Thomas F. (hardtack) - , reviewed on 5/9/2020 + 2701 more book reviews

This brought back memories I hadn't thought of in decades. Traveling across the U.S. to the West Coast from Maryland to visit my mother's sister and my cousins. Our major route of travel was Route 66. This was in the 1950s. We also traveled on U.S. 1 up through New Jersey several times a year to visit my father's family in Brooklyn. The trip took hours and we arrived exhausted.

Later, from the description in the book, I remember traveling---as a kid and then later in my 20s as a Marine traveling back and forth between the coasts---on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The description of the Howard Johnson motels and restaurants brought back memories I thought I had forgotten. Traveling was very different before the Interstates. Some of the "motels' we stayed out, as we didn't have a lot of money, would scare people off today. Yet we never had any problems, just wonderful "family adventures."

I remember one small place we stayed overnight in the Mid-West. It was out in the country. When we awoke in the morning, all of us sleeping in one large bed, the window was open and a horse had its entire head inside our room looking at us, partially over our bed. After an initial shock, we all laughed, even the horse.

Another time, when we took the "southern route," we stayed over night in western Arizona. We couldn't understand why the people in the room next to us got up in the middle of the night to leave. We found out the next day---it was summer---that we had to cross Death Valley, and this was before air conditioning in cars. My mother kept my brother and I wet with melted water from the cooler.

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details