Trip 4: Day 2 (A Walk Down Dodge)

I like to walk when I travel. Not only does it get you exercise and is generally low on stress, but you get to see things that you otherwise might have missed had you been driving. And there have only been short stretches of US 6 on which I've actually walked. So I decided that I needed an oil change, and took the several hours of opportunity to walk down US 6 in Omaha (known as Dodge Street for its entire length within the city), from 72nd Street, where the Firestone store was located, to 30th Street, where the gentrifying Midtown area meets the low-end Leavenworth neighborhood that divides Midtown and Downtown. 42 blocks. From 30th Street, I would take the bus to Old Market to get a drink, then a commuter express bus back to 72nd Street where I could pick up my car before the store closed at 7pm. It all sounded pretty nice.
That Monday was a great day for a walk too. Clear skies, temperatures in the 50's. Relatively light traffic in the early afternoon.

72nd & Dodge, Omaha, looking northwest

Crossroads Mall sits at the intersection of 72nd and Dodge Streets, in a heavily retail district. Retail occupancy seems to be fairly high, but Crossroads is largely considered to be a dead mall. Target, Sears and Barnes & Noble have taken over as anchors, turning it into mostly a "power center," with the mall interior sitting largely vacant. The current owner plans to demolish the mall in 2015 and turn it into a mixed-use development, with outdoor shopping and housing geared toward students at nearby UNO. The mall is about 3 miles east of the larger, newer and largely occupied Westroads Mall, although the decline can largely be blamed on the decline of indoor malls as a whole. The concept is over 50 years old now, and Americans have begun to reject it in favor of the "outdoor mall" or "open air mall," where stores are lined up along small streets and surrounded by a sea of parking. It's basically like taking the roof off of an indoor mall. And they're cheaper to operate, considering the utility costs alone.

University of Nebraska Omaha's east
entrance on Dodge Street

East of 72nd, Dodge Street ascends a large hill where the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) campus sits. Originally Omaha University, the school was founded in 1908, becoming the public Municipal University of Omaha in 1931, then moving from North Omaha to this current campus in 1938 and eventually merging with the University of Nebraska system, based in Lincoln. The campus is mostly laid out in an east-west manor, paralleling Dodge Street, with its main library near the center, and several residence halls on its western edge. There's also a small football stadium on the south side of the campus, home to the Mavericks, an NCAA Division I team in The Summit League. With total enrollment currently over 15,000, the school moved from Division II in 2012, with the exception of its hockey program, which was already Division I. As I walked around the crowded campus, I saw mostly the faces of traditional students - i.e., students under the age of 25 - but a reasonable amount of ethnic diversity. The student union featured a small food court, a sitting area where several students lounged reading books, and a number of offices at the back. I went looking for a water fountain, and was directed to one by a staff member I found near an office. By the water fountain, two members of a Christian student organization chatted with each other in front of a table; the lone student organization presence that day with no one apparently interested.

Korean-Vietnam Peace Memorial
from Dodge Street

The campus borders Elmwood Park, which forms a steep, sweeping canyon, heavily wooded to the south of Dodge, and mostly open grassland to the north, leading up a hill to the Korean-Vietnam Peace Memorial and the Omaha Rose Garden. A U-shaped pedestrian bridge spans Dodge Street to connect the two sections. It's the largest public park in Omaha, with 216 acres. In 2013, Omaha was ranked #11 of the 50 largest cities in the country for its "ParkScore," a numerical value determined by the Trust for Public Land based on a city's park and open space.

51st Street looking south
from Dodge in Dundee

At approximately 57th Street, on the east side of Elmwood Park, the Dundee neighborhood begins. Dundee is one of the wealthier parts of Omaha, and is home to Warren Buffet, arguably Omaha's most famous resident. The neighborhood was developed in the 1880's as a self-contained village, with its commercial center at the 50th Street & Underwood Avenue intersection, 1/2 mile north of Dodge Street. That area today features a number of restaurants, bars and small shops in mostly 1960's-era buildings. The area is one of several parts of Omaha that function as a village, and attract new, younger residents by being walkable. Meanwhile, the 50th Street & Dodge Street intersection has its own group of bars and restaurants, including Page Turners, a bar which sits in the space of a former long-time bookstore of the same name. I was lucky enough to get a chance to go into Page Turners several days before they closed their doors. I bought a book for $1 about urban development that was written by a guy from Detroit, but the book turned out mostly to be about Detroit's history and I stopped reading it. Page Turners is owned by another famous Omaha resident, Conner Oberst, who fronted Bright Eyes up until several years ago, when he began a more roots-rock project under his own name. I went into the bar one night (see "Trip 4: Day 1" post) and found it to have a comfortable lounge vibe. Quiet on a Sunday evening, the bartender was chatting to a patron about music, which soon turned to the drama behind a mutual friend's dealing with at least one of the members of Cursive, a relatively well-known local band. I drank my beer and left them to their inside conversation, although I was able to show my own hipster side by correctly naming a Sonic Youth album of which they could not remember the title (it's the only Sonic Youth album I know because it's the only one I own, and I never listen to it).

Spanish-style apartment building
on Capitol Avenue in Dundee

As you pass 50th, Dodge Street turns from exclusively residential to exclusively commercial, and the streets behind it are now lined with apartment complexes instead of large old houses. This area is still part of the Dundee historic district, but has a decidedly different atmosphere, and is where a quick decline starts as it continues east until you reach the Midtown development. At 49th Street is The Varsity, a long-time sports bar fixture in the Ralston neighborhood on the southwest side of town. With this new location, they bring a good food menu and draft beer selection to a previously declining area. With the new CVS across the street also, the area has improved quite a bit since I first started visiting Omaha in 2007. The side of the CVS building features pictures of Omaha's past, including Jobber's Canyon, and the building which was razed for its construction, featuring the iconic 49er Bar, which had become a notorious hipster hangout in the years before its closure in 2011. The CVS project was approved in September 2010 after previously being turned down by the city, mostly due to the opposition of the nearby neighborhood. Many in Dundee felt that the design featured too many parking spaces, did not match the character of the neighborhood, and were concerned over traffic into the neighborhood as a result.

Dodge Street near 48th, looking east

At around 46th Street, there's Beyond BBQ. I had seen this place in driving and looked them up to find them well-reviewed on Yelp. Not that Yelp is the definitive test of a restaurant being good or not, but it's a start. I found a small cafe run by an older white man and a middle-aged Vietnamese woman. Aside from me, there was one other couple in the restaurant, but it was also about 2pm. I tried to figure out what I could get that was small, but ended up with a pound of rib tips. I asked how long the place had been open, and that developed into a one-sided discussion on signage laws in the city and their selective enforcement. I confused him with the payment and lost a little over $1, but had already had to point out that he owed me another $5, so I just let it go, but I found it bothering me as I continued walking down the road. I didn't eat the rib tips there. The restaurant was hot and forced me to remove my sweatshirt, while everyone watched "Judge Judy" on the TV overhead and the owner laughed to himself at something unknown on his laptop. I ate the rib tips later outside the Mutual of Omaha building, and found them to be decent, but not great. I don't know that I would say Omaha is known for its barbecue though (I can't think of another barbecue place in town off the top of my head), so I would not be surprised if this was the best in the city. Having just come from St. Louis though, it was a little bit of a let down.

