I'm somewhat a creature of habit.  I find a local haunt that I like and I get on well with the staff, I'll return again and again.  One such place for me is a local diner called the "5 & Diner" also known as "Jack's Diner" also known as "the Route 66 Diner."  It's changed hands a number of times since it opened and both thrived and floundered under the different regime changes, but this crew seems to be a good match. 
I first visited the diner in 2007 when I was on a temporary assignment to Fort Leonard Wood for training.  I saw it only as a sleepy local diner back then and didn't give it much thought; five years later I've come to appreciate what it has become today.

With a modern jukebox filled with the music of yesteryear and checkerboard floors, the Diner has plenty of nostalgic appeal and flair.  The counter offers a comfortable up close and personal dining experience with the wait staff as well as the cooks who will say hello from the window.  The staff is attentive and friendly with a bit of a sassy flair to their humor.  Their menu is filled with your typical diner fair: burgers and other sandwiches, a generous breakfast menu that is available all day with your usual offerings of omelets, skillets, pancakes and the like.  Their dinner menu has a good selection of different meals and all the portions are ample.

I love this place.  I truly do.  If I could afford it and I didn't want to risk poor health due to eating out all the time, I would come here every day.  I'm an old soul with an antiquated sense of style so I guess you could say I fit in well there and could almost be considered a part of the decorum.  The heavy rolled cuffs of my Levi's, pompadour hair style, engineer boots and 40's/50's style motorcycle jacket blend in well with the two tone seating upholstery, chrome accented boomerang pattern tables and counter and the rounded polished stainless steel exterior features of the exterior of this stream-liner style diner.  When I walk in the door I am greeted by name by most of the wait staff and some of the management and they are setting a glass of sweet tea or a cup of coffee down on the counter for me as I am easing into the seat, and they all let me help myself to the coffee pot if they are a little busier than usual.  On slow days the servers and kitchen staff will converse with me on the various topics of the day.  They even inquire from time to time if I'd like to pick up a shift or two here and there on the weekends saying "you should just pick up a tray and go take orders since you practically know the menu by now!" 

So this weekend is a long weekend thanks to the holiday and seeing as how it is a long one, I took the time to visit one of the local Route 66 stops near me: The Munger Moss Motel

The Munger moss is situated on the outskirts of the Mid Missouri town of Lebanon.it's one of the few Route 66 locations that has still been able to thrive after the building of the interstate.  It opened up in 1946 as a motor court with a small restaurant on the premises and has been in operation ever since.  It is located very close to an exit off of the I-44 interstate and has managed to out-last some of it's equally iconic neighbors such as Wrink's Market which was in operation from 1950 until the early to mid 2000's. 

The room rented for the night was room number 66 (how appropriate!!).  It was a large room, simply furnished with 2 beds, dresser, TV, and a chair.  The bathroom was large with period fixtures in color that was somewhere between salmon and coral with mosaic tile floors and walls.  The owners Bob and Ramona Lehman, were very warm and friendly.   Ramona has the gift of gab when it comes to Route 66 lore and local information and was a joy to chat with!
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Classic lines and classic signs.

After checking in and getting set up in the room for the evening, supper was the next order of business.  After some deliberation it was decided upon that Dowd's Barbecue and Catfish would be the establishment to dine at.  The food was good the service was fine and after finishing my meal of brisket and chopped pork I headed back the hotel.  When I arrived back at the motel I was greeted by the motel's sign lit up and casting it's red glow throughout the parking area court yard.  I decided as I rolled up that I wanted to snap some photos of the motorcycle underneath the sign.

The Softail under the soft red glow of vintage neon

After snapping a few frames I cruised over to my room's entrance and headed in for the  night.  The next morning after checking out I headed over to Franky D's for some breakfast and let the mercury rise in the thermometer a little bit more.  The ride home was a brisk one to say the least, but it was good, good for the soul and good to clear the head.

If you would like to check out the Munger Moss Motel, clink the following link and head on over!

The Munger Moss: http://www.mungermoss.com/

It was nice today so I got to get out on the Deluxe and enjoy the sun and the rumble of her V-twin and the feel of leaning into a good turn.  After having lunch up at my diner with a good friend of mine I head down into Waynesville proper and paid a visit to my friends who own a small antique store called "Lost in the Woods."  It's a nice little shop filled with lots of fun curios and relics from bygone eras.  Dave has a nice little collection of military antiques and collectibles and they have a halfway decent set of old 45's to thumb through as well.  They have a working jukebox that is filled with classic 50's and early 60's hits and every time I walk in the door it isn't too long before I start tapping my toes, snapping my fingers and singing along to the music. 
As I was browsing through their collection of odds and ends I stumbled upon a vintage box of TUMS.  As I picked up the small, fragile blue box I heard something shift inside.  I opened the box and found am antique pocket watch that had been tucked away inside of it.  I looked over to Dave and said "Hey, did you know that there is a pocket watch in this TUMS box?  He looked back at me with a look of utter confusion.  I handed him the box and the watch and he set to learning about the watch.  Both he and his wife were quite happy to find that they had something hidden away in an item!  

Dave's wife turned me onto a little cafe that opened up a little while back and is attached to a flower shop just a little ways down Route 66 from their antique shop.  It's a little place called "Back in the Day" and according to Jane is decked out in plenty of old school vintage vibe and memorabilia!  Unfortunately they are closed until some time in February.  So I will have to get the skinny on that place out next month!  Stay tuned!

Winding Roads and Worn Out Pavement

Greetings!  Welcome to my blog.  I don't typically do this sort of thing, but lets just say this last year has been a year of firsts for me and the new year promises to be one of firsts and new adventures as well.   This blog is a place to capture my thoughts and record my wanderings. to try and preserve a bit of my journey for others to enjoy and hopefully inspire folks to get out and explore their own back yard so to speak, and hopefully get out there and try to document and preserve a bit of our history and beauty in any way they can.

So you've made it this far which means you have asked yourself that "Who is this guy and what the hell is he all about?" question.  Well, I'm a guy, a fairly regular guy at that; nothing too fancy or complicated.  I also happen to be a regular guy who has an interest in the open road, old motorcycles, old cars, old movies and music, and old style.  I wear my jeans with a heavy cuff and engineer boots adorn my feet on a daily basis once I've left the workplace and I run a comb through my greased up hair on a regular basis.  I'm an old 50's greaser unstuck in time so to speak, not quite a figure remeniscent of Vonnegut's Billy Pilgrim, but definitely out of place among the modern time.

So slug down that last cup of joe, go grab your leathers and that beat up pack of Lucky's that you had on the table, hop in the saddle and join me on my journeys and adventures as well as my misadventures as the case may be from time to time.