Kickin' It on Route 66 ~ California Chapter 8 - 1
Title: Kickin’ It On Route 66
State: California ~ Chapter 8-1
Rating: PG
Pairing: adam/kris, OMCs
Summary: The Allen-Lamberts take a road trip along Historic Route 66
Disclaimer: I don’t own Adam or Kris. This story is fiction. Other major characters are fictional; the places they visit in this story are real. Imaginary character created for part of this trip.
Dedicated to adamluvr36_fic ~ just because ♥
Warning: Have tissues ready as the story begins to wrap up.
In the home stretch now ~ 3 days and counting. Could make it home in one day but just a little more exploring to do.
Time for an Allen-Lambert universe mini series. Hannah is 12 years old, Josh is 7 years old. Mrs. Willowby comes along too! Get ready for Americana and nostalgia.
Overview map of The Mother Road ~ http://www.historic66.com/description/map.html
Retrace the trip ~ http://cunningdeb.livejournal.com/45756.html#cutid1
Masterlist of Allen-Lambert universe ~ http://cunningdeb.livejournal.com/21722.html#cutid1
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
ROAD TRIP DAY 48:
NEEDLES, ARIZONA
California … the place where dreams come true … the ‘promised land’ … The Golden State … a place of legends … a place the Allen-Lambert’s called home.
The journey from Needles to Santa Monica … the Western end of Route 66 ~ was 273 miles and would take about 4 ½ hours to drive. The family could have been home that day but they planned for two overnights so they could squeeze out the last few hours of nostalgia left to them ~ and one more date night. They’d been on the road for over a month and a half; what difference did a few more days make.
They had tried to leave Needles in early morning but hadn’t expected the line up of other travelers and RV owners getting their vehicles ready for the next stretch of the journey. Kris and Adam should have figured as much since it was highly recommended that you top up your vehicle’s gas, oil and coolant as well as your own water supplies before heading out into the Mojave Desert. The average temperature out there in August was 107 degrees and there wasn’t one service station over the 150 miles of Route that crossed the sands.
You definitely didn’t want to run into trouble out there.
While Winnie was being taken care of, the family wandered around and found a small restaurant for breakfast. Thier next stop wouldn’t be until Barstow when they got lunch.
The kids were kind of quiet … very unusual for them. Adam and Kris made small talk and Joshie and Hannah answered when spoken to directly but they didn’t offer up anything. There parents knew today was going to be hard for them, all of them, even though they knew the arrangement wasn’t permanent. Funny how attached you can get to an RV.
Eventually, they got on the highway and left civilization behind them for a while. Still, with the air conditioning going, the sun’s heat could be felt through the windows and Adam and Kris had to don sunglasses as long as they were surrounded by windows. Kris took on the task of driving and Adam called his parents to tell them they were running late. The plan had been to stop for lunch then drive to the campground where they’d all meet and exchange vehicles. Leila suggested they come to the campground first and they could all go to lunch and then pack up. Adam asked Kris what he thought and got a quick thumbs up. Adam told his mom it was a go and she said she couldn’t wait to see them again.
Though there weren’t any tourist stops to be had, unless you were a nature fiend and stopped for scenery, there was still plenty to see. Their journey had taken them through mountains and natural wonders before but they’d never come upon such a concentration of them in such a relatively short span of road.
The first to come into view on the left side of the highway were the Sacramento Mountains. Next, on the right, were the Dead Mountains. Left … Piute Mountains. Right … East Majove National Scenic Area. Left … Clipper Mountains. Right … Granite Mountains. The Highway cut right through the Bristol Mountains. Then there was the Pisgah Crater on the left and the Cady Mountains on the right.
Finally, they saw an oasis ahead of them, the town of Newberry Springs which had been a source of water for the arid area since its earliest days. Wagon trains along the old Mormon Trail rested and watered here in the 1850s and thirty years later in the 1880s, railroads took tanks of water from there to stations and towns in the area to make life out here possible.
The Allen-Lamberts had plenty of water and so did Winnie. Still, Kris decided to give the engine a break and pulled into an ice cream parlor.
“Ice cream before lunch?!” Mrs. Willowby exclaimed, scandalized.
“Winnie needs a break and that means shutting off the AC. Would you like to sit in an oven for the next hour?”
“Ice cream it is! Strawberry please.”
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
BARSTOW, CALIFORNIA
With the desert behind them, they traveled to Barstow. Adam took over the wheel this time while Kris and the others finished packing up everything. Not only did they have to pack their extra clothes and personal items, they had to pack up sheets, blankets, pillows, kitchen supplies, games, craft supplies, left over food in their mini fridge, souvenirs they’d hung onto … everything that belonged to them. Bit by bit, the hominess they’d created was stripped away and a little dark cloud metaphorically hung over their heads. They had time after lunch to do all this but they wanted a good visit with Leila and Eber before they parted ways and finished their journey.
“Papa! Can we stop there?” Joshie yelled, his attention caught by something as they drove through the city.
