The Route 66 Chick

On Monday morning, January 4, I took off for home. Crazily, I argued with myself most of the first day on the road over which way I was going. Dixie Highway all the way? Drive over to the Florida West Coast and follow the coast up, then up through Alabama? Do any of you do this? From Tom and Nicole's house, I drove east through Pompano Beach and picked up the Dixie Highway. Apparently, the argument was at least temporarily over. It was drizzling just a bit (note raindrop on windshield in photo), but the forecast predicted clearing. First stop was Boca Express Train Museum in Boca Raton. It was Monday, so predictably they were closed. The highway was jammed as I drove north through the picturesque towns. (Why weren't people at work?) It was too early for ice cream but I snapped photos of one of the Carvel's Ice Cream locations. After hours of driving on U.S. 1, my enthusiasm and energy waned, and I finally realized what was going on. I was sad ab...

In my last post, Steve and I enjoyed a couple days of sightseeing and visiting in Mackinaw City, Michigan. We left there on Wednesday, October 8, and  headed south on Highway 23, following the path of the Dixie Highway for close to 300 miles.  We took the old auto trail's path of the East Mainline from Mackinaw City through Cheboygan - Onaway - Rogers City - Lachine - Alpena - Spruce - Lincoln - Oscoda - Tawas City - Whittemore - Prescott - Sterling - Standish - Bay City - Saginaw - Flint. Part of this beautiful drive is also designated as Heritage Route US-23 along Michigan's Sunrise Coast, from the Mackinac Bridge down to Standish. It was a chilly, windy day but the Lake Huron views were stunning and the fall colors were photo-worthy. We passed miles of adorable shoreline cottages painted in pastel colors with alluring vintage signs out front. Years and years worth of tourists have stayed, dined, loved, strolled, and vowed to come back here. I'm already trying to figure...