Have you made the trip?
Photos provided by Bob Walton and Sal Santoro, Story/Book Review by T-Bone
In the Fall of 1994 I took the train from Southern California to Albany NY. The job was to ride with Billy in his Dodge van, towing his shovelhead with sidecar rig out to So Cal for the winter. On our way across the country, we touched off and on with the Mother Road from OK City to Southern California.
That was nearly 20 years ago. Dang! How time flies by.
I recently picked up a cool book about a couple of buddies from Northern New Jersey, who recently retired and fulfilled their dream to cruise down Route 66.
Route 66, The People, The Places, The Dream. By Sal Santoro and Bob Walton.
They didn’t do it in a slant-6 Dodge Van carrying a broken down trailer with a 1000lb Harley Sidecar rig. They did it in style with a drop top ’68 Cadillac Coupe de’Ville. A red Caddy at that. How much more classic can you make it?
When Bob and Sal went on their trip, the goal wasn’t to right a book, but to live their dream. At first they would both be driving their classic Caddy’s. You see, Bob and Sal are in the Cadillac LeSalle Club. Bob would drive his ’68 Convertible “Big Red” to the annual meets and Sal would drive his ’66 Eldorado Convertible. In 2009, the Cadillac LeSalle Club’s Grand National meet was in Las Vegas. After a bit of planning, they decided to roll together in Bob’s drop from Northern New Jersey to Chicago then travel the entire length of Route 66 to the Santa Monica Pier west of Los Angeles. The would then drive back to Las Vegas for the meet.
Little did they know, that their ride would be filled with great acquaintances, wonderful scenery and legendary tales. When they returned back home, their friends kept asking them about the trip. Asking for photos and after going through the 8,300 photos to present a manageable number at a viewing in their local VFW hall. During the editing process, they thought it’d be fun to add some of the cool stories from the trip and make a little book. I’m glad they did.
When Billy and I went on out trip, we planned out each day, researching travel books, maps and AAA guides to hit just the right spots. Bob and Sal did the same. Now we have another volume to consider. Their book not only tells you a bit about the places to see, but present their experience in a folksy way. Not a slick, over-produced professional portfolio, but one that a guy like you or me would write. And they did it themselves. No big publishing conglomerate editor to tell them what to add or edit.
I shared their book with the boys in my club, Mercifuls So Cal, and they appreciated the narrative. Enjoyed the photographs and inspired them to consider their next road trip.
This book reminds me of the day after Billy and I arrived in Southern California after 7 days on the road. We went out to the van to clean it out and Billy looked at me and said: “Wow, it’s kinda weird seeing my van here at your house. It’s like I just drove over here.” I replied: “We did.” I am sure Bob feels the same way seeing his car at all these landmarks. I know Billy meant that it was like we lived around the corner. If you have ever driven across the country, the World does get smaller and now everywhere seems “just around the corner”.
I strongly encourage you to visit their website: www.Route66CadillacGuys.com and buy their book.