Saddle Creek Road from the Dodge
Street overpass, looking north

Joslyn Castle from Dodge Street

Walking east, you cross over Saddle Creek Road, one of the busiest streets in central Omaha. But you would never know it, because Dodge does not intersect it. Instead, you see small signs, directing you to ramps that provide access to Saddle Creek Road through a "partial cloverleaf" (or "parclo") interchange, with ramps on the northeast and southwest sides of the intersection. Traffic entering Dodge Street cannot turn left, but traffic entering Saddle Creek Road can, via a signal at the northeast ramp and a slightly dangerous one-way stop sign at the southwest ramp.
Two different sections of Omaha begin here, divided by Dodge Street. The University of Nebraska Medical Center spans about 50 acres (sources conflict) south of Farnham between Saddle Creek Road (45th) and 38th Street. The area just to the north, and along Dodge, has become a medical office district though, with a number of small office buildings lining the street. Additionally, there's Omaha's famous "Gold Coast" district just to the north of Dodge, where enormous houses representing the golden era of Omaha sit. The most iconic is Joslyn Castle, built in 1903, which sits one block north of Dodge on 39th Street. The home can be rented for private events, but is open for public tours on the first and third Sunday of each month. Unfortunately, I arrived a little too late in the day on the third Sunday in November to be able to do this tour. Honestly though, I never get much from the tours of old homes; they tend to all seem the same.

US 6 shield in front of the
Mutual of Omaha office complex

Past 38th, it's several more blocks of fast food restaurants, check cashing places, gas stations, and low-rise medical office buildings. The Mutual of Omaha complex begins at 35th Street and continues to 33rd, along the south side of Dodge Street. The buildings are mostly set back from Dodge though, and the sidewalk area, though maintained, is not particularly aesthetically pleasant there. The landscaping is obviously made to look nice from the road, while in a car. At 33rd, the Midtown Crossing development begins, first with Wohlner's Grocery. Wohlner's sat at 52nd & Leavenworth, just about a mile to the southwest of this current site, for 70 years until it moved to the Aksarben development in southwestern Omaha in 2008. In 2010, they expanded to this new second location but, in late 2012, the Aksarben location was sold, but was allowed to retain the Wohlner's name. So, searching for Wohlner's on Google, you'll likely first come across this now-pseudo-original Wohlner's, but will also likely find the other Wohlner's at Aksarben. Another strange story in Omaha's perpetual battle to evolve but deal with its strong culture and identity.
Sitting mostly above Wohlner's is the new (opened in November 2010) green-themed Element hotel, owned by the Starwood Group (Westin, Sheraton). The brand's concept reminds me very much of Hilton's Home2 Suites, which are geared toward corporate long-term stays, with full kitchens and a chic, hip lobby area. "Eco-chic" is what it was called in the media with a heavily-touted LEED silver certification. If know anything about LEED though, you'll point out that that's the lowest rating and, in fact, the hotel received a 77 from the EPA, just over the required 75 to receive the minimal certification. But it's a positive step for the industry. I just walked in to the lobby to find it quiet with one woman on staff, who mostly ignored me as I explained I wanted to check out the hotel. I asked a question but was met with a one-word answer, so I left. It was strange to see, because I was actually staying in Starwood's other Omaha property, the Sheraton, that I had gotten on Priceline for less than half the nightly rate of this hotel. But, of course, that Sheraton is over 70 blocks to the west and walkable to nothing.

A Midtown Crossing building with Downtown Omaha
skyline in the right-center background

Midtown Crossing was a huge step for Omaha, in terms of development projects. Its mixed-use design, in-fill location, LEED certifications and focus on the surrounding open space of Turner Park (technically, a public park) made it the first truly environmentally-responsible development in the city. Retail tenants are currently mostly upscale restaurants, a few shops and several bars. There's also a movie theater, as well as the aforementioned Wohlner's market and the Element hotel. The area is easily compared to the slightly older (two years) Aksarben Village, which seems to market itself as more family-friendly, but has the advantage over Midtown Crossing of having a campus of the University of Nebraska Omaha on-site. Midtown Crossing seems to have more open space though, but Turner Park very much has a "big brother" feel to it. There are signs that indicate both hours and various rules of conduct as you enter. It is also literally surrounded by the towering condo buildings, with their windows looming over every part of the park area. However, it is a very nice park.
Midtown Crossing is owned by Mutual of Omaha, which sits next door. It may have been initially conceived as a way to bring in young talent, in a generation that now demands urban living and walkable environments rather than the big yard on the cul-de-sac in the suburbs. But the company has recently made it clear that they are not interested in being the sole developer of a "new" Midtown, when, in 2013, they purchased and demolished one of the iconic Twin Towers for the purpose of simply clearing the site for future development by another party. Additionally, a number of buildings were razed in 2006 for the initial Midtown Crossing construction, including a church, and the design of the structures, overall, does not fit in well with the humble low-rises of the surrounding neighborhood.

From here, I took the bus east, into Downtown. I immediately missed two of the at least three buses I could have caught, while I fiddled around in Turner Park ironically looking at bus schedules (I saw them pass), but finally caught one on Douglas Street (US 6 eastbound) after a 15 minute wait. Waiting with me was an older woman who stood by a truck in the parking lot of the Twin Towers, about 20 feet away from the sidewalk and myself, looking down the street. I thought she was waiting for a ride, and was surprised when she came over as the bus pulled up. Caddy-corner from me was a woman sitting on the ground in what looked like a bio-hazard suit, occasionally yelling something to herself. The latter is what I remember of this neighborhood. I like this area because it's gritty but, overall, it's not the sort of "urban" environment that Midtown Crossing's developers, nor the residential tenants who can afford to live there, are looking for. But, then again, maybe Omaha isn't really looking for Midtown Crossing.

Traveling in the late fall for the purpose of sightseeing and photography, you become acutely aware of how early the sun sets. By the time the bus arrived, it was about 4pm, and the sun was well behind the tall buildings, and a dusky glow hung over the landscape at the bottom of the hill to the east. As the bus rolled into Downtown and back under the shade of buildings, it looked like it was about to get dark. I was able to successfully get my Upstream Brewing happy hour in though. This is a ritual of mine in Omaha as it's one of the first places I visited in the city. Upstream, to me, has always seemed to be a little too big for their britches. They brew very good beers, and have a pretty solid menu, but nothing is great, nor does it seem particularly upscale despite a decidedly pretentious vibe you get when you enter. My experiences at the bar (I've never actually sat at a table) have ranged from friendly conversation with strangers to total ignorance by both the bartenders and the patrons. This time, a flamboyant gay couple sat next to me, but I knew I was on a schedule and couldn't really talk much.

Back on Dodge Street (US 6 westbound), I found the bus stop I needed and stood in the cold with a growing number of commuters. Omaha's express buses are $1.50 versus the regular $1.25, but it's really worth it. The limited stops speed up everything, not only because the bus just skips stops altogether, but also because it's able to move from the right lane when it needs to. I was very surprised to see that this bus, called the "Dodge Express" on the Omaha Metro web site but called something very different on its overhead sign, was actually very well used, and I ended up sitting next to someone. I felt a little bad getting off, because I was the first one to do so. Everyone else was headed for the "real" suburbs, past I-680. I made it in plenty of time to pick up my car and, randomly, decided to head back to Midtown, to go to the Crescent Moon Ale House.

May 2011

The Crescent Moon is my favorite beer bar in the city. There is always an interesting tap selection, with a focus on local beers, they have great food, it's relatively cheap, and it has a friendly neighborhood bar kind of atmosphere. The bar itself is also relatively small, with the stools seemingly close to each other, so you're more likely to get a conversation. I always seem to find one. This time, I randomly found a new transplant, a younger guy who had moved from Chattanooga for a job. I think, if anything, it was reassuring to him, after being in Omaha for a week, to hear someone from outside the region speak very positively of Omaha. Even the Omahans I talk to are typically surprised when I mention that I come every year just for the hell of it.
Aside from the beer, one thing you must get at the Crescent Moon is a reuben sandwich. The reuben was invented at the Blackstone Hotel, which is directly across the street from the Crescent Moon. The hotel today is an office building (though it's architecturally intact), with the restaurant long closed so, maybe as a result, the Crescent Moon has constructed the best reuben sandwich in the country. I say this having had countless reuben sandwiches throughout the country. If it's on the menu, I'll often order it, and I've gotten very, very picky about it over the years.

