Person(s) of Interest

Q: What about the Lincoln Highway? Most people in Michigan don’t know much about it because it doesn’t go through our state. Possibly because Henry Ford I refused to support it.

A: Even a lot of people who live near it don’t know it’s there. It was America’s first coast-to-coast highway -- about 3,400 miles long, organized in 1913. At first, Henry Ford didn’t like the idea because he believed the government should pay for roads, not private industry. But later, in 1924, Ford’s 10 millionth Model T made the entire trip under its own power. There’s a plaque at 42nd Street and Broadway that marks the official beginning of the route, but we couldn’t find it, so we just headed out to the Lincoln Tunnel under the Hudson River into New Jersey. Traffic was really congested and the route was poorly marked, so we spent a lot of time there we didn’t want to. The whole trip took 18 days, from March 3rd through the 21st.

Q: So you averaged about 200 miles a day?

A: Each day was different. Some days, when there were important sites to see, we averaged 50 to 60 miles. In Iowa, there’s a museum dedicated to the highway that arches over the road – a very unusual, interesting place. We spent about a half a day there. Other days, when there wasn’t much to see, we picked up the pace. Some days, there was just nothing to see. There’s one stretch of road, Highway 50 in Nevada, called the Loneliest Road in America. There’s no cell service there, not even many gas stations. We could go for half an hour and never see another car. I wouldn’t want to do it at night.

Q: Does anything spectacular come to mind?

A: Nothing spectacular. The Lincoln Highway wasn’t designed to offer beautiful scenery, it was planned to move people from one end of the country to the other in the most efficient manner, like a railroad. Much of what we saw was just pure Americana – not exciting, not glitzy. So much of it was going through a lot of small towns, seeing a lot of road art – be it statues, be it murals on the sides of buildings – there’s a lot of that in America. The important part was meeting the local people, trying the local specialties in restaurants – we like doing that. You don’t find much local culture on the Interstates.

Q: What about the people you met?

A: The people are the best part of our travels. We were in Carson City, Nevada, and we went downtown to have dinner. The restaurant we chose was full and we had to wait 15 to 20 minutes for a table. While we were waiting, we struck up a conversation with a lady who was a local. She was telling us about some of the roads that were closed, roads we were going to take to cross into California the next day. That was very good information. She and her son came and sat down at our table for a few minutes and then left. An hour later, when we asked for our check, we learned she had paid our bill. It was such a random act of kindness, I ran outside to try to find her. But I couldn’t. I’ll never forget that.

Q: Do you isolate yourselves from family and friends when you’re on the road, or do you stay in daily touch?

A: Our family and close friends know we’re on an extended road trip, so they can usually reach us on our cellphones. We’ll often call our family a couple of times a week, just to stay in touch. Mary Lou also posts pictures and a brief itinerary on Facebook for those who are interested.

Q: What is your automobile of choice for these trips?

A: Rental cars with an unlimited mileage offer. (Laughs) I always like the look on the agent’s face when we take the car back. After the most recent one, the guy looked at the odometer and looked at his computer and shook his head. ‘I’ll be right back,’ he said. ‘No, you got it right the first time,’ I said. The trip showed 8,100 miles. He couldn’t believe anyone could put that many miles on a rental.

Q: Of the three trips, which would you say was your favorite?

A: When it comes to food and scenery, I’d say it was the southern route, Route 80. The food along the way was just fantastic, even in the little diners. And the people were the friendliest. But the most interesting was Route 66. There were museums everywhere we went – motorcycle museums, car museums, old-time diners done up with vinyl stools and formica countertops. One of the diners we stopped at was a favorite of Elvis. We sat in the booth where he used to hang out.

Another time we spent three or four hours at a house once owned by a guy named Isaac Elwood. Elwood was famous for inventing barbed wire, which made him very rich. His house was a mansion that was turned into a museum – a museum for barbed wire. It was unusual, but fascinating. I guess there’s a museum for just about everything in this country.

Q: What, if anything, disappointed you?

A: A couple of times we thought it would be cool to stay at old motels and tourist cabins that were built along the route in the 1940s and ‘50s, but some of them leave a lot to be desired. The amenities just aren’t there. One time, Mary Lou turned on the cold water in the sink while I was taking a shower and it nearly scalded me. Usually, we stay in Hampton Inns because they’re predictable.

Q: Do you have a next trip in mind?

A: We’ve been talking about that. We’ve done a lot of east-west trips; now we’re thinking about a north-south trip, starting up in Minnesota or the Canadian border and following the Mississippi River to New Orleans. That’s about 2,200 miles and will probably take us two weeks. But we’re also looking at some alternate routes.

Q: There’s still plenty left to explore out there, isn’t there?

A: Yes, there sure is. It’s a big country.