“Not at the moment but we’ll be coming back there for lunch.”
“Yay!”
The campground was on the other side of Barstow and when they finally pulled in, they found a welcoming committee. The engine had barely stopped before the kids were flying out the door into waiting arms.
“Nanna!”
“Pops!”
Leila and Eber swept their grandchildren up, squeezing the life out of them. Mrs. Willowby was on their heels, wanting to scold them for jumping out like that but she couldn’t blame them. Kris and Adam stayed back a little, giving their children a reunion first.
Joshie had run to Leila and Hannah had tackled Eber. After a few minutes, they switched. Then they switched back. And then switched again.
“Okay guys, let them breath; it’s not like you haven’t seen them in years,” Adam laughed.
“It’s been forever,” Joshie declared from Pop’s shoulder.
“No it hasn’t,” Hannah corrected, arm around Nanna’s waist, “but it feels like it.”
“It certainly does,” Leila replied, looking at her son as she said that.
Mrs. Willowby caught the look and kindly ordered the children to let Daddy and Papa hug their grandparents. Joshie didn’t want to get down but Eber promised he could come back. Once the kids moved, arms were momentarily empty before being filled again.
“Sweetheart, I’ve missed you,” Leila sighed, her voice tinged with emotion as she gave her son a warm hug.
“I’ve missed you too Mom.”
Eber gave Kris a hug then kept an arm around his shoulder.
“You boys look good,” he paused, looking at his grandkids, “and the kids haven’t killed each other. I’d say the trip was a success.”
“Oh, they’ve had their moments but overall, it was a very good trip.”
Leila still had Adam in her clutches.
“Leila, let the boy go. I’d like to say ‘hi’ too.”
Mother and son held on a little longer then reluctantly let go. Immediately she drew Kris in and the emotions poured out all over again. Adam found himself engulfed in a bear hug.
“Great to see you Ad.”
“You too Dad.”
Joshie stood on the sidelines, bouncing in anticipation. The second there was an opening, he jumped back into Pop’s arms.
Mrs. Willowby was welcomed back into the fold too, getting a sweet kiss on the cheek from Eber since he couldn’t hug her with his arms full of grandson, and Leila gave away yet another hug. The nanny asked how they were then couldn’t stop herself from asking how the house was.
“I checked on the house once a week like I promised,” Leila assured her, “and I have a cleaning crew coming in tomorrow to freshen it up for your return home.”
“Thank you. I know I’m being a pain ….”
Leila took her hand. “No, you’re not. You take wonderful care of our grandchildren and our boys … to make sure you come back to a clean house is nothing. Besides, I know you. Once speck of dust and you’ll insist on cleaning it yourself top to bottom and we can’t have that.”
Mrs. Willowby blushed and thanked her quietly. They all chatted a little longer around the vehicles until stomachs started rumbling.
“I think we need to eat,” Eber declared.
“McDonalds?”
“Yes Joshie … McDonalds.”
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
Leila and Eber had driven to Barstow in separate vehicles. Eber drove a covered truck to take their family’s things back to LA in and Leila drove the Allen-Lambert’s family car, a mini van. Yes … a mini van with a little disco ball hanging off the rear view mirror. When they moved on, Eber was taking Winnie back to the rental place and Leila would drive their belongings home. Adam, Kris and family would finish the trip in their own vehicle.
Joshie climbed into the truck with Pops and Leila joined them. The others climbed into their van.
“Minnie, I’ve missed you,” Hannah declared, slowly patting the side paneling.
“Minnie?!” three voices declared in unison.
“Sure … why not? She has feelings too, just like Winnie.”
“Oooo-kaaaaay,” Adam commented slowly, looking at his husband like their daughter had gone off her rocker.
“I think it’s cute and appropriate.”
“Thank you Mrs. Willowby.”
“You’re more than welcomed Hannah.”
As they drove into town, Kris leaned over to Adam and whispered, “It was cute with the RV but don’t you think it’s too much to start naming things.”
Adam opened his mouth but was cut off.
“I seem to recall a certain musician who names his guitars …,” Kris looked away, guilt all over his face. “… and another young man to treats his sports car like it’s a baby, talking to it and blowing a gasket if a bird dares to defecate on it.”
Adam kept his eyes on the road and said no more.
McDonalds Restaurants are known for a certain look. Like most franchises, the buildings seem to be cookie cutter images of each other so they look familiar and can be easily recognized. Sometimes, however, when it’s retrofitted into an existing building of some significance, it adds an entirely new dimension to an old friend.
One of the McDonalds Restaurants in Barstow was located inside the old train depot along with a few other eateries and gift shops. The truly unique feature was the dining area. The Allen-Lambert crew got their food then entered a passenger rail car to find a table. Every time Eber or Leila were about to take a bite, Joshie threw out another question. Eventually, Kris had to tell him to eat now and talk later.
