In the past few days, Charlie Moret of Simsbury, Ct., has created his Jabopper and Fajzia blog, aka Route 66 by Motorcycle.

He’s going to take his son on a road trip down Route 66 by motorcycle. There’s no mention on when this trip will occur. But you can read about how he got the Mother Road bug in the meantime.

Here’s an article from the Alton (Ill.) Telegraph about nearby Edwardsville being named host of the national Route 66 Festival in 2008, which has already been reported here and several other newspapers.

Here’s the quote from the story that bugged me, however:

“It’s going to put us on the map,” said Carol Foreman, director of the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce. “We’re going to be one of those cities that you’re going to have to be sure to stop at when you’re on the route.”

Well, maybe. I’m certain some Route 66 travelers will stop in Edwardsville because it has amenities: gas stations, good places to eat, a smattering of hotel rooms. It’s a clean-looking town, boasts low crime rates and has an active chamber of commerce.

But, frankly, as a Route 66 town, Edwardsville is not all that impressive. The city, which has seen tremendous growth in the past decade because of sprawl from St. Louis, has nearly obliterated the history that made it attractive to roadies. A longtime roadie favorite, an old A&W Root Beer stand, was razed years ago.

I think it’s telling that the city’s list of historic landmarks has many from the 19th century, but few from the 20th century. Just one — the Coles Monument — dates to the Route 66 era. Edwardsville prizes a certain type of history, but ignores another.

To be fair, all towns on Route 66 have suffered with historical losses. But it seems that prospering suburbs, such as Edwardsville, have lost the most. Quirky, fascinating businesses that were built in the 1930s through the 1960s often are the first to feel the wrecking ball when gentrification arrives.

To me, Edwardsville is similar to Edmond, Okla. Edmond also has a university in town and is one of the fastest-growing cities in its metro area. But I’m hard-pressed to think of one Route 66 attraction in Edmond because so much of it has been redeveloped. In contrast, Arcadia, a town one-twentieth of Edmond’s size, has two very good Route 66 attractions and soon will get a third.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m looking forward to the Route 66 Festival in Edwardsville. I’m fairly certain that with the city’s chamber and the involvement of the active Illinois Route 66 Association, it will be a well-run event. But if I’m going to check out local Route 66 sites, I’m going to drive west to the Luna Cafe in Mitchell or east to Scotty’s Route 66 Grill in Hamel. I’m not going to find roadside history in Edwardsville.

Mark Hughes of the Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News writes about the 50th anniversary of the interstate highway system.

Despite the success of the interstate, he says, travelers never will get much romanticism from it. Ken Smith, senior editor of RoadsideAmerica.com, explains why tourists are as attracted as ever to the quirky roadside attractions on our nation’s two-lane highways.

“It’s exotic. You work at your job 50 weeks a year, you want to get out and see something new, something different,” Smith said.

“You could go to Disney World, but where’s the sense of accomplishment? If you go out to Nebraska and track down the grave of King Neptune the Pig, that’s something you can brag about back home.”

As an example, Stewart’s Petrified Wood in the Route 66 town of Holbrook, Ariz., is cited. His shop has big, handmade dinosaurs in front, eating female mannequins. The business also includes an ostrich farm.

Stewart explained to the Roadside America folks that he intended to display animals from “close to the beginning of time” up to now, which explains dinosaurs to ostriches to humans.

To him.

And why are the dinos eating women?

“Well, they got to be doin’ something,” Stewart said.

It’s also observed that in an age of billboards being more tightly regulated or frowned upon, the Internet is now one of the main sources of promotion.

The whole article is well-researched and thought-out. Go read it.