Well-known roadie Denny Gibson has been cruising down the Pacific Coast this week and passed through San Francisco the past couple days. Like producer Rick Sebak, he stayed overnight at the Pacific Heights Inn and reports it to be good and priced right. Yesterday morning he went in search of the last original 1928 Lincoln Highway concrete post. With a little help from me and Sebak’s blog and video diary, he found it with the surrounding bushes cut back to better reveal the post: “Yep, it’s so much easier that I walked by it twice without seeing it. I was looking for and into shrubs and certainly entertaining anyone who was watching.”
Then he cruised to the nearby Terminus marker, also an LHA concrete post but this one a modern reproduction.
Then it was off to the Cliff House to see where dedicated transcontinetalists really ended their trip – at the ocean, dipping their tires. (With the beach now closed to cars, there was no dipping for Denny’s tires.) Read more about his adventures from this trip, with tons of roadside info and images, at www.dennygibson.com/. (Note, his blog is a couple days behind so no LH mention is posted yet.)
As I wrote yesterday, PBS producer Rick Sebak and crew spent Friday driving the Lincoln Highway in Pittsburgh in preparation for a special to air this October. Rick also wrote about his adventures that day – click his web screen shot or the link below it to read about it out on his blog. www.wqed.org/tv/sebak/lincoln_hwy/blog
Here’s another photo I took Friday outside Peppi’s Diner in Wilkinsburg:
Businesses along old 2-lanes such as the Lincoln Highway often struggle to compete with chains that locate at Interstate off-ramps, but Ron Warnick reports on his Route 66 News about a non-chain motel in Barstow, California, that has found a way a pretty basic way to attract tourists. The story from the city’s Desert Dispatch notes that a simple image makeover instantly began attracting travelers who otherwise were passing by. For all those independent motels struggling in the face of brand-names that feature oodles of amenities and AAA ratings, it’s proof that business can be improved by attending to the look and cleanliness of a place.
Their current property, the Topper Motel on West Main Street, is popular with people, mostly locals, owner Ken Patel said, needing a room for more than a couple of nights. But tourists running down Route 66 passed right by and rarely stopped to rent rooms for just a night or two.
The Patels’ solution: Renovate the west side of their property, paint it the appealing color of an orange Creamsicle and slap a new name, The Sunset Inn, over the office….
Ken said problems with longer staying customers on the Topper side of the business made him consider ways to bring in shorter-staying out-of-towners. He said the rooms where people stayed for weeks or months at a time were often unkempt, dirty and negatively effected the entire appearance of his motel.
The Sunset looks like a completely different motel from the Topper sitting next to it. The rooms are crisp and clean and the parking lot features a small courtyard and desert landscaping. Day Manager Bill Snyder said the remodel has been so successful with the Sunset that there are plans to give the Topper the same treatment soon.
A story in a 1950s diner industry magazine advised owners to pave their decrepit parking lots. Many diner owners howled at the idea, saying customers were more concerned with the food that the lot. Yes, if you know a restaurant has good food, you’ll overlook the shortcomings, maybe even calling them “charming,” but for those not familiar with a place – as most travelers aren’t – they’ll pass by a run-down motel or restaurant. In the same vein, would you buy a beat-up used car or one that looked cared for?
As PBS producer Rick Sebak and crew followed the Lincoln Highway to the Pacific Ocean and back, he snapped lots of photos. Here are a couple from Utah.
And here’s a video clip they made while skirting the Great Salt Desert and Dugway Proving Ground:
Learn more about their travels and the forthcoming show, A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway, on Rick’s blog. Here are some of his other nationally themed shows:
George Garrett and Tom Shields left Times Square on July 6 and are following the Lincoln Highway west in their vintage Fords, George is driving a 1939 Ford Coupe, Tom a ’37 convertible. Don’t forget to follow their progress on their blog. Here are a couple views from western Pennsylvania.
Here’s a photo of Buddy and Bob (posing as one of the pioneering motorcycling Van Buren sisters) in the Dixon Welcome Center. They stopped here on Thursday, July 3rd, to visit the Lincoln Highway Interpretive Center. We lunched at The Salamander in downtown Dixon with Mayor Jim Burke and Diane Bausman, Executive Director of the Blackhawk Waterways Convention & Visitor Bureau.