After lunch, they headed back to the campground and the inevitable. Removing the cartons and bags from Winnie was slow, the travelers trying to stretch time. When the RV was emptied out, Adam and Kris unhitched the barely used rental bikes from the rear rack and moved them inside with the helmets and riding pads. They wish they’d been able to get more use out of them but it was what it was. Before heading out and handing over the keys, they took one more look around, not only for anything they forgot but to seal the memory in their minds.
“Oh jeez, we almost forgot these,” Kris blurted out, moving towards the kitchenette. He took down five drawings and gazed at them. “We don’t want to forget these.”
Adam looked over his shoulders, hands resting lightly on them.
“Joshie would be pissed.”
“That’s an understatement. Ready to go?”
“Yup.”
When the boys got outside, they found Hannah, Joshie and Mrs. Willowby standing at the front of the RV.
“Daddy! Papa! Nanna’s gonna take a picture of us with Winnie. Hurry!”
The couple joined hands and took their places. Leila took a half dozen shots to make sure she got some good ones. When they were done, Kris gave his son the pictures.
“What are those Joshie Bear?” Eber asked and pointed at one holding a guitar. “That looks like your Daddy.”
“That’s Muffler Man Daddy and Muffler Man Papa and Muffler Man Nanny and Muffler Man Joshie and Muffler Man Hannah.”
He went on to tell his grandparents about the oversized men they met early in their trip.
“That’s so cool. When you get home, can draw one for me?”
“Sure Pops. What do you want to hold?”
“How about a pen Dad, for your twitter manifestos?”
“That’s a great idea Ad.”
“Can you draw one of me?”
“Okay Nanna. What do you want to hold?”
“Well, I don’t know. I’ll have to get back to you on that.”
Adam chewed his lip, hating to do this but he had to.
“We better get going.”
“Oh … right.”
“Don’t worry Mom, we’ll be home in three days and we can visit all you want.” Adam handed the keys over to his Dad. “Take good care of her. She got us this far safely; let’s make it a flawless trip.”
Eber took the keys and hugged his son, telling him he’d call when he got Winnie back to the lot. Final goodbyes were said and the small group dispersed.
The Allen-Lambert’s climbed into Minnie with their overnight bags and a special parcel and left for San Bernardino.
“Joshua, do up your seatbelt.”
He turned away from Winnie and righted himself in his seat.
“Yes, Mrs. Willowby.”
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
SAN BERNARDINO
The family was overnighting in San Bernardino and spent the afternoon sightseeing.
Two alignments of Route 66 travel through the city. A couple of times during their journey, the family came across areas where the Route split into two highways, one being the original from the 1920s and the other created in the 1940s. Here, the original is known as Historic Route 66 and the second is called Business 66.
One natural landmark they couldn’t really miss was the Arrowhead featured prominently on the mountainside. Naturally made by uplifted soil, it looked as if it were manmade, so perfect its dimensions. On a clear day, you could see it 30 miles away, measuring 1,360 feet long and 450 feet wide. A popular local legend says the Indians believed the Great Spirit created it to tell his children that this is where they were meant to live. To the Allen-Lambert’s, it was just uber cool.
The family drove around, checking out the area. They passed the California Theatre of Performing Arts, built in 1928. It had some significance for them because it was here that Will Rogers performed his last. They’d visited his museum in Catoosa, Oklahoma. Joshie started to bring up the lasso issue again but didn’t get more than two sentences out when he was told to forget it. Adam and Kris still weren’t over their son lassoing his sister and they were sure Hannah wasn’t over it either.
Kris turned into a parking lot and shut of the engine.
“We already had lunch,” Joshie said.
“I know. We aren’t here to eat.”
“Then why are we at McDonalds again.”
“This is no ordinary McDonalds … it’s the ORIGINAL McDonalds that inspired the franchise and it’s a Route 66 museum now.”
Actually, the original had long since been torn down, a round hamburger stand that cars drove up to, but this chalet style building served as its replacement and was also headquarters to the Juan Pollo chicken franchise. The sign outside, though, was the original, advertising burgers at 15 cents each.
Inside was a trip down memory lane for the adults and a treasure trove of things to see for the kids ~ memorabilia, old photos, collectibles, toys. Adam and Kris’ memories didn’t go as far back as Mrs. Willowby’s but the men appreciated the history and took it all in.
In 1940, brothers Dick and Mac McDonald opened the McDonald’s Bar-B-Que drive-in, a typical restaurant for the time. Eight years later, they closed and revamped the place into a self-service drive-in. The first menu items were hamburgers, cheeseburgers, soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips and slice of pies. French fries later replaced the chips and triple thick milkshakes were introduced.
Ray Kroc, a seller of multimixers (aka milkshake mixers), came to their restaurant in 1954 to sell machinery. He liked what he saw and learned the brothers want to franchise. Ray bought the rights and opened the first McDonald’s Restaurant in Des Moines, Iowa a year later. Ten years after that, there were 700 restaurants across the US.
Framed articles and handwritten reminiscences lined the walls. There was a diploma from 1961 made out to a man who received his Bachelor of Hamburgerology from Hamburger University.