Trip 4: Day 1 (Omaha Drinking)

Drinking in bars is a big part of my travel to new cities. It's not really all about the act of drinking or inebriation but, rather, drinking in bars provides two things I enjoy: talking to random people who are mostly perfectly happy to chat with you, and trying different and often local beers.

My Omaha arrival began in the Benson neighborhood, which sits on the northwest side of the city, centered around 56th and Maple. Benson was once a separate city, built as a streetcar suburb at the end of the 19th century, but was annexed into Omaha in 1917. Despite being a part of Omaha for almost 100 years, the neighborhood still maintains a distinct sense of community that differs from the rest of the city. It's not Omaha; it's Benson, and people will tell you that very plainly. The central business district of Benson stretches along Maple, lined with bars, restaurants and a few small shops. I had read about some recent openings in Benson, including a brewery, so I just had to get down there to see how the neighborhood looked. Infusion Brewing had only been open a few months. It sits inside of what was, for many years, a butcher shop, but then turned into a silversmith's storefront. The interior is all new and mostly wood, except for a subway tile floor that was part of the original butcher shop. Quite a bit of love, care and money has been put into the design and construction, and the results are a comfortable, neighborhood sort of place. This is not a big brewery that can handle 200 people, but it does have a long bar, at least ten house beers on tap, and a surprisingly good bourbon selection. Two of the beers were what they called their "Refrigerator Series," and were from taps connected to a 1950's-era refrigerator. Possibly as an homage to the butcher shop past, the only food available at the brewery was local meats and cheeses, sold whole, but served with a knife.
At one point while sitting at the bar, the bartender left and came back to complain about a line at the pizza place next door. Now one of the things I mention to people about Omaha that they probably do not realize is that, largely due to its large Italian-American population, Omaha has fantastic pizza. I have my favorite place picked out, but I'm always asking Omahans about their own favorites. On this last trip, one of them mentioned that this was really largely a neighborhood thing, as Omaha is a very insular city, where people tend to stay in their own neighborhoods, and I think this is actually pretty true. But, being in Benson and talking to a Benson resident there, I was told that this pizza, at Baxter's, was the best around. I waited in a now shorter short line to order their slice and salad special, which came with a soda and ran around $7. I chatted with the girl working the register, and was able to consume quite a large free sample of their house beer, which turned out to be brewed at a restaurant just down the street (again, an insular city, especially in Benson) owned by the same person who owned the pizza place. The salad was amazing, really one of the better salads I've had in the last few years (though that's largely owed to living in Indiana, where salads are mostly awful), but the pizza was not too much to my liking. I didn't like the cheese consistency too much, and there was barely any sauce on it. For that New York-esque style of pizza, I realize that sauce is typically minimal, but this had virtually no sauce, and I have my own ideas of what I like in pizza, and that's not it. Sorry, Benson.

The early start and early drinking meant that I needed a quick nap at the hotel before starting up again. The early sunset got me an early start on the town. The first stop was Page Turner's, a bar at Dodge (US 6) & 50th Street in the Dundee neighborhood, owned by Conor Oberst, an Omaha native best known for fronting the group Bright Eyes during the 2000's. Page Turner's was a long-time and well-loved bookstore in the same location before closing in 2011, then reopening as the bar in early 2013. As I entered from the rear door, I found a small, lowly-lit bar with dim lounge music overhead, and two patrons several seats apart at the bar, deeply engaged in conversation. I chose a rolling chair two seats down from one of them and started to review the menu, which featured several signature cocktails, a good but small tap selection, and a comprehensive beer bottle list. One patron was a middle-aged man in jeans, sneakers and a KC Chiefs ball cap, while the other was a 20-something in a suede jacket with black horned-rim glasses. And they were talking about music. The Mamas and the Papas. Eventually, they started requesting music be played, which could only be played via a laptop and via YouTube videos, possibly for some sort of way around public performance laws (but I don't think that's how that works). Eventually, the older man left, and the bartender, who was dressed similarly to the hipster 20-something, began talking to him about a mutual friend who had somehow offended a member of a fairly well-known but local Omaha band, Cursive. The whole experience was indicative of the sort of interactions I've had with the Omaha hipsters in the past. And, the fact is, it would be nice if they've adopted Page Turner's as their new home, after the 49er, just a block away, was razed in 2011 to make way for a new CVS pharmacy. Page Turner's makes so much sense, if only because it's run by a relatively famous Omaha musician.
After Page Turner's, I decided I wanted to hit another bar on US 6, so I chose the Holiday Lounge, which I had passed countless times in my visits to Omaha. The Holiday Lounge sits next two iconic Omaha restaurants: BG's Loose Meat Sandwiches and Zio's Pizza (my aforementioned favorite). The Holiday Lounge featured a couple in their late 20's engrossed in their cell phones, an older man cursing at the Chiefs game on the TV above, and a loud party of off-shift (maybe) nurses as the only patrons at a table. The latter would periodically request shots or some complex drink order, visibly pushing the bartender to a more surly mood. Other patrons would come in, and the bartender would greet them unenthusiastically by name. Despite being in a strip mall on the busiest street in Omaha, this was a neighborhood bar. I was invading, but I was not really made to feel as an invader. The bartender was attentive, but I was otherwise left to myself. I could have struck up a conversation about the Chiefs game but, for me, football is tough, because I only know so much about it and really have no knowledge of any particular players, except if they played at some point in the late 80's. So if a discussion moved to the quarterback of a particular team, I can only fain interest and knowledge to an extent before feeling exposed as somewhat of a fraud. So I sat at the bar as a wallflower; a "barflower" if you will. I had two Lucky Bucket Lagers - a solid Omaha beer - and left, happy with the evening.

Trip 4: Day 4

Although the cold, gray drive from Omaha brought fall and impending first winter storm into perspective, it did not make for an experience that was conducive to exploration outside of the car. The winds whip up constantly on the rolling hills east of the Missouri River, and the now empty fields mean that there is no shelter or break from the cold wind. Hands in your pockets and face turned away, you just want to go back to the car.
The only section of US 6 I had previous driven in Iowa was between Council Bluffs and Atlantic. About 30 miles. At Atlantic, the route turns north to go toward Interstate 80, which it follows east for several miles before going north, back to its original routing, just before Des Moines. I took the original routing, which is a state highway at first, but then goes into a county road. This part of the White Pole Road, the original road from Des Moines to Council Bluffs, marked by, literally, white poles along its side as it followed the railroad line. The poles are still painted white, and there were several "Historic US 6" button copy signs east of Atlantic.
In Council Bluffs, I drove down Broadway, the original US 6, through the Downtown area. In the early morning, it was very quiet. A fancy new bridge, with colorful decorations, spans a railroad yard. In Atlantic, I got a cup of coffee from a cute place, and tried to buy an air filter, but the store did not have one for my car (they often do not). Onto Anita, Adair, Casey, Menlo, Stuart, Dexter, Redfield, and Adel. Not the most inspiring town names, and many of them blended together. Adair is where I saw the button copy signs, as well as a very nicely-maintained pull-off and landmark for the location of the first train robbery by Jesse James. Casey had apparently had a short-lived antique store association. Maybe it still does. It was a sad, run-down town with just a gas station and a library. Dexter featured a very interesting Methodist church, and a 60's-era sign pointing to its business district, where there was a bar and a couple of other small shops. In Redfield, I came across a rail-to-trail and another 60's-era sign. Adel has obviously found a place as a suburban community for Des Moines, looking at its new, vinyl-sided, two-storied homes, but the brick factory and intimidating courthouse were its main features. The Downtown square was also quaint and seemed to be very healthy. East of Adel, US 6 widened to 4-lane divided with a 65mph speed limit.
US 6's route through Des Moines started in Waukee, which is slightly suburban but, for the most part, still a farming town. Entering into Clive, the low hills were full of sprawl, and neat, new suburban communities lined the highway. As you continued through Windsor Heights and Urbandale, the sprawl continued, though the area seemed to be less wealthy and older. As you entered Des Moines, it was a more modest neighborhood, Beaverdale. Beaverdale's main street, Beaver Avenue, served as "City US 6" up until the 1970's, and this is what I drove into town. It turns east on Forest Avenue, in a pretty, hilly neighborhood and cuts right through the campus of Drake University. Just past the Drake campus, the neighborhood quickly declines, and "City US 6" turns south on MLK, Jr. Drive for two blocks, before going east on Carpenter Avenue for two more blocks, then south on Keosauqua ("Keo") Parkway, which is pseudo-expressway. The MLK/Carpenter configuration appears to have been some sort of town square at one point. According to the Shell maps, "City US 6" then went south on 9th Street, then left on Grand Avenue to go right through Downtown Des Moines.
The interesting thing about the 9th Street and Grand Avenue configuration is that those streets are both now one-way, but were apparently not in the 1960's, as they're the only streets shown as being the route for "City US 6." Grand Avenue crosses the Des Moines River and passes the state capitol on its north side.

