Post #90287 by tikijackalope on Sat, May 8, 2004 2:43 AM

I travel with a taste for roadside eccentricity, cemeteries, art deco, googie, tiki, art and natural history museums, miniature golf and independent motels and restaurants. I have found the Roadside America book to be a bit outdated but the website often has some very up-to-date info (I can't resist photographing muffler men and Uniroyal gals); I always consult it before a trip but would only bring photocopies or printouts of pertinent material with me.

Roadfood.com is good for independent restaurants and there is a book called "Roadfood" by the same people, but I don't know the last time it was updated. I just finished a trip from Joplin, MO to Flagstaff, AZ then South through Phoenix to Tucson, then West to San Diego and stopped at many Roadfood locations as well as a few of my own finds. I'd be happy to recommend some and post pics if you are interested.

The John Margolies books are more fun for visual inspiration than they are for information; I have his Miniature Golf book (the cover is astroturf).

I have a personal affinity for old RT 66 (just drove about half of it earlier this week) as well as other "blue highways" like 50 and 69 and recommend "Route 66 Traveler's Guide" by Tom Snyder for general info, anecdotes and detailed sectional maps. Jim Ross wrote a great book on Rt66 in Oklahoma.

Michael Witzel wrote "Route 66 Remembered" and "The American Motel" which effectively capture the spirit of his subject matter although a few caption errors have driven me crazy looking for buildings that turned out to be a few towns away.

Next week I am heading to South Carolina and so I am researching that presently. Please keep us all updated on where you decide to go; wherever it is, cool things await.