Page 36 - KCRPCA SeptOct 2021

A ROAD REMEMBERED
DRIVING ROUTE 66
TWO 75 YEAR OLD MEN. A 14 YEAR OLD PORSCHE. WHAT COULD GO WRONG?
FEATURE CONTRIBUTOR JIM RAND
Bucket lists. Many adventurers, mostly men, make them. However, few people ever complete them. On the list there might be; ski the Alps, run with the bulls, visit the Vatican, or drive Route 66.
I love to drive. It doesn’t matter if it’s a car, truck or boat. And
I don’t care if it’s a quick hop
to the grocery store or a day at the track. As long as I am in my Porsche Cayman S, I’m happy on the road, and the Mother Road journey was in my top five.
Route 66, which opened in 1926, began in Chicago, and ended 2400 miles later in Los Angeles. In between are some of the most beautiful landscapes in the U.S. You wind your way through small towns, big cities, picturesque scenery and hot deserts. But that’s only part of what lines either side of this
historic highway.
First, let me back up for just
a moment. Nancy, my wife of
50 years, succumbed to cancer
in March of 2020. Tragically,
six months later, a close friend, Linda Wiggins, passed away from the same horrible disease.
I refused to let cancer derail my life, or shatter the life of Linda’s husband, Lynn. I shifted priorities and moved forward on the Route 66 plan, encouraging Lynn to join me. Two 75 year old men in a 14 year old Porsche. What could go wrong? Fortunately, nothing, as I think our wives were looking out for us.
For several evenings, I sat down at the computer to find out more about this mostly abandoned roadway. I soon came across a website for Two Lane America. Two Lane is operated by Austin Cooper, a very engaging young
14
YEARS
36
Der Sportwagen