Kris couldn’t resist when he read the Big Mac was introduced in 1968: “Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun!”
Hannah and Josh looked up for the Happy Meal collectibles and furrowed their brows.
“What?! The Big Mac … that’s its jingle!”
Four eyes rolled and went back to the toys.
“Kris, check this out.”
Kris followed his husband’s voice to a small TV. There was an old staff training video running on how to be the perfect McDonald’s employee. It showed staff and customers happy and smiling and behaving too well. Then the voiceover comments on how wonderfully they work together before revealing it wasn’t always that way. The film snippet then went on to show how it used to be, everyone surly and grumpy, customers and staff alike. Adam laughed when a customer said ‘if I wanted fries with that I would have asked for fries’. He’d lost track of how many times he wanted to say that but chickened out.
“Daddy, Papa? Who are these funny looking guys?”
The men came over and looked.
“I’m not too sure guys,” Kris replied.
“Oh good gracious, I can’t believe you don’t know Ronald McDonald and his friends from McDonaldland.”
“I know Ronald Mrs. Willowby,” Kris replied defensively then shied, “I just don’t really know the other ones, though a few look familiar.”
“Same here,” Adam admitted.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to her. The popularity of Ronald and his friends started dying down when Kris and Adam were born in the 1980s. Created in the early 70s, it was a fantasy land and marketing tool used for commercials, collectibles and the playgrounds that were attached to many restaurants. Ronald was the only one to survive to this day though the others remain in the memories of many customers from their childhoods.
Mrs. Willowby pointed to each and introduced them.
“This is Ronald of course,” she began, pointing at the familiar clown. Next, she pointed at a purple creature that looked a bit like an eggplant with arms. “This is Grimace. He’s childlike and a little clumsy and was a comic relief to Ronald.”
“I remember him!” Adam declared, so proud he’d done so.
“Congratulations laddie. Now, this little fella is the Hamburglar.” The character was dressed in black and white stripes and wore a red mask. “His mission in life was to steal what?”
“Hamburgers?” the kids asked.
“Exactly.”
“Robble, robble!”
“What?” Hannah blurted out.
“Robble, robble,” Kris repeated. “The only thing he said was ‘robble robble.’ Am I right?”
“Very good Mr. Allen. See, you remember more than you thought.”
Adam and Kris were thrilled to get praised and high fived each other.
She continued on with Birdie the Early Bird who wore a pink jumpsuit and was a clumsy flyer; thieves known as the Gobblins (later renamed the Fry Kids) who stole French fries, Captain Crook who looked like Captain Hook’s cousin and tried to steal Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, and the Griddler who craved McGriddles; the giant talking hamburgers Mayor McCheese and Officer Big Mac; Uncle O’Grimacey who was related to purple Grimace but was green and showed up once a year with Shamrock Shakes; Mac Tonight, a singing half moon who sounded like Bobby Darrin and promoted McDonald’s late night hours; and an assortment of talking hamburgers that grew on trees in The Hamburger Patch, The Happy Meal Gang and McNugget Buddies, and the talking Trash Cans that encouraged customers to feed them trash when they finished their meals.
It was so much fun, if they hadn’t already visited the Golden Arches for lunch, they would have made a beeline for the nearest drive thru.
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
“Where are we sleeping tonight?” Hannah asked, still tasting the melted butter on her lips from her Red Lobster dinner.
“Someplace you kids will love.”
Fifteen minutes later, a village of teepees appeared along the road.
“We’re sleeping in Wigwams?!”
“Happy?”
“You bet!”
Just over a week ago, they visited a Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona but didn’t stay there as they had reservations elsewhere. The kids had been disappointed and their parents had bit their tongues so as not to give away the surprise before them now.
Built in 1949, this collection of teepees framed an emerald green lawn with a swimming pool in the middle and ferns and tall palm trees around them. They checked in at the lobby and got the keys for their two rooms. As they’d done in the past, and in Winnie, the boys shared one and the girls another. This particular location was larger with 19 teepees and so were the rooms. Each had a sofa, a flatscreen TV on top of a mini fridge, two beds (plus a rollaway in the boys’ room) and a 1950s retro bathroom. The air conditioning units were on and when they shut the front doors to change into their swimsuits, all the traffic noise from the Route less than 100 feet from them faded away.
The rest of the evening was spent at the pool, socializing with other tourists from Japan, Spain, Mexico, The Netherlands, Germany and Canada. The international travelers shared their impressions of America and the family gave more insight then the others could ever imagine.
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
Inside view of Barstow Station ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0NI7SqiOCQ
Barstow Station ~ http://www.barstowstation.net/
Arrowhead Landmark ~ http://media-files.gather.com/images/d596/d383/d744/d224/d96/f3/full.jpg
Tour of McDonald’s Museum ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuvbLM1t130&feature=relmfu
Old Training Video ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=r8ZZWQIl-ws
McDonaldland Characters ~ http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/3/31815/1115156-3188718486_8d768e7012_large.jpg
Wigwam Motel ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgCHrrXUPTo
State: California ~ Chapter 8-1
Rating: PG
Pairing: adam/kris, OMCs
Summary: The Allen-Lamberts take a road trip along Historic Route 66
Disclaimer: I don’t own Adam or Kris. This story is fiction. Other major characters are fictional; the places they visit in this story are real. Imaginary character created for part of this trip.