Trip 3: Day 1

Day 1 involved very little of US 6. The drive from Bloomington to Joliet was IN 46 to US 231 to I-74 to US 41 to US 52 to IL 102 to IL 53. Generally...

The fall colors were gorgeous on the drive. The route followed a particularly hilly stretch of landscape that defines the area around the White River and just east of the Wabash River, only settling out in what I call the Great Lakes Plains, where the rolling, sandy remnants of the lakes' reach is used for corn farming and a large wind farm in Northwestern Indiana. I found a new favorite town: Attica, Indiana. I may have been here in the past, but I don't remember for certain. The fall colors may have made it prettier, but it was full of wonderful architecture, including a string of old Italianate commercial buildings in its Downtown area, and large houses throughout all under grand oaks and maples. I'll have to go back at some point.

I visited Kankakee for the first time, snaking through the city on US 52 to wind up at a CD store, Chicago Records, where I rifled through a plastic tub full of $1 CDs of unknown country bands, Jesus Jones, The Cardigans and Primal Scream. I could have gotten four for $1, but I left empty-handed. I honestly don't think I could have found four to buy. But it was in that parking lot that I found out Kankakee (or, more specifically, Bourbonnais) has a brewpub, Brickstone. The beer was actually very decent, was $3 per pint, and there was a half-off special on wings. I miss being in reasonable states.

After that, I chose to drive up the Kankakee River to the small town of Wilmington. Wilmington featured more suburban development than I expected, maybe foremployees from nearby DuPage County, or even Joliet itself, since it's not considered a desirable place to live in general it seems. I took a back road to the interstate, only to be snarled in traffic due to a lane closure. After about a mile of 7mph average speeds, I left the interstate and went to Downtown Joliet. The plan here was to find and photograph the post-1940 US 6/US 66 junction, which is now the US 6/I-55 interchange, as I-55 took over the right-of-way when it was constructed in the late 1960's. I may try again tomorrow since I'm now on the right side of the canal.

The plan was to spend some time at a beer bar in Downtown Joliet, Chicago Street Pub, but a web site (most likely Yelp) lied to me, and they are not actually open on Sundays. So off to the hotel. But it gave me a chance to do a preliminary drive on US 6 as it first crossing then follows the Illinois and Michigan Canal. It was a heavily-industrialized area, with just one small tavern and a couple of neighborhoods just off the highway. The speed limit got up to 55mph while I was still in the city limits. There is very little going on in that area. You can actually see the canal quite well at times, as well as the barges and tugs that line its banks. Eventually I went out to a beer store, finding a 22oz bottle of Lagunitas Imperial Stout for $5. I miss living in a reasonable state.

I realized today that I have no way of downloading pictures from my real camera for these daily blog posts. The camera uses a mini USB plug while I only regularly carry a micro USB, mostly for my phone. I may try and find one at a thrift store tomorrow. I have seen them before, as they're becoming less useful, so it's worth a shot. Maybe in a wealthier Chicago suburb. Or I may try to take cell phone camera photos. The problem with that is that my cigarette lighter has stopped functioning. This may just be a fuse, and I'm going to attempt to take a look tomorrow morning because, today, my fancy new phone shut down finally at the end because the battery level got so low.

Missing the Route 66 junction was a disappointment, but I had also planned to at least take a look at the Joliet Prison park. By the time I reached Joliet, the sun had set and it was fairly dark. The actual prison closed years ago but the city has turned the space into a public park, including interpretive signs ringing the walls. You cannot go inside, but you can at least check it out. So that's also on the growing agenda for tomorrow morning.

On the plus side, I did drive through the pre-1940 US 6/US 66 intersection just south of Downtown Joliet twice today. US 66 took an odd course after 1940, completely avoiding Joliet, and its more rural routing seems less true to the nature of the road, so I would consider its Illinois State Route 53 routing to be a more "genuine" representation, at least in terms of how people imagine the road.

Trip #3: Finalized Plans

US 6 trip #3 will run from Sunday, 10-27 to Wednesday, 10-30. I'll drive up to Joliet, Illinois, where US 6 intersects both the Lincoln Highway and Route 66, drive east across Chicago's southern suburbs to LaPorte, Indiana for a night, then further east to Bowling Green, Ohio for my free Hampton Inn stay. I kept the hotels to about $50 per night and, aside from two breweries in really random towns, will mostly be doing things that are free. I will diverge a bit to hit some towns but, for the most part, am staying on US 6.

One thing I'm upset about missing is the historic Fort Wayne Railroad's running of a steam train from Fort Wayne to Lafayette. The train is scheduled to arrive in Lafayette at 6pm, and I can only imagine that it's likely going to be late, and that may be a bit too long to stay in Indiana in order to reach Joliet at a reasonable time. Then again, this is one of those things I have to look at: when I encounter something interesting, I may have to move plans around. Then again, this is not really a US 6 activity; it's just something interesting that I could do. But is seeing a steam train pull in worth killing a whole day?

I'm also missing the tour of the historic Rialto Square Theater in Joliet, which occurs on Tuesdays during the winter. Up to August 30th, there are twice-daily tours, but I seemed to have missed it. I plan on arriving at the box office during business hours and asking if I can just look around. The tour would have been ideal, as this provides insight and a chance for questions that you wouldn't otherwise get.

Trip 3: Northern Indiana or Ohio

In planning Trip #3, I've determined that it will be, certainly, a dedicated US 6 trip. But the actual destination is in question. As there is a Hampton Inn in Bowling Green, Ohio that I can get for just 10,000 points, Bowling Green is certainly a destination. In fact, US 6 east of Bowling Green is where I came up with the idea for this, originally. But, past that, I don't really know where to go. It feels like I should go further since I have the free time, but the Northern Indiana section of US 6 is actually one of the few sections of the route that I have never traveled. There is also a small stretch between Fremont and Elyria, Ohio that I've never traveled, but the rest of it, particularly the stretch through Cleveland, is a favorite of mine on my annual visits.

This third, most dedicated US 6 trip will span at least 300 miles and last at least 30 days. I plan to take it slow, take lots of pictures and talk to people along the way. The typical research has already begun: Wikipedia articles on towns in the area, looking at breweries, state parks, etc. It's just a matter of which direction I travel.

