A few years ago, my wife and I did a four-month driving tour of Australia. One day found us in a caravan (motorist's) park in Sale, Victoria. After I did some business in the office, the young woman minding the desk said, "You're American, right?" I answered in the affirmative. She said, "Have you ever heard of Route 66?" Seems she and her husband had signed up to do a tour with several other couples. They would fly to L.A., and then drive caravan style in rented Ford Mustangs to Chicago, following Route 66. I told her she would have a great time. Americana exported to the World. Two years ago, my wife and I finally got around to doing the entirety of Route 66, Chicago to Santa Monica, and it was an amazing trip. We averaged 200 miles a day, used Jerry McClanahan's guide, had a couple of other books for reference, and did what field research we could on the way. Loved (almost) every mile. Standing on the Sta Monica pier, we looked at each other and said, we've got to do this again! We spend quite a bit of time banging around the back roads, try to stay off the Interstates when we can. America is just a lot more interesting that way. Next on our list is U.S. Highway 80, the Dixie Overland Highway. This one we'll have to dig out by ourselves. Hope they let me drive coast-to-coast this winter!
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