Its The Highway That's The Best....

“Get your Kicks on Route 66…”

We didn’t actually drive across country on Route 66, but certainly it is a classic when it comes to a driving song. We did however drive some equally interesting routes.

It is amazing what a neat country this is to drive across; well, till you hit Kansas. I think we saw all 2 cows and a sign that advertised the OZ museum. It is pretty bleak, and bleak might actually be an understatement.

That being said, three things do jump out at me on this leg of the journey.
First, it was the 1st day of wearing flip-flops and shorts, this pattern holds true now for 10 days.
Secondly, in the middle of nowhere, we discovered a Starbucks. Let us say as a rule, midday is generally not when we hit the Lattes; but, hey, after two mornings of ‘free’ coffee at the Comfort Inn…
And lastly, it was the beginning of reading signs; not road signs, but real odd and interesting signs.

Earlier I mentioned the sign touting the Oz Shrine, clearly just the beginning. Shortly after crossing the mid way point of Kansas began the “Burma Shave” form of signage. This one was insistent that we stop in to see Prairie Dog Town. Due to the amazing amount of attractions at said ‘PD town’, it took several attempts to read all the signage, which repeated itself every 5 miles. It is the home of the World’s Largest Prairie Dog, a 5-legged calf and a rattlesnake. Apparently, they could only find one.

We passed on stopping.

A bit farther down the road was a rectangular body of water. It was about 100 by 400 feet and had a small bulldozer sitting at its edge. A homemade sign proudly proclaimed that this was indeed “Lake Bob”. Bob, it would seem, was a guy with a lot of time on his hands.

In Oklahoma, we saw a few interesting signs. The first being a simply done billboard that said “Enough is enough, vote Democrat”. The ‘redness’ of some of these ‘Bible Belt’ states is beginning to fade a bit it would seem.

Just outside of Oklahoma City, was a sign that declared “The more you give to the Virgin Mary of Sophia, the more would be given back”, and here I thought Sophia was in Eastern Europe. My Bad.

On that note, are you aware of the number of cities and towns named Moscow in this country?

And now, the last and make you shake your head to make sure you read that right signage…

In the small town of Conroe, Oklahoma is a sign that declares they serve fresh Japanese Sushi. Apparently this would alert you to the fact that somewhere in town there was also stale Thai Sushi. Who knew?

And my absolute fave, without a doubt, goes to the state of Arkansas. While winding through some small 2 lane highway on our way to the Mississippi Delta this sign just said it all. “Correctional Facility, Beware of Hitchhikers”.

To drive this point home, about ¼ mile ahead, four Guards accompanied two ‘chain gangs’ that were dressed in striped shirts and pants. The Guards were on horseback with very large shotguns.

In the South, placing a Prison on the side of the road sends a pretty clear message.