Second US 6 Trip: Los Angeles

As part of a larger trip to Los Angeles last week, I ended up driving on Route 6 for a period. So it was not really a US 6 trip but, rather, a trip where US 6 was worked in. I booked a hotel in Arcadia, with the idea of being in a walkable area with several restaurants and not too far out of the city. It suited both of those well but, in the end, it was a little too far from LAX and way too far from the ocean to really work for the trip. But I had to drive there from Oxnard, so it was just a slight detour from the typical LA freeway route to see some highlights of the old US 6/US 99 route along San Fernando Road, now with hardly any sort of designation of its past.

View Larger Map

The original intention was to drive all the way to Figueroa in Downtown LA, where US 6 turned to follow that famous old street through its tunnels through Griffith Park and south toward San Pedro. However, as got toward Glendale, the wife was tired from driving so much, and I was even worn down by the drive through Canoga Park and Chatsworth to reach the 118 freeway. Probably should have just taken the 405, but I've spent so little time in the Valley, that I like to get out there when I can, just to see it.

The US 6 section of the drive started with Carrillo's Tortilleria, a block off of US 6 in San Fernando. We came for good tortillas, which are impossible to find in Indiana, and we found both corn and flour, with flour large enough even for burritos. Had an excellent carne asada taco and a good fish taco, and I found jamoncillo, which is my favorite Mexican candy. The unfortunate thing about jamoncillo is it lasts long, but does not taste as good when it's a little old. So, even if you get it loose and not in a package on a shelf where it's been sitting for a year, you'll likely get it from a plastic container where it's sat for a year. This is one of those items that fall into the "if you like it so much, then you should make your own" category, which is always a valid point. Personally, I find it much more convenient to criticize others' versions of these things.

San Fernando itself is an interesting concept. Everyone knows "the Valley" from various sources, such as the 80's Nick Cage movie, and a large percentage of that same everyone knows "San Fernando Valley." But say "San Fernando, California," and people will almost always assume that you're referring to the Valley, not being aware that there's actually a town of over 20,000 people called that. One of the several mission cities throughout the Los Angeles area, San Fernando is named for Mission San Fernando Rey de España. As San Fernando is an urban exclave, completely surrounded by the City of Los Angeles, it's often easy to ignore. In fact, the mission itself is not even in San Fernando, it's just west of it, within Los Angeles. There are signs as you enter into San Fernando from all sides indicating the change in cities, but they're relatively minor. Most who are familiar with the area may assume that San Fernando is yet another LA "district," and its modest Downtown area is the remnants of yet another Valley town swallowed up by the land-grabbing LA. But San Fernando was able to fight off the annexation surge in the 1920's from Mulholland and the famously corrupt Los Angeles leaders.

San Fernando Road (former US 6), looking south

But US 6/US 99 came through here, right along San Fernando Road, the town's main drag, until US 6's truncation, and US 99's complete decommissioning, in 1964. Since then, the road has not carried any numbered route and was long ago bypassed by Interstate 5 just to the west, and later again by Interstate 210, just to the east. But San Fernando Road remains very healthy. On a Saturday afternoon, the street was full of pedestrian traffic. The 15mph speed limit through the commercial district was necessary to watch out both for darting pedestrians and for cars, pulling back from the angled parking spots all along the street. The shops were those that you would have likely found in San Fernando during US 6's tenure here: restaurants, barbers and beauty shops, markets, shoe stores, clothing stores, household goods stores, jewelers, a hardware store...

Southern end of "San Fernando Mall," former US 6

What's changed is the demographics. Up until the 1980's, San Fernando was solidly white and middle-class, like most of the Valley to the west. However, the city is now a striking 92% Hispanic. The store signs along San Fernando Road are, without much exception, in Spanish, and the stores that now exist cater to that Hispanic population. The money is now just starting to reach the little exclave though. Like most of the LA area, those seeking cheaper housing are giving the once declining San Fernando a shot. The MetroLink rail station just north of the Downtown area makes it even easier, with just a 40-minute straight shot to Downtown LA's Union Station along the Antelope Valley line. The promise of a new, gentrified San Fernando is likely not far away, with the town's request for proposals for development projects near the MetroLink station for transit-oriented developments (TODs) this past year. TODs have become a popular trend in urban areas once severely affected by suburban flight, or in cities where the cost of living has pushed city dwellers into areas once thought to be too far out. Denver, Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area have had several TOD projects completed over the past several years, and the LA area is just starting to catch on and will likely see many, many more within the next ten years. San Fernando's Downtown streetscape of quaint, domestic shops could become another line of pretentious clothing boutiques, burger bars and frozen yogurt shops. The town is ripe for redevelopment, but the unfortunate nature of gentrification will likely finally price out its middle- and working-class population.

Intersection in Pacoima

"Historic US 99" sign at the intersection of San Fernando Road and Van Nuys Boulevard in Pacoima

San Fernando Road leaves the City of San Fernando as it goes over Pacoima Wash into the Pacoima section of Los Angeles. Pacoima is another working-class, mostly Hispanic area, but there is no business district along the old highway as there is in San Fernando. Instead, it's a line of mostly industrial buildings and auto repair businesses with a few Mexican restaurants in between. Pacoima's main business district, a slightly sadder and more run-down version in comparison to San Fernando, lies in both directions along Van Nuys Boulevard, with the San Fernando Gardens public housing project just to the east.

Whiteman Airport

And San Fernando Road continues downhill - both literally and figuratively - from there. The strip becomes even more industrial as it goes by Whiteman Airport, clearly visible across the railroad tracks from the old highway, and passes several sleazy motels, likely remnants of the old highway's past that have been saved from destruction or repurposing. Still over 20 miles from Downtown Los Angeles, this would have made a good stopover point.

LAPWD Valley Generating Station from the bridge over the Tujunga Wash

Crossing Tujunga Wash, which joins Pacoima Wash downstream and feeds the Los Angeles River, San Fernando Road passes LAPWD's Valley Generating Station, a coal-fired plant. In April 2004, the company completed a modernization project, putting new generators into the plant, resulting in a reported 90% reduction in NOx emissions, while increasing energy efficiency by 35%. The power station towers loom over the valley and an adjacent rock quarry. Just to the east sits the small middle-class neighborhood of Stonehurst. Built in the mid-1920's, the neighborhood is notable for having the highest concentration of homes built with rock from area washes compared to other neighborhoods in the city.

This takes you into the Sun Valley district, known historically as Roscoe. There is still a Roscoe Boulevard, a major street in the San Fernando Valley, and a number of businesses in the neighborhood with the name "Roscoe." What is now a Unocal 76 gas station at the corner of San Fernando Road and Sunland Boulevard was the site of the first gas pump along US 99. Where San Fernando Road meets Tuxford, there is a small park area, called Tuxford Green, pushed up against the intersection and the diagonal Interstate 5, where San Fernando Road crosses it for the first time in almost 10 miles, despite paralleling the interstate the entire time. Tuxford Green is actually a key piece of architecture, as it sits on the lowest elevation point in the area, a cistern was put in to capture storm run-off, and a park area was added for aesthetics.

For the length of San Fernando Road within Sun Valley, there is a parallel two-lane road on the opposite side of the railroad tracks, signed variably as San Fernando Road and San Fernando Boulevard. A map from 1949 shows the street, but it is not as complete as it now is, and it is shown as a minor road, appearing to mostly serve neighborhood streets on the other side of the railroad tracks. Although the street shares its name with the old US 6 routing, it can exist with the same name since the two roads will not share addresses, as the odd side is on the main, US 6 route, while the even addresses are on the smaller, parallel road east of the railroad tracks.

