Road trips are the quintessential American vacation experience. Who hasn’t been on one at least once in their lives? Growing up in a relatively rural area of Illinois (along a section of the old Route 66 no less), it was only natural that our annual summer vacations often were road trips through the Midwest. They were what I looked forward to more than anything else all year, since they meant a chance to get away from the usual, explore a new place and see how “other people” lived.
Jamie Jensen, a southern California native, also fell in love with road trips at a young age, and went on to write the excellent guidebook Road Trip USA: Cross Country Adventures on America’s Two-Lane Highways, (Avalon Travel, April 2009; $29.95) newly updated this month (its fifth edition). I had the pleasure of speaking with Jenson last week about the new book, his love of the open road and recommendations for those planning their own car getaway this summer.
(See the end of the Q&A section for information on our Road Trip USA book giveaway!)
Q&A
TravelMuse: It’s been more than 15 years since the first edition of your book was published. What inspired you to turn your road trips into a book?
Jamie Jensen: I was an L.A. boy and influenced by space age, 1950s architecture, and trained to be an architect. I used to write for travel guides about architectural tours, mostly in big cities, but it was the in-between places that caught my eye more. I appreciated the courthouse squares in Texas and soda fountains, but my editor wasn’t into it. While on a Route 66 trip, I bumped into a motorcycle tour of about 50 Scandinavians. They didn’t care about visiting art museums, they had that back home; all they wanted to see was America, the America of roadside motels, diners and talking to people in Oklahoma, That’s when I realized it wasn’t just me who was interested in this.
Then the second stage came during my research. I discovered the WPA travel guides—written in the 1930s before the interstate highways were created—which included driving tours of every state. They took me to wonderful places, and everything in the guides was still there. Nothing had changed. A lot of people wouldn’t know these places existed because they’re just zooming past.
TM: What’s new with this edition?
JJ: The old places are mostly still there, but trendy places tend to disappear. Earlier on, I was trying to be more comprehensive. What are the five hotels and the five places to eat … people can now find that online. I now give more attention to fewer but more specific places, and am more positive about saying that somewhere is the place to stay or eat and why.
I also include more about sites off the main roads and “worth the detour” sections. It’s been nice to fine-tune the book over the years and have ongoing relationship with people in these towns, who help keep me up-to-date.
TM: What has changed the most about the routes over the years?
JJ: What’s changed is that the people who lived back in the ‘50s heyday, especially along Route 66 who ran the old motels and diners and had stories to tell, have passed on. It’s sad. But there also are a lot of places that have been brought back to life by people who appreciate that era, and its traditional American food, neon signs, etc. It might not be so authentic anymore, but a more comfortable mattress may make up for any lack of authenticity.
I’ve also noticed that after 9/11, there’s been a rediscovery of America, a movement to see America first and not be embarrassed by that. There are people who have been to Thailand but not to Tennessee. There’s a lot of fun stuff in our own backyard, even if for just a day or two. Leaving home, even if just for 100 miles, lets you behave slightly differently. People will stop at roadside farm stands and talk to the farmer. People used to do that, then forgot how. It’s coming back together. It provides a different sense of what life is all about.
TM: Anything you miss that’s now gone with the changes?
JJ: The decline of local newspapers and radio stations. I used to love picking up the Wolfman Jack-equivalent on the local radio, and hear an actual person sitting there playing records or talking about high school football. Now its bland, pre-programmed stations playing modern country or Rush Limbaugh … it’s all the same everywhere. I’m hoping for a renaissance of local media.
TM: What are your thoughts on road trips, in terms of the environment?
JJ: It’s hard to say driving is a good thing, but compared to other alternatives, it seems good. When I travel, I take a bike with me and do longer stretches in the car, then when I get to a destination, I’ll stop and explore it on a bike. The ideal speed is about 2 miles per hour.
TM: Do you have a favorite 2-lane road/route featured in the book?
JJ: Going-to-the-Sun Road, named for an American Indian chief, which goes over the Rocky Mountains to Glacier National Park in Montana, that’s part of the Great Northern route. It was built in 1930s across what was then very wild country. It was recently improved and fixed up so you won’t fall off mountain. There are alpine meadows that are fantastic in the summer, beautiful flowers, glaciers; it’s really amazing.
TM: Any new routes you plan to explore?
JJ: You can get just about anywhere you want to without taking an interstate highway, and there are always new places to discover. Take Texas Hill Country—last spring I managed to make a trip. It’s beautiful country, which is not always obvious in Texas.
TM: Any places no longer worth going to or that people should check out now before the era is gone?
JJ: Elkhart, Indiana, was the RV capital of the world at one point. Nearly all have gone bankrupt, and there’s high unemployment. You get a sense of what it means to really have an economic downturn. There are those places that suffered in the 70s and 80s when the interstate highways expanded. Anyone who made it through those times is doing OK; I think the worst is over. But so much was lost.
Now there’s the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has championed architecture, and people think this space-age stuff is kind of cool. The Route 66 movement helped add value to all that. A lot of individuals fought for it. If more people start traveling these roads and patronizing mom-and-pop diners and getting away from the Olive Gardens, that’s good. My quest is to get people to spend money in real places.
Extra: Read Jensen’s tips for planning a family road trip.
Book Giveaway!
Jensen’s publisher has given TravelMuse copies of the new edition, plus two new pocket guides—on the Route 66 and Pacific Coast Highway trips—for a book giveaway! To be eligible for one of the three books, all you have to do is add a comment on this post about your favorite road trip vacation or experience, or add a tip to our Family Road Trip Tips post. Winners will be randomly selected from the entrants. (TravelMuse employees and family members are excluded.)
May the best road trippers win!
Giveaway rules:
- Comments must be left by Monday, May 4, 2009, 5:00 p.m. Pacific time.
- Only one entry per person.
- Comments must include a name and valid e-mail address. Anonymous comments are not eligible for the giveaway.
- To enter you must be a U.S. resident, age 18 years or older. Employees and vendors of TravelMuse, Inc. and their family members are not eligible to enter.
- Winners will be picked randomly. The first winner will receive the fifth edition of Road Trip USA, valued at $29.95. The next two winners selected will receive either the Route 66 or Pacific Coast Highway pocket guide, valued at $9.95 each.
- No substitutions including for cash are permitted.
- Winners are responsible for any taxes and fees associated with receipt or use of a prize.
