This weekend is one of the four fellowship business meetings Hubby Tony and I
will attend this year. Each meeting is scheduled for a certain weekend in a
given month. When the three-year contract was signed with the hotel last year
I wonder if they had any inkling that the first weekend in May 2026 was going
to be so busy.
Springfield Missouri, where the meeting was held, is often referred to as the
Birthplace of Route 66. On April 30, 2026 two businessmen proposed U.S. 66 as
the name for a new Chicago-to-Los Angeles highway. In 1992, the Route 66
Association of Missouri designated Springfield as the official Birthplace of
Route 66.
Although I wasn't there to see it, on Thursday the third hour of the
Today show broadcast from Springfield, and there was a concert that night. On
Friday night there was a parade that went down the street next to the hotel.
On Saturday and Sunday there was an art show on the street on the other side
of the hotel. In other parts of town bridges were dedicated, drone shows
happened, and car rallys and shows took place.
Our meeting opened Saturday at 10 and ended at 5 with a 90-minute lunch break. On Sunday we were occupied from 9 until noon, so there wasn't much time to take advantage of the festivities. However, on Friday we walked through the art show as it was being set up. We also watched part of the parade. Anyone who was a fan of classic cars would have been in Nirvana, but after 20 minutes the exhaust was too much for me and I went back to the hotel.
Five years ago:
Ancestral Mathematics
Another fun adventure!
ReplyDeleteSounds like EVERYBODY was there that weekend!
ReplyDeleteThe area was certainly hopping!
DeleteI remember as a kid, traveling route 66 from California, through Arizona and New Mexico. It was called Bloody 66 from all the head-on collisions. The last state was Oklahoma on our way back to my dads birth state, Tennessee.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that Missouri was the start of it, California was the end of the line. It was always so hot going through the desert.
Interesting and I learned something I don't think of that often.
Although the idea and name of the highway was first proposed in Springfield, when the road was actually built it started 500 miles away in Chicago.
DeleteSounds fun!-Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear Route 66, it just brings to mind the TV series with George Maharis and Martin Milner. :-)
ReplyDeleteParts of that series recently ran on one of the channels we get through our streaming service.
DeleteOnce I've enthused about the 'beautiful lines' and remarked that 'they don't make them like that any more,' I feel I've done my bit, too.
ReplyDeleteI think there are 'car people'. I'm definitely not one of them.
DeleteRoute 66 ~ OH MY! Growing up across the River from St. Louis, that highway, the song, all of it ~ the most amazing memories triggered. Cheers to the Midwest and Route 66!!!!
ReplyDeleteI've had some great adventures on the Illinois portion of the route.
DeleteEven though the car exhaust cut the parade short, getting a "sneak peek" of the art show setup was a great way to soak in the atmosphere. It’s fascinating to be right at the birthplace of Route 66 during such a historic centennial milestone!
ReplyDeleteIt was.
DeleteGreat adventure!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good time for the most part.
ReplyDeleteMy dad's family lived in Jefferson City, and when I was a child he had a panel truck. I knew we were headed for a road trip when he tossed my mattress in the back for me and my brother to rest on as we travelled Route 66.
ReplyDeleteHow fun! That would never be allowed now.
DeleteSounds nice.
ReplyDeleteWould you believe that I have never traveled down route 66..? I've read a good bit about it lately and I would love to be able to do this. sounds like a fun time other than the exhaust...I would have gone back to the hotel as well..
ReplyDeleteTexas is such a big state, and it doesn't surprise me if you hadn't searched out the road in the Panhandle.
Delete