NO ROOM AT THE INN

 

More Route 66 neon. It would not occur to me to travel anywhere with an overnight stay without booking a hotel online in advance. It didn't used to be so. I remember a family road trip in my early teens up through New Hampshire to Quebec City. My father, who was, um, a bit of a character, drove up to the door of the Chateau Frontenac, expecting to put us up in style. Je suis désolé, monsieur, mais nous n'avons pas de chambres disponibles. Then we drove around for what seemed like a long time before ending up at Helen's Motel (sic., in English), which I recall being a bit of a dump but the kids loved it because they had a big trampoline. Vacancy.                  

ROUTE 66 NEON

 

Possibly signs that appeared along old US Route 66, or maybe just neon from a bye-gone era. Now the displays are all LEDs and Route 66 has been replaced by sections on the Interstate Highway system. More from the Missouri History Museum.                    

LA VILLE, C'EST MOI

 

The classic cars I've been showing for the last few days were part of a program at the Missouri History Museum. It's a pretty interesting place but more about our local area than the whole state. A sign in the central hallway sets the theme. The graphic is a section of the city's flag, representing the meeting of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, as well as the fleur-de-lys of our French origin.                            

AT THE WHEEL

 

The cockpit of a 1929 La Salle. I thought that its age and monochrome interior made a B&W rendering appropriate. Strange controls. The spiky thing in the center is for the headlights. There is another dial to advance or retard the spark (who can remember that?). And not a lot of us Americans know how to drive a manual transmission any more.                   

'57 Chevy

 

Another entry at the Missouri History Museum's classic car show. The cafe au lait brown color is unusual.  Note the top center, with the 50s-early 60s fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror. Since I am a Frank Zappa fan, the meme reminds me of one of my favorite Mothers of Invention tracks.                    

NO SALE

We live in a small condominium development, 45 homes. Most are two townhouses in a building that resemble the style of our town, Webster Groves, one of St. Louis' oldest suburbs. Then there are six detached homes that are still condos, like ours. We were having our semi-annual block party on a gorgeous evening yesterday when this ice cream truck drove through. The driver did not know that were no children in the development save for one 5 year old and granddaughter Ellie a night or two a week. That's Chez Crowe in the right background.

ULTRAMATIC

 

This is the rear of the automobile seen in yesterday's post, identified as a Packard by a friend. The antique car license plate indicates 1949. Just what Ultramatic means was left to the imagination of the buyer. Marketing hooey has old roots.