for lunch; no sightseeing or detours allowed.

My personal style is more laid-back. I prefer to stop and look at the attractions on the way.

Pete

 

[Jennifer Lynn]

Not necessarily vintage either - My folks grew up with an appreciation for taking road trips as youngsters, and passed the affinity on to my brother and I. We would take trips out west (Eastern Colorado to Southern California) every summer, and sometimes at Christmas too. The summer drives were less stressful (read: weather), and afforded us picturesque views of the Rocky Mountains and desert southwest. Occasionally we would make pit stops at diners, roadside oddities and whatnot, but what I remember most was the landscape. Wish I had a decent camera back then...I would've had some wonderful pictures, and some weird ones too.

 

[dhermann1]

The first long road trip I took, which I barely remember, would have been the trip from New York to Chautauqua in the summer of 1951. We took my grandmother's 1950 (or thereabouts) black Oldsmobile, and stayed at a motel halfway there. Being only 4, I had no idea what this motel thing was all about.
My family also used to visit my (other) grandparents little farm on Northumberland County, Pa. We used to go in my granbdpa's 1939 Dodge. I have a picture of it posted somewhere here. There was something about the smell and feel of the old three on the tree clunker which I still remember. (Actually, the Dodge was a pretty nifty car for its day.)
Later, on my college hunting trip in 1963, we went all over New York State. We stayed in an old motel in Waterford, NY, just north of Troy. It was called Friendly Farmer Cottages. It was another of those old fashioned roadside motels. They had a 200 year old well, and supposedly George Washington had spept across the street in about 1778. My brother went fishing in the Hudson River, right behind the motel.
Another fond memory is driving from Chautauqua NY, where we lived, down to New York, via US route 6. This was long before the magnificent Interstate Rout 17 was completed.
Route 6 runs (and still runs) along the northern tier of Pennsylvania. It runs through vast expanses of mountains, intersperswed with pleasant old fashioned small towns. I did this route again within the last ten years, and little has changed there,
Back in the pre Interstate days, a good average speed on a long journey, after stops for food and gas, was about 37 miles per hour. Now, on Interstates, you're doing good to do better than 50 mph. Didn't seem so slow at the time.

 

[BellyTank]

NZ

Family drives are a New Zealand tradition.
NZ is a relatively small country but jam-packed with fantastic scenery and variety. I remember fondly my 1970s childhood and driving all day...


B
T

 

[dhermann1]

the 39 Dodge

Here it is. My grandfather had one of those knobs on the steering wheel, which helped you man handle it before the days of power steering.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Another fond memory is driving from Chautauqua NY, where we lived, down to New York, via US route 6. This was long before the magnificent Interstate Rout 17 was completed.
Route 6 runs (and still runs) along the northern tier of Pennsylvania. It runs through vast expanses of mountains, intersperswed with pleasant old fashioned small towns. I did this route again within the last ten years, and little has changed there.

Not to be pedantic, but Route 17 isn't an Interstate, it's just a NYS road. However, it's eventually going to be upgraded and become Interstate I-86. See the Wiki page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NY_17

I logged a lot of time on the eastern half of Route 17 back in the 70s when I was a student at Binghamton. (And coincidentally, I now drive on US 6 almost daily, mostly on the east side of the Hudson River in NY's Westchester and Putnam counties.)

 

[skyvue]

In 1992, I spent four months traversing the U.S., traveling 22,000 miles in visiting all 48 contiguous states and traveling the length of Route 66 from the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago to the Santa Monica pier. I avoided the interstates and fast food chains, sticking to small roads and seeking out venerable mom-and-pop eateries, old-school roadside attractions, minor league baseball games, and drive-in and classic movie theatres.

It was an amazing experience, one that has colored and impacted my life ever since. Rarely a day goes by that I don't think about it, and I would happily hit the road again at the drop of a hat.

 

[Feraud]

^ Now that sounds like a road trip!

 

[skyvue]

^ Now that sounds like a road trip!

It was, indeed, my friend.

I published a zine in those days and did four monthly issues from the road (I tried to write something every night, though sometimes a few days went by and I had to write several dispatches to catch up).

I wasn't much of a writer in those days, mind you, and the web site I eventually made for those dispatches from the road is way old-school, but if anyone is interested in reading about the trip, you can do so here.

But remember I warned you -- the site's stuck in 1994, and the writing's not the greatest (to put it mildly).

 

[Lefty]

Roadside America will help you find the most interesting sights. I like crazy religious stuff, big piles of stones, and, of course, corn. I learned about all of these from roadside america.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Roadside America will help you find the most interesting sights. I like crazy religious stuff, big piles of stones, and, of course, corn. I learned about all of these from roadside america.

Oh yes...that and Road Trip America have been a great help.

Its vaguely depressing that I won't get to do too many stops..since all the cool roadside oddities never seem to have a bathroom or a gas station near them

But I shall try to at least do a few more stops in the states I have not been in before....

 

[Mid-fogey]

Back in...

1967 our whole family spent a Summer week driving from Virginia to California. My Dad was taking command of a battalion and going to Vietnam.

We made the trip in a black 1958 Oldsmobile without air conditioning (natch), so our parents got us up at 0 dark thirty and put us in the car in pajamas. Later we changed. When the heat of the day built up, we'd stop at a Holiday Inn and swim in the pool.

We saw all sorts of sights. The Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert, Andrew Jackson's Hermitage, a reservation, and much more.

Now mind you, this was a family of six in a sedan. We were a close family in more ways than one.

 

[Mr. 'H']

I remember these, great photography - thanks for sharing.

This one reminds me of a Pontiac hood ornament!

:eusa_clap

 

[Paisley]

Some cars had a thing you could fill with ice and put next to the window to help keep you cool.

 

[Mid-fogey]

Yeah...

Some cars had a thing you could fill with ice and put next to the window to help keep you cool.

...Dad's solution was to drive 80.

 

[Big Man]

In 1928, my great uncle Briscoe Brown (I've posted a number of his pictures on various threads) started out from his home in Napa, CA headed to a family reunion in McDowell County, North Carolina. Briscoe's brother, Sank Brown, who lived in Seattle, WA, joined him along the way.

The two brothers and their families drove cross-country. Great uncle Briscoe took a lot of pictures along the way and compiled them in a photo album (that I now have). They visited a number of interesting places, like Yellowstone Park in the west and Cumberland Gap in the east. One of the most interesting photos in the collection are ones of several state lines (they stopped and took a photo in front of the state line sign).

They wrecked one of their cars along the way (I have a picture of that, too), but were able to have it repaired and continued on. I don't know how many days their trip took or what their exact route was. So many questions, but no one left to answer ...

 

[Mid-fogey]

That wasn't a road trip...

In 1928, my great uncle Briscoe Brown (I've posted a number of his pictures on various threads) started out from his home in Napa, CA headed to a family reunion in McDowell County, North Carolina. Briscoe's brother, Sank Brown, who lived in Seattle, WA, joined him along the way.

The two brothers and their families drove cross-country. Great uncle Briscoe took a lot of pictures along the way and compiled them in a photo album (that I now have). They visited a number of interesting places, like Yellowstone Park in the west and Cumberland Gap in the east. One of the most interesting photos in the collection are ones of several state lines (they stopped and took a photo in front of the state line sign).

They wrecked one of their cars along the way (I have a picture of that, too), but were able to have it repaired and continued on. I don't know how many days their trip took or what their exact route was. So many questions, but no one left to answer ...

...that was an expedition!!