Fifteen years ago today:
Roaming around Chicago including a visit to a downtown Woolworth store in the midst of that chain’s mass store closings.
Fifteen years ago today:
From Madison to Chicago via Milwaukee and the very first McDonald’s east of the Mississippi. Listen for a Sentry supermarket commercial and a very early one for “King of the Hill.” Joe, my host, offers a nighttime tour.
Fifteen years ago today:
Touring Madison, Wisconsin, a thoroughly pleasant sort of place that I might not have visited without an invitation from Steven, who later moved to the Bay Area. I think I’d have stayed in Madison if I’d been him.
Fifteen years ago today:
Exit St. Louis and enter Illinois via Route 66. Stops at a roadside museum and the Ariston Cafe en route to Madison. I played Peoria but there is no video evidence.
Fifteen years ago today:
Kansas City to St. Louis: the eastern and western extremes of Missouri. I have my first Waffle House sighting, finally land on Route 66, and get whiny about some potential car trouble.
Fifteen years ago today:
A tour of Kansas City with my host Bernie. I can’t help feeling that much of what we saw is no longer standing (or at least no longer looks the same). The day ends with beer and Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch.
This is actually one of the longer videos and yet I felt less compelled to do heavy editing.
Fifteen years ago today:
The 1997 online road trip continues down Colfax Avenue in Denver, across Kansas (with a Stuckey’s run) and into Kansas City via Country Club Plaza.
Fifteen years ago today:
Onward from Salt Lake City to Denver, although the video dies off somewhere south of Cheyenne. We also visit Laramie and Rawlins.
Fifteen years ago today:
The 1997 online road trip continues in Salt Lake City. Eric, my host, shows me diners, drive-ins, parks, cute boys, and the temple, and we visit the Utah State Fair a day or so before opening.
Fifteen years ago today:
My first online road trip enters its second day and I go from Reno to Salt Lake City. Highlights include Winnemucca and Wells, Nevada; Utah and Mountain Time Zone;
Bill & Nada’s in Salt Lake City (now demolished); Salt Lake City by night.