Dedicated to adamluvr36_fic ~ just because ♥
Warning: Have tissues ready as the story begins to wrap up.
In the home stretch now ~ 3 days and counting. Could make it home in one day but just a little more exploring to do.
Time for an Allen-Lambert universe mini series. Hannah is 12 years old, Josh is 7 years old. Mrs. Willowby comes along too! Get ready for Americana and nostalgia.
Overview map of The Mother Road ~ http://www.historic66.com/description/map.html
Retrace the trip ~ http://cunningdeb.livejournal.com/45756.html#cutid1
Masterlist of Allen-Lambert universe ~ http://cunningdeb.livejournal.com/21722.html#cutid1
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
ROAD TRIP DAY 48:
NEEDLES, ARIZONA
California … the place where dreams come true … the ‘promised land’ … The Golden State … a place of legends … a place the Allen-Lambert’s called home.
The journey from Needles to Santa Monica … the Western end of Route 66 ~ was 273 miles and would take about 4 ½ hours to drive. The family could have been home that day but they planned for two overnights so they could squeeze out the last few hours of nostalgia left to them ~ and one more date night. They’d been on the road for over a month and a half; what difference did a few more days make.
They had tried to leave Needles in early morning but hadn’t expected the line up of other travelers and RV owners getting their vehicles ready for the next stretch of the journey. Kris and Adam should have figured as much since it was highly recommended that you top up your vehicle’s gas, oil and coolant as well as your own water supplies before heading out into the Mojave Desert. The average temperature out there in August was 107 degrees and there wasn’t one service station over the 150 miles of Route that crossed the sands.
You definitely didn’t want to run into trouble out there.
While Winnie was being taken care of, the family wandered around and found a small restaurant for breakfast. Thier next stop wouldn’t be until Barstow when they got lunch.
The kids were kind of quiet … very unusual for them. Adam and Kris made small talk and Joshie and Hannah answered when spoken to directly but they didn’t offer up anything. There parents knew today was going to be hard for them, all of them, even though they knew the arrangement wasn’t permanent. Funny how attached you can get to an RV.
Eventually, they got on the highway and left civilization behind them for a while. Still, with the air conditioning going, the sun’s heat could be felt through the windows and Adam and Kris had to don sunglasses as long as they were surrounded by windows. Kris took on the task of driving and Adam called his parents to tell them they were running late. The plan had been to stop for lunch then drive to the campground where they’d all meet and exchange vehicles. Leila suggested they come to the campground first and they could all go to lunch and then pack up. Adam asked Kris what he thought and got a quick thumbs up. Adam told his mom it was a go and she said she couldn’t wait to see them again.
Though there weren’t any tourist stops to be had, unless you were a nature fiend and stopped for scenery, there was still plenty to see. Their journey had taken them through mountains and natural wonders before but they’d never come upon such a concentration of them in such a relatively short span of road.
The first to come into view on the left side of the highway were the Sacramento Mountains. Next, on the right, were the Dead Mountains. Left … Piute Mountains. Right … East Majove National Scenic Area. Left … Clipper Mountains. Right … Granite Mountains. The Highway cut right through the Bristol Mountains. Then there was the Pisgah Crater on the left and the Cady Mountains on the right.
Finally, they saw an oasis ahead of them, the town of Newberry Springs which had been a source of water for the arid area since its earliest days. Wagon trains along the old Mormon Trail rested and watered here in the 1850s and thirty years later in the 1880s, railroads took tanks of water from there to stations and towns in the area to make life out here possible.
The Allen-Lamberts had plenty of water and so did Winnie. Still, Kris decided to give the engine a break and pulled into an ice cream parlor.
“Ice cream before lunch?!” Mrs. Willowby exclaimed, scandalized.
“Winnie needs a break and that means shutting off the AC. Would you like to sit in an oven for the next hour?”
“Ice cream it is! Strawberry please.”
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
BARSTOW, CALIFORNIA
With the desert behind them, they traveled to Barstow. Adam took over the wheel this time while Kris and the others finished packing up everything. Not only did they have to pack their extra clothes and personal items, they had to pack up sheets, blankets, pillows, kitchen supplies, games, craft supplies, left over food in their mini fridge, souvenirs they’d hung onto … everything that belonged to them. Bit by bit, the hominess they’d created was stripped away and a little dark cloud metaphorically hung over their heads. They had time after lunch to do all this but they wanted a good visit with Leila and Eber before they parted ways and finished their journey.
“Papa! Can we stop there?” Joshie yelled, his attention caught by something as they drove through the city.
“Not at the moment but we’ll be coming back there for lunch.”
