Running the Route

When my dad retired, he always talked about wanting to drive Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles. He even bought a convertible, bringing him one step closer to the dream. He bought the car in December, my aunt bought him a DVD set on Route 66 for his birthday in January, and then he died in May. The trip never happened. It proves the power of acting instead of waiting. The waiting was an easy thing for my dad. He never really did much after he retired.

My brothers and I talked about making the trip, in honor of our father, on the year anniversary of his death. That never happened either. Life got in the way for us. Distance put a wedge between our non-committed pledge to one another. That’s life, we concluded.

Today, I ran about five miles up and down the stretch of Route 66 in Williams, AZ. I started at “The Downtowner” Hotel (now called “The Roadway Inn”) and continued in a loop for 47 minutes. Williams is about a 7,000 foot elevation, so I was a bit concerned about losing my breath. But it was a wasted worry. I looked at the scenery around me, and of course, my father was in my thoughts as I ran. I saw diners, and souvenir shops, I saw old gas stations, new and run down restaurants, real coffee shops, hotels and motels, a donut shop, a couple of liquor stores, one bar, and a tire shop. You can tell that people are trying to revitalize this stretch of the road. Everything was old and new at the same time. Everything was clean, but had an antique look and feel to it. It reminded me of the movie, “Cars.”

It was one of the best runs I’ve ever had.