The Local Tourist is Hittin' The Road!

I’ve always loved road trips, and this summer I’m going on the mother of them all – The Mother Road, to be exact. On 6/6 I’ll be leaving Chicago for a fifteen day excursion on Route 66. Along the way I plan on meeting the locals and seeing the tourist spots. I’ll shoot photos and video and write blog posts and use all the social media tools I can think of so that you feel like you’re traveling right along with me.

One of my dreams has always been to travel the open road with my laptop and my camera and document everything I experience. I had the opportunity to do that a few years ago when a friend moved to Montana, and we spent thirteen days getting there from Chicago. Like any road trip (or wedding), something was bound to go wrong and we got ours out of the way on the first day. Right outside of Grand Island, Nebraska, his transmission blew. Since it was Labor Day no repair shops were open, so we creaked into a dive motel and set out to find the nearest bar. Several hours later we walked out with new friends and a pocketful of phone numbers, and the rest of the trip was filled with scenic vistas, new and unusual landscapes, and memories that I will treasure forever.

That, to me, is what a road trip is all about. You never know what’s going to happen; you never know who you’re going to meet. But if you go with an open heart and an open mind, that open road will fill you with an awareness of this world and the people within it that will change you forever.

That trip showed me that my dream could be a reality, and it whet my appetite for more adventures. And this time I won’t have to worry about transmission problems since GM is setting me up in style with a Chevy Camaro! Speeding tickets, however, are another story…

Over the next few weeks I’ll be planning events in each town I’m visiting – 13 in all – so I can meet the locals and fill my pockets once again with phone numbers (or, more likely, Facebook friends). I’ll be finding attractions and things to do, places to eat and sleep, and most importantly, touching base with the people that call Route 66 and its towns and cities home.