“Yay!”
The campground was on the other side of Barstow and when they finally pulled in, they found a welcoming committee. The engine had barely stopped before the kids were flying out the door into waiting arms.
“Nanna!”
“Pops!”
Leila and Eber swept their grandchildren up, squeezing the life out of them. Mrs. Willowby was on their heels, wanting to scold them for jumping out like that but she couldn’t blame them. Kris and Adam stayed back a little, giving their children a reunion first.
Joshie had run to Leila and Hannah had tackled Eber. After a few minutes, they switched. Then they switched back. And then switched again.
“Okay guys, let them breath; it’s not like you haven’t seen them in years,” Adam laughed.
“It’s been forever,” Joshie declared from Pop’s shoulder.
“No it hasn’t,” Hannah corrected, arm around Nanna’s waist, “but it feels like it.”
“It certainly does,” Leila replied, looking at her son as she said that.
Mrs. Willowby caught the look and kindly ordered the children to let Daddy and Papa hug their grandparents. Joshie didn’t want to get down but Eber promised he could come back. Once the kids moved, arms were momentarily empty before being filled again.
“Sweetheart, I’ve missed you,” Leila sighed, her voice tinged with emotion as she gave her son a warm hug.
“I’ve missed you too Mom.”
Eber gave Kris a hug then kept an arm around his shoulder.
“You boys look good,” he paused, looking at his grandkids, “and the kids haven’t killed each other. I’d say the trip was a success.”
“Oh, they’ve had their moments but overall, it was a very good trip.”
Leila still had Adam in her clutches.
“Leila, let the boy go. I’d like to say ‘hi’ too.”
Mother and son held on a little longer then reluctantly let go. Immediately she drew Kris in and the emotions poured out all over again. Adam found himself engulfed in a bear hug.
“Great to see you Ad.”
“You too Dad.”
Joshie stood on the sidelines, bouncing in anticipation. The second there was an opening, he jumped back into Pop’s arms.
Mrs. Willowby was welcomed back into the fold too, getting a sweet kiss on the cheek from Eber since he couldn’t hug her with his arms full of grandson, and Leila gave away yet another hug. The nanny asked how they were then couldn’t stop herself from asking how the house was.
“I checked on the house once a week like I promised,” Leila assured her, “and I have a cleaning crew coming in tomorrow to freshen it up for your return home.”
“Thank you. I know I’m being a pain ….”
Leila took her hand. “No, you’re not. You take wonderful care of our grandchildren and our boys … to make sure you come back to a clean house is nothing. Besides, I know you. Once speck of dust and you’ll insist on cleaning it yourself top to bottom and we can’t have that.”
Mrs. Willowby blushed and thanked her quietly. They all chatted a little longer around the vehicles until stomachs started rumbling.
“I think we need to eat,” Eber declared.
“McDonalds?”
“Yes Joshie … McDonalds.”
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
Leila and Eber had driven to Barstow in separate vehicles. Eber drove a covered truck to take their family’s things back to LA in and Leila drove the Allen-Lambert’s family car, a mini van. Yes … a mini van with a little disco ball hanging off the rear view mirror. When they moved on, Eber was taking Winnie back to the rental place and Leila would drive their belongings home. Adam, Kris and family would finish the trip in their own vehicle.
Joshie climbed into the truck with Pops and Leila joined them. The others climbed into their van.
“Minnie, I’ve missed you,” Hannah declared, slowly patting the side paneling.
“Minnie?!” three voices declared in unison.
“Sure … why not? She has feelings too, just like Winnie.”
“Oooo-kaaaaay,” Adam commented slowly, looking at his husband like their daughter had gone off her rocker.
“I think it’s cute and appropriate.”
“Thank you Mrs. Willowby.”
“You’re more than welcomed Hannah.”
As they drove into town, Kris leaned over to Adam and whispered, “It was cute with the RV but don’t you think it’s too much to start naming things.”
Adam opened his mouth but was cut off.
“I seem to recall a certain musician who names his guitars …,” Kris looked away, guilt all over his face. “… and another young man to treats his sports car like it’s a baby, talking to it and blowing a gasket if a bird dares to defecate on it.”
Adam kept his eyes on the road and said no more.
McDonalds Restaurants are known for a certain look. Like most franchises, the buildings seem to be cookie cutter images of each other so they look familiar and can be easily recognized. Sometimes, however, when it’s retrofitted into an existing building of some significance, it adds an entirely new dimension to an old friend.
One of the McDonalds Restaurants in Barstow was located inside the old train depot along with a few other eateries and gift shops. The truly unique feature was the dining area. The Allen-Lambert crew got their food then entered a passenger rail car to find a table. Every time Eber or Leila were about to take a bite, Joshie threw out another question. Eventually, Kris had to tell him to eat now and talk later.