This is the signage at the new location of the Dixon Welcome Center on the corner of River and Galena Streets. It houses a Lincoln Highway Interpretive Exhibit. The center opens Mon – Sat at 10 a.m.
Buddy, Bob, and I then stopped in Franklin Grove to visit the LHA Headquarters where they bought a couple of shirts from Lyn Asp. While there, they sat for 5 minutes and conducted an interview via cell phone with a lady named Karin who was reaching them from France. They are making news worldwide now! They are really nice gentlemen and are full of stories from all of their travels of the world.
From here we drove through Ashton, Rochelle, and stopped at the Seedling Mile Marker in Malta, Illinois. We couldn’t stay long, as they had a press conference in DeKalb. There, they were greeted by two legislators, the mayor of DeKalb, and several reporters. They were presented with several area gifts and ILHC gave them each an embroidered shirt with our logo on it. Tomorrow, they drive on to Plainfield and further east. The big trips ends at Times Square on July 14th.
Two friends are set to drive their antique autos across this summer, and like an increasing tide, will follow the Lincoln Highway and let us all follow along on their blog. SoCal Early Ford V-8 Club members George Garrett and Tom Shields will leave Times Square on July 6 and pass through all 13 LH states (with a short detour to the EFV8 Grand National in Dearborn). George has a 1939 Ford Coupe; Tom’s is a ’37 convertible. Both are quite similar to two of my favorite cars, the 1937 and ’39 Lincoln Zephyr.
They’ll be posting daily updates online; so far, they’ve documented getting their cars to the east coast. George says, “I’ve been talking about this for 5 years and it’s finally going to happen…. I’ve downloaded the route to a GPS and it, along with some maps, is going to show us the way. The whole trip should take about a month.” Thanks to new LHA President Bob Dieterich for the tip.
Rick Sebak has been traveling the Lincoln Highway with his PBS crew mates Bob and Glenn for a must-see production that will air this October. Last week he caught up with the LHA national conference buses heading east. He sent shots from the trip:
CLICK the above view to enjoy it large.
Todd Thibadeau tells tour-goers about Church Buttes.
No coaches — school buses only on those dusty Wyoming trails!
While seemingly everyone is driving the Lincoln Highway this June, including those now returning from the LHA conference, I’m unfortunately typing not driving. Worse, I’m having trouble downloading photos from Sebak. So for now, just a quick update.
Rick Sebak and crewmates Bob and Glenn were in Woodbine, Iowa, this morning filming at Brick Street Station. Hard to believe that 3 days ago they were at the LHA conference in Evanston, and tomorrow night they’ll be back in Pittsburgh. Then a different kind of challenge ensues – choosing just a few of the stories and moments from the hundred of hours that they’ve filmed along the Lincoln.
They hooked up a couple times with our Piaggio scooter friends, Buddy and Bob — read the blogs from PBS and Piaggio.
Another road trip just completed along the LH in Wyoming was a 3-day memorial ride by friends of Scott Griemann; it can be followed on the Wide Open Wyoming blog.
Click the map above for a full-size view of the Lincoln Highway.
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Here’s a photo of Buddy and Bob (posing as one of the pioneering motorcycling Van Buren sisters) in the Dixon Welcome Center. They stopped here on Thursday, July 3rd, to visit the Lincoln Highway Interpretive Center. We lunched at The Salamander in downtown Dixon with Mayor Jim Burke and Diane Bausman, Executive Director of the Blackhawk Waterways Convention & Visitor Bureau.
This is the signage at the new location of the Dixon Welcome Center on the corner of River and Galena Streets. It houses a Lincoln Highway Interpretive Exhibit. The center opens Mon – Sat at 10 a.m.
Buddy, Bob, and I then stopped in Franklin Grove to visit the LHA Headquarters where they bought a couple of shirts from Lyn Asp. While there, they sat for 5 minutes and conducted an interview via cell phone with a lady named Karin who was reaching them from France. They are making news worldwide now! They are really nice gentlemen and are full of stories from all of their travels of the world.
Lincoln Highway News 