Runway fence at Bob Hope Airport

Just south of Sun Valley, you pass the northern edge of Runway 15 at Bob Hope Airport (BUR), the airport's longest runway. The northern half of this runway sits inside the City of Los Angeles, while the rest of the airport and its other runways sit entirely in the City of Burbank. There are several signs along San Fernando Road for Bob Hope Airport. The airport was known for years as the Lockheed Air Terminal, in reference to the aviation manufacturer, and it was only in 2003 that the airport was renamed after the comedian, who had died earlier that year. The airport today serves as a reliever airport for Los Angeles International, and is the preferred airport for many celebrities due to its proximity to the higher-end neighborhoods where many of them live, and the lower passenger volume. Many other visitors prefer it for the same reasons, as well as being the easiest airport to access via public transportation in the region, with a MetroLink station just a short walk from the terminal, providing quick access to Downtown Los Angeles' Union Station as well as Downtown Burbank. Colloquially, the airport is simply known as "Burbank Airport" and most of its many other past monikers are typically ignored.

You do not enter into the City of Burbank until just before the Hollywood Way intersection, which itself is somewhat of an interchange because of a viaduct carrying Hollywood Way over the railroad track. But, when you do enter into Burbank, there is a clear shift in both income and demographics. Gone are the run-down industrial buildings and signs in Spanish that have dotted the road since leaving San Fernando. Replacing them are well-kept commercial and industrial lots, and exquisite post-war tract home neighborhoods just off of the old highway.

Burbank Town Center, south entrance

Nowhere is this demographic and income shift apparent than in Downtown Burbank, where San Fernando Road (San Fernando Boulevard inside Burbank) is broken by a two-block-long indoor shopping mall. Macy's, Ikea and a Cheesecake Factory are here, serving a wealthy population in a near-suburb. The demographic shift across the inner ring suburbs of Los Angeles mostly spared Burbank, maybe because it follows the same phenomenon that other major cities see, where a separate municipality is seen as safer than the larger city, and that reputation only feeds onto itself as more affluent people and families move to that separate municipality.

San Fernando Boulevard through The Village

South of the shopping mall, San Fernando Boulevard continues through "The Village," officially the Burbank Entertainment Village, a designated pedestrian-friendly entertainment district with tree-lined streets, restaurants, shop and bars. Anchoring the area is a 16-screen, 4200-seat theater currently owned by AMC.


As San Fernando Boulevard through Downtown Burbank was closed to build Burbank Town Center, the old route of US 6 is discontinuous. By 1956, US 6 and US 99 were routed to the west of Downtown Burbank, south along what would soon become the Golden State Freeway and Interstate 5. At that time, this was known as Front Street, and used the current Victory Boulevard/San Fernando Road interchange, then, at an apparent grade intersection, turned south on new right-of-way, while San Fernando Boulevard continued into Downtown Burbank. Front Street carried US 6 and US 99 south to Providencia Avenue, where the street ended, and both routes turned back northeast to rejoin San Fernando Boulevard. The section of Front Street still exists today from Burbank Boulevard south to Verdugo. The remaining section from Verdugo to Providencia has apparently been cut off by Interstate 5, which crosses the railroad tracks there.

The Blue Room bar, at Alameda Ave.

At Alameda Avenue, California State Highway 134, today a major freeway, joined US 6 and US 99 to continue southeast. Two blocks past Alameda, you leave Burbank and enter into the City of Glendale. Glendale has always been a larger city than Burbank, both in area and population and, maybe because of that, property values are lower and it's obvious as you enter the city that it is less affluent. Still though, the stretch of San Fernando Road (no longer San Fernando Boulevard) is clean and well-maintained, with typical residences and small businesses along its route. Just two blocks southwest of San Fernando Road, along Sonoran Avenue, is Walt Disney Studio's Imagineering firm, responsible for the development of Disney's entertainment venues, such as Disneyland in Anaheim, Disney cruise ships and its worldwide resort hotels. Two blocks southeast of that, along Flower Street, is the main DreamWorks studio, responsible for Disney's animation films.

It was just south of this, when we reached the 134 freeway, that I began contemplating ending the drive early. I was tired, my wife was asleep, and we were still pretty far from Downtown LA, or even reaching Figueroa Street. As we crossed the 134 though, just to the right across the railroad tracks, I noticed, in big white letters printed on a blue barn-looking structure: "BREWERY". I couldn't pass that up, so we took a little side trip. Turns out the brewery is called Golden Road, and they've been around since 2011. The tap room is on West San Fernando Road, between Doran Street and West Broadway. The place was packed, partially because of a Los Angeles Dodgers playoffs game that had just ended, filling the bar with patrons wanting to watch the game. An hour or so after the game, the place had cleared out somewhat, but was still fairly busy. I liked this place just because they were making some very interesting beers. Golden Road has a lot of LA pride, and is just inside the City of Los Angeles, as the Glendale/LA boundary is the railroad track to its east. We spent a little bit of time here, and I decided that it was time to end the drive and just head to Arcadia.

Golden Road Brewing tap room entrance

Golden Road Brewing tap room

Second Day: New York's Eighteenth and Connecticut's Half

Connecticut

It wasn't until the night before the trip, when I was looking at the map, that I realized I would be going to Sandy Hook, site of the 2012 massacre of 20 young children and 6 staff at an elementary school. It's right on US 6. Something just made me dread it. I think part of it was that, driving around to just look at it, I could be accused of gawking; making light of the tragedy and turning it into some kind of roadside car wreck that I stare at, wide-eyed, as I drive by slowly, but then quickly depart from to tell my friends about. It's such a small village and there were so many casualties that the chances of coming across a parent of one of the dead children seemed too high. It may also be the timing. With just eight months passed since the shooting, it just all seemed too soon. The village was just getting used to not having the attention of the world on it, and the families were just starting to be able to turn away from the cameras and the insincere condolences and do the real grieving.
The village is within the larger jurisdiction of Newtown, whose name is also typically associated with the same event. The truly tragic irony of the identity of one of Newtown's residents was only mentioned briefly in the media (on NPR): the National Shooting Sports Foundation has its headquarters there, not even two miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School. Despite its name, the group maintains a lobbying arm which actively seeks to limit gun control legislation. Their PR person was interviewed by several media agencies, and it may have been their location in Newtown that drove them to speak out first rather than be accused later.
When I arrived in Newtown, just past its commercial sprawl characteristic of all reasonably wealthy Connecticut towns, the first thing I noticed, and the only thing I photographed there, was the enormous American flag that sits in the middle of the main intersection in the town.
Sandy Hook is just east of that, across I-84 where modern US 6 joins it to go east across the Housatonic River. There is no green, Connecticut-shaped "Welcome to Sandy Hook" sign as you approach from this direction. The only such sign I found was on a side road approaching from the other direction. The elementary school is on a small side street on the right side of Riverside Road (which, as far as I can tell, is the old route of US 6). There is no sign for it, and the street access to it has been blocked by a large orange barricade, but first by a "Do Not Enter" barricade spanning the road just in front of the fire station.
One of the things I wanted to do was to visit one of cemeteries where the victims are buried. Not only to sort of pay my respects, but also ponder the whole event. I go into cemeteries a lot when I travel. It's not really an obsession with death. Rather, it's more of a strategic thing. Older cemeteries are typically on the edge of town, on a hill, and shaded by grand old trees. They're also peaceful, the grass is well-maintained, and the names on the headstones give you both an idea of how old the town is, but also a general ethnographic profile of the town's population. The cemeteries of Iowa and Kansas are my favorites. The cemetery that has the most victims interred does not fit the profile of the typical cemetery. It's at the edge of town, but lies on lower ground and is surrounded by forest, but features no shade. When I visited, a grounds crew was working, with their van parked in the back by a little gazebo. No one else was there, but I was still very self-conscious. As I pulled out and onto the neighborhood street that provides access, I stopped a woman backing out of her driveway. She stopped to wait for me, and looked at me as I passed. I tried a smile, but it likely didn't register. I normally feel a little bad about delaying people in their normal course of business when I'm just driving around, but I felt especially bad about that.
I ended up trying to get something to stave off the afternoon heat at the little Village Perk cafe. It's a great little coffee shop that features some amazing, locally made pastries, a good gelato selection, a very comfortable interior and - best of all - a mostly shaded patio overlooking the Pootatuck River. The staff were friendly and the other customers were talkative. You wouldn't have known it was different from any other coffee shop in New England. I drank my coffee and pondered the place. As I left, I found what I expect has become the mantra of the village on a sticker in the window of the business: "We are Sandy Hook. We choose love."

New York

There do not seem to be many signs for Kiryas Joel, and the local population probably would like to keep it that way. They are not seeking to attract anyone there and, unless you know how to get there, there does not seem to be any real reason for you to go. As you approach, just across the Quickway, there's a sign indicating that you've entered the town, in both English and Spanish, which asks you to, among other things, wear shirts with sleeves below the elbows and maintain separation of genders in public areas. It sounds like a foreign country and, in many ways, it seemed like it. The winding streets protrude into the surrounding hillsides to provide access to massive, vinyl-sided townhouse buildings. The enclosed yards are strewn with multi-colored plastic tricycles. And Hebrew is everywhere. The signs are all in both English and Hebrew, but signs on buildings were often just in Hebrew, meaning that I could not identify their purpose. The commercial center sits along Forest Road. There's a bakery, a clothing store and a number of other businesses in a very busy shopping center directly across from the main temple. Approximately 20,000 members of the Satmar Hasidic sect of the Jewish religion. They're often called "ultra-orthodox," wearing the braids and heavy clothing often associated with orthodoxy.
Like any people who refuse to completely assimilate and are easily identifiable (like the Amish), the residents of Kiryas Joel have received a lot of attention. Most of it has been negative. 2011 was a particularly bad year. That year, Orange County announced that they were removing the tax-exempt status for the numerous businesses within the town, most of which are indirectly owned by the local church. The town was also sued for its municipal government's violation of the First Amendment, specifically in relation to its restrictions imposed on visiting outsiders, most publicly late in the year, when several young New Yorkers decided to visit the town and were accosted by the local "public safety director," who ended up calling state troopers to arrest the visitors while they ate lunch at the local cafe. Charges were dropped, but the interaction with the troopers was videotaped and went viral on the internet.
Kiryas Joel is also perpetually at odds with its neighbors. The surrounding communities have raised concerns over the town's explosive population growth and its never-ending housing expansion. Additionally, Kiryas Joel has the unfortunate distinction of having the highest poverty rate of any place in the United States, a result of both the modest lifestyle of its residents, the restrictions on dual incomes by their religion, and the typically large families. The resulting massive public assistance roles means that the other residents of Orange County are, effectively, subsidizing Kiryas Joel's existence.
My drive into Kiryas Joel was prefaced with a major accident along Route 17, just in front of the town, that shut down the westbound lanes. A number of the residents had parked on the side of the road on both sides of the freeway, and on the narrow overpass leading into town. They may have initially gone to help, but a number of emergency personnel were on the scene already. Most of the cars I could see had people sitting in them, just looking at the wreck.

First Trip; First Day

My first truly dedicated US 6 research trip began on July 4th, and it could not be a more appropriate day to begin such a trip. A federal cross-country route conceived during the period in the United States generally considered to be the glory days of the automobile. Before interstate highways, worldwide international corporate domination, the obesity epidemic, and the Department of Homeland Security, there was US 6.

Pennsylvania

Choosing to start in Philadelphia was probably a mistake. For one, it's well away from anywhere I planned to be during the trip, and separated from it by a large swath of hilly, hellishly suburban Delaware River basin. Plus, Philly's airport is probably the most unfortunate thing about the city. It makes everything much more complicated than it has to be. Take the fact that, even though most of the rental car agencies are located in the same, general spot, each of those agencies run their own shuttles, driving around in circles in what I would call the exhaust barn, an area just outside the baggage claim where both shuttles to parking, hotels and rental agencies, as well as private passenger vehicles, circle to find their claimed passenger. But a $90 one-way on Southwest Airlines was enough to convince me. And I found a good one-way car rental.
Once I rushed the line and got the rental car, I asked about traffic. The unfortunate thing of the July 4th arrival in the United States' birthplace was that this was not exactly any other day for Philly. There were major, massive events planned, with thousands of people expected to be on the streets in Center City, Philadelphia's Downtown area. I was told, "Bad. Yeah, just really bad..." Google Traffic told me otherwise. In spite of its past tendency to lie about conditions, I went with its suggestion and took the route through the city. It couldn't have been clearer and I got out quickly, able to snag a cheesesteak in one of those sprawling, gigantic parking lots of a suburb in Bucks County. I can only explain it in that everyone else avoided the area, leaving it open to us few who were stubborn enough to try it.
The first stop was the Delaware Water Gap. Named as such for the Delaware River forming a sort of canyon where the Appalachian Mountains cross it. I had never been, but had heard nothing but good things, and had been trying to see it for a number of years. I don't really know the gap's boundaries, but the stretch managed by the national park service went from Interstate 80 near Stroudsburg, PA north to Milford, PA, near the New York state line. US 209 is the main road through this area, paralleling the river exactly, sometimes just a few yards from it.
The Delaware River is a large, fast-moving, muddy body of water. The sort of river that terrifies me and brings up my general (and mostly unfounded) fear of water where I cannot see the bottom. I've had the fear my entire life - long before the incident in college where I narrowly avoided stepping on a stingray in shallow water in the Gulf of Mexico at North Padre Island by shuffling my feet, as you're supposed to - and, in the case I've had to swim in a murky body of water, I've either sucked it up or stayed shallow enough where I can mostly see what's directly below me. Generally though, I'm intrigued by rivers and like to dip my hands in them at their banks, but I will not submerge myself in one. To me, it looked precisely the same here as it does in Philadelphia, about 100 miles to the south. The difference there is that it's wider and a little smellier.
Port Jervis, New York, my final destination for the evening, is where the Neverskirk River joins in to it.
I met US 6 for the first time on the trip at Milford, Pennsylvania. Milford is a cute, colonial-appearing town with quite a bit of tourist activity, likely directly a result of its position as the first town north of the Water Gap. I started immediately by going the wrong direction. I wound up leaving town, then realizing I was on 6 West, and flipped to come back through. It gave me another chance to see Milford, if anything.
Between Milford and Port Jervis sits a hilly stretch of terrain where the original US 6 basically vanishes for a time, and the route number multiplexes with I-84. A local later referred to this drive as "coming down the mountain." In the search to stay on a surface street, I took several u-turns and, during this, likely did some damage the car's undercarriage by hitting a bump too fast. There were no subsequent leaks but it certainly didn't sound good. Either way, I found my surface street, complete with adjacent batting cage facilities (both closed, maybe for the holiday) and traffic lights from commercial sprawl. Eventually, you end up in Matamoras, Pennsylvania, just across the river (and state line) from Port Jervis.
The unfortunately thing about having a town called Matamoras on both a border and a river is that it makes me think of one of the worst border towns in Mexico, its namesake. Luckily, Matamoras, Pennsylvania is nothing like its Mexican "hermana."
Port Jervis is also nothing like Brownsville, Texas. If anything, it reminds of Binghamton, just up the river. That probably isn't too surprising. Culturally and geographically, they're very similar cities. The difference with Port Jervis is that it's on the Metro North commuter rail line, providing easy access to New York City, just to the south. I was told an hour. That usually means approximately 90 minutes. But, if I were working in the city, I would consider it an option. There are some gorgeous, old estate homes, and the town has that sort of small town feel that people tend to look for. The only potential issue: heroin. When I crossed into New York, I stopped and walked onto the bridge to get some pictures of the sun setting over the mountains and against the river. As I walked back, what I thought were three teenagers were walking toward me. As I got closer and could see their faces though, I realized that they were probably at least 20-years-old and were just emaciated. They looked like cartoons of junkies: dirty, loose hanging clothes, nervous faces, cigarettes in hand... It was a little sad. I looked it up online and, in 2011, Port Jervis, with a population of roughly 9,000 had 13 deaths from heroin overdose. Compare that with the much more urban Passaic County, New Jersey nearby, which saw 24 deaths from heroin overdose in 2009 amongst its 500,000-plus population. Heroin is becoming a larger problem all over the country though, as meth becomes more difficult and expensive to make, and opiate painkillers become harder to obtain.
I closed out the night at the bar directly below my hotel room, at Port Jervis' former railroad hotel, the Erie. Yelp regards it as one of the best restaurants in town, and that doesn't seem to be too much of a stretch, as there are very few restaurants total in Port Jervis. It's not a wealthy town, despite its connection to New York City. The bar strangely had a very good beer selection, with a number of local microbreweries, including one from just a few miles east on US 6, in Chester. An IPA from Rushing Duck. It was good. I would drink more of their beer, but they've only been around 6 months, and only do tours each Saturday.

An Introduction to Connecticut

Sometimes things just work out well. Fervent planning for my July trip to the northeast, an intended precursor to the larger Route 6 roadtrip, had resulted in a number of potential - and complex - plans during the long weekend. My best laid plan was to leave Philadelphia as quickly as possible by train for Providence, where I would stay for the night and, in the morning, rent a car. As my flight arrived at 1:10pm, I would just barely miss the 1:55pm train, and the next train was not until well after 3. I would also have to cut across the entire State of Connecticut and drive back in about a day in a half, just in order to accomplish my minimum US 6 goal. I would also have to deal with the fact that Providence features a large Independence Day fireworks event in their Downtown area, where I would have to stay, being without a car. Not a bad thing, but I really don't like the crowds behind those things. All I could imagine was being surrounded by 10,000 Peter Griffins in various states of drunkenness, worked up to a further frenzy by the flashing lights and loud noises.
But then, randomly, I just queried rental cars, one-way from Philadelphia to Boston. And they were cheaper than renting a car round-trip from Philadelphia. At least through Alamo. I've only had one previous experience with Alamo, in San Jose, California, where I was given one of the last cars on the lot, a Nissan Maxima (I had reserved an economy and a Maxima is considered a full-size) which had a significant amount of what appeared to be hail damage on the hood... Or somebody had parked it at the end of a driving range. I reserved an economy car again, so we'll see. But this opened a potentially wonderful part of the trip: driving from Port Jervis, New York to Providence, Rhode Island over two and a half days on the back roads of US 6.
Research has begun, and I'm already finding really fascinating things out about Connecticut, such as the "Heroin Town" phenomenon and Hotel Hooker (real name, although recently changed) in Willimantic; the controversial legacy of "Suicide 6" in the eastern part of the state; the Lock Museum of America, which is just down the road from the American Clock and Watch Museum, which itself is in the same town - Bristol - as the ESPN studios.
Yes, that ESPN. The Disney-owned cable television network's main studios and corporate headquarters are ever so randomly located in a small, suburban town in Connecticut. The old American intention, of course, is to visit any landmark you pass and I'm going to be very close to ESPN's studios. Very quickly though, I found out that it is not possible for Mr. Average Colin to plop up with the family truckster and be rewarded for his time with free group hospitality from smiling blonde interns and cheap Chinese-made gifts painted with corporate logos. This is not made clear by their official web site, but is stated on a very outdated appearing web page on the ESPN site, which oddly encourages you to check back in the case that "the policy changes." But, on ESPN's Yelp page (I was surprised that they have Yelp page at all), once you get past the reviews complaining of ESPN's "bias," there is a review where a cross-country traveling Yelper recently attempted to just drive up to the studios, and was turned away by security, who stated that there was no public tour or access.
This isn't the first time I've come across a clearly missed opportunity for customer-brand interaction. The Heinz corporate headquarters in Downtown Pittsburgh is one of several offices in their imposing building, and the only indication of their presence is a small, silver, logo-less nameplate in the lobby. Even in the food court in the building's basement, there is no due and proper homage to ketchup and condiments aside from the crumpled packets you find in any other food court. Instead, we drove across the river and took our pictures in view of the company's former and more industrial headquarters, which was actively being turned into lofts. But surely a company with as much presence as ESPN, and owned by the utmost expert in brand indoctrination through public interaction (Disney) can do better than this.
But the web site makes no indication of this. In exploring the web site though, I did find something very Disney, but also very strange. If you look for information about working at ESPN, you'll find a blog called "ESPN Front Row," and a posting called "The Lineup: Top 10 places Bristol ESPNers pass the time." #2 on the list is "ESPN: The Store." But, as a campus that's not accessible to the public, this means that it's a private store. This store is likely set up for visitors but, if it's truly where "ESPNers pass the time," then "ESPNers" are some sad bastards. I mean, when I worked for Pima County, if there was a "Pima County: The Store," then I would have not gone to it and would certainly have not purchased anything and given part of my paycheck back to my employer. My jobs in the past have given away branded schwag as either free gifts, or as license-free rewards, to employees. Something seems very off about the way ESPN is set up.

Another revelation has been that the Connecticut Sun, a relatively successful WNBA team, is one of only two teams in the league to not be associated with an NBA team, and is owned by a Native American tribe, the Mohegans. The same Native American tribe used as a base in the Family Guy episode, "The Son Also Draws," where Lois loses the family's money and car in bets at an Indian casino, but Peter is able to get it back by duping the "tribal elders" into believing he's a member of their tribe. It's an unfortunately racist episode of the show, but you don't really have to look too far to find other racist examples from that series.
Unfortunately, the Sun are, ironically, in Indiana the weekend I'm in Connecticut. And the Hartford minor league hockey team, sadly named the "Connecticut Whale" in reference to the long-gone Hartford Whalers (a full year before they moved, Bristol neighbor ESPN falsely reported that the team was moving to Nashville), are also out of town. I won't have much time in the area, so maybe this is for the best.

Finding 6

In my planning on a July trip to the northeast, one of the issues I've come across is actually finding the original route of US 6. Much of the route in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts has been moved to freeways, plowing it through the major cities, and allowing drivers to reach its destinations - like Cape Cod - at high speeds. The idea of exploring both these high-speed and original, now back road options is most appealing. But with the latter, the challenge becomes finding that original, now back road option.
This is particularly the case in the cities, where the streets came long before the highway designations, and the original US 6 often snakes around town, at times splitting into different routes. The best I can do at this point is rely on historic maps.
One of the best resources for this is the David Rumsey Map Collection, a private collection of various historic digitized maps from around the world, most importantly (for my purposes) including an impressive and rather comprehensive collection of Shell Oil maps from the 1950's and '60's. This was the prime time for the federal highway system: after the idea of following numbers and not names became more accepted, but before the interstate highway system swallowed the original routes.

Section of a 1956 Shell Oil map of Massachusetts in Barnstable County, showing three parallel sections of US 6, including the then-proposed highway bypass through the center of the peninsula. Courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection.

The challenge is going to be finding and then following these different routes. Streets have changed names, some streets have outright been removed or repurposed, highways have been renumbered, and US 6 has been routed on several different interstate highways and several different freeway bypasses, resulting in the loss of the ability to simply follow signage.

The plan of action is to print out sections of these old maps, and write specific directions based on comparisons between them and current maps, showing how the streets are laid out now (which is an interesting study, in itself).

My goal for this July trip is to scope out different parts of this section of US 6. The fact is, I haven't even been on much of US 6 in the Northeast, so it will also involve covering a lot of new territory. Cape Cod, in particular, has always been high on my list of things to see in the US, and seeing the end points of the highway is really a top priority. I have seen both the former Long Beach and current Bishop, California end points, so seeing the eastern side is something that will be worth the drive to me.