After lunch, they headed back to the campground and the inevitable. Removing the cartons and bags from Winnie was slow, the travelers trying to stretch time. When the RV was emptied out, Adam and Kris unhitched the barely used rental bikes from the rear rack and moved them inside with the helmets and riding pads. They wish they’d been able to get more use out of them but it was what it was. Before heading out and handing over the keys, they took one more look around, not only for anything they forgot but to seal the memory in their minds.
“Oh jeez, we almost forgot these,” Kris blurted out, moving towards the kitchenette. He took down five drawings and gazed at them. “We don’t want to forget these.”
Adam looked over his shoulders, hands resting lightly on them.
“Joshie would be pissed.”
“That’s an understatement. Ready to go?”
“Yup.”
When the boys got outside, they found Hannah, Joshie and Mrs. Willowby standing at the front of the RV.
“Daddy! Papa! Nanna’s gonna take a picture of us with Winnie. Hurry!”
The couple joined hands and took their places. Leila took a half dozen shots to make sure she got some good ones. When they were done, Kris gave his son the pictures.
“What are those Joshie Bear?” Eber asked and pointed at one holding a guitar. “That looks like your Daddy.”
“That’s Muffler Man Daddy and Muffler Man Papa and Muffler Man Nanny and Muffler Man Joshie and Muffler Man Hannah.”
He went on to tell his grandparents about the oversized men they met early in their trip.
“That’s so cool. When you get home, can draw one for me?”
“Sure Pops. What do you want to hold?”
“How about a pen Dad, for your twitter manifestos?”
“That’s a great idea Ad.”
“Can you draw one of me?”
“Okay Nanna. What do you want to hold?”
“Well, I don’t know. I’ll have to get back to you on that.”
Adam chewed his lip, hating to do this but he had to.
“We better get going.”
“Oh … right.”
“Don’t worry Mom, we’ll be home in three days and we can visit all you want.” Adam handed the keys over to his Dad. “Take good care of her. She got us this far safely; let’s make it a flawless trip.”
Eber took the keys and hugged his son, telling him he’d call when he got Winnie back to the lot. Final goodbyes were said and the small group dispersed.
The Allen-Lambert’s climbed into Minnie with their overnight bags and a special parcel and left for San Bernardino.
“Joshua, do up your seatbelt.”
He turned away from Winnie and righted himself in his seat.
“Yes, Mrs. Willowby.”
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
SAN BERNARDINO
The family was overnighting in San Bernardino and spent the afternoon sightseeing.
Two alignments of Route 66 travel through the city. A couple of times during their journey, the family came across areas where the Route split into two highways, one being the original from the 1920s and the other created in the 1940s. Here, the original is known as Historic Route 66 and the second is called Business 66.
One natural landmark they couldn’t really miss was the Arrowhead featured prominently on the mountainside. Naturally made by uplifted soil, it looked as if it were manmade, so perfect its dimensions. On a clear day, you could see it 30 miles away, measuring 1,360 feet long and 450 feet wide. A popular local legend says the Indians believed the Great Spirit created it to tell his children that this is where they were meant to live. To the Allen-Lambert’s, it was just uber cool.
The family drove around, checking out the area. They passed the California Theatre of Performing Arts, built in 1928. It had some significance for them because it was here that Will Rogers performed his last. They’d visited his museum in Catoosa, Oklahoma. Joshie started to bring up the lasso issue again but didn’t get more than two sentences out when he was told to forget it. Adam and Kris still weren’t over their son lassoing his sister and they were sure Hannah wasn’t over it either.
Kris turned into a parking lot and shut of the engine.
“We already had lunch,” Joshie said.
“I know. We aren’t here to eat.”
“Then why are we at McDonalds again.”
“This is no ordinary McDonalds … it’s the ORIGINAL McDonalds that inspired the franchise and it’s a Route 66 museum now.”
Actually, the original had long since been torn down, a round hamburger stand that cars drove up to, but this chalet style building served as its replacement and was also headquarters to the Juan Pollo chicken franchise. The sign outside, though, was the original, advertising burgers at 15 cents each.
Inside was a trip down memory lane for the adults and a treasure trove of things to see for the kids ~ memorabilia, old photos, collectibles, toys. Adam and Kris’ memories didn’t go as far back as Mrs. Willowby’s but the men appreciated the history and took it all in.
In 1940, brothers Dick and Mac McDonald opened the McDonald’s Bar-B-Que drive-in, a typical restaurant for the time. Eight years later, they closed and revamped the place into a self-service drive-in. The first menu items were hamburgers, cheeseburgers, soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips and slice of pies. French fries later replaced the chips and triple thick milkshakes were introduced.
Ray Kroc, a seller of multimixers (aka milkshake mixers), came to their restaurant in 1954 to sell machinery. He liked what he saw and learned the brothers want to franchise. Ray bought the rights and opened the first McDonald’s Restaurant in Des Moines, Iowa a year later. Ten years after that, there were 700 restaurants across the US.
Framed articles and handwritten reminiscences lined the walls. There was a diploma from 1961 made out to a man who received his Bachelor of Hamburgerology from Hamburger University.
Kris couldn’t resist when he read the Big Mac was introduced in 1968: “Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun!”
Hannah and Josh looked up for the Happy Meal collectibles and furrowed their brows.
“What?! The Big Mac … that’s its jingle!”
Four eyes rolled and went back to the toys.
“Kris, check this out.”
Kris followed his husband’s voice to a small TV. There was an old staff training video running on how to be the perfect McDonald’s employee. It showed staff and customers happy and smiling and behaving too well. Then the voiceover comments on how wonderfully they work together before revealing it wasn’t always that way. The film snippet then went on to show how it used to be, everyone surly and grumpy, customers and staff alike. Adam laughed when a customer said ‘if I wanted fries with that I would have asked for fries’. He’d lost track of how many times he wanted to say that but chickened out.
“Daddy, Papa? Who are these funny looking guys?”
The men came over and looked.
“I’m not too sure guys,” Kris replied.
“Oh good gracious, I can’t believe you don’t know Ronald McDonald and his friends from McDonaldland.”
“I know Ronald Mrs. Willowby,” Kris replied defensively then shied, “I just don’t really know the other ones, though a few look familiar.”
“Same here,” Adam admitted.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to her. The popularity of Ronald and his friends started dying down when Kris and Adam were born in the 1980s. Created in the early 70s, it was a fantasy land and marketing tool used for commercials, collectibles and the playgrounds that were attached to many restaurants. Ronald was the only one to survive to this day though the others remain in the memories of many customers from their childhoods.
Mrs. Willowby pointed to each and introduced them.
“This is Ronald of course,” she began, pointing at the familiar clown. Next, she pointed at a purple creature that looked a bit like an eggplant with arms. “This is Grimace. He’s childlike and a little clumsy and was a comic relief to Ronald.”
“I remember him!” Adam declared, so proud he’d done so.
“Congratulations laddie. Now, this little fella is the Hamburglar.” The character was dressed in black and white stripes and wore a red mask. “His mission in life was to steal what?”
“Hamburgers?” the kids asked.
“Exactly.”
“Robble, robble!”
“What?” Hannah blurted out.
“Robble, robble,” Kris repeated. “The only thing he said was ‘robble robble.’ Am I right?”
“Very good Mr. Allen. See, you remember more than you thought.”
Adam and Kris were thrilled to get praised and high fived each other.
She continued on with Birdie the Early Bird who wore a pink jumpsuit and was a clumsy flyer; thieves known as the Gobblins (later renamed the Fry Kids) who stole French fries, Captain Crook who looked like Captain Hook’s cousin and tried to steal Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, and the Griddler who craved McGriddles; the giant talking hamburgers Mayor McCheese and Officer Big Mac; Uncle O’Grimacey who was related to purple Grimace but was green and showed up once a year with Shamrock Shakes; Mac Tonight, a singing half moon who sounded like Bobby Darrin and promoted McDonald’s late night hours; and an assortment of talking hamburgers that grew on trees in The Hamburger Patch, The Happy Meal Gang and McNugget Buddies, and the talking Trash Cans that encouraged customers to feed them trash when they finished their meals.
It was so much fun, if they hadn’t already visited the Golden Arches for lunch, they would have made a beeline for the nearest drive thru.
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
“Where are we sleeping tonight?” Hannah asked, still tasting the melted butter on her lips from her Red Lobster dinner.
“Someplace you kids will love.”
Fifteen minutes later, a village of teepees appeared along the road.
“We’re sleeping in Wigwams?!”
“Happy?”
“You bet!”
Just over a week ago, they visited a Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona but didn’t stay there as they had reservations elsewhere. The kids had been disappointed and their parents had bit their tongues so as not to give away the surprise before them now.
Built in 1949, this collection of teepees framed an emerald green lawn with a swimming pool in the middle and ferns and tall palm trees around them. They checked in at the lobby and got the keys for their two rooms. As they’d done in the past, and in Winnie, the boys shared one and the girls another. This particular location was larger with 19 teepees and so were the rooms. Each had a sofa, a flatscreen TV on top of a mini fridge, two beds (plus a rollaway in the boys’ room) and a 1950s retro bathroom. The air conditioning units were on and when they shut the front doors to change into their swimsuits, all the traffic noise from the Route less than 100 feet from them faded away.
The rest of the evening was spent at the pool, socializing with other tourists from Japan, Spain, Mexico, The Netherlands, Germany and Canada. The international travelers shared their impressions of America and the family gave more insight then the others could ever imagine.
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
Inside view of Barstow Station ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0NI7SqiOCQ
Barstow Station ~ http://www.barstowstation.net/
Arrowhead Landmark ~ http://media-files.gather.com/images/d596/d383/d744/d224/d96/f3/full.jpg
Tour of McDonald’s Museum ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuvbLM1t130&feature=relmfu
Old Training Video ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=r8ZZWQIl-ws
McDonaldland Characters ~ http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/3/31815/1115156-3188718486_8d768e7012_large.jpg
Wigwam Motel ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgCHrrXUPTo