Aart Hoogenboom is a big advocate of road trips. He started a tradition in 1968 of heading west during the summer with his family and has been doing it ever since. A number of those trips have been on Route 66, reports the New Times of Danbury, Conn.

“You don’t even have to travel across the country. Take your family on a local road trip. Travel to a town you have never been to before, take a hike in a nearby park, eat at a local diner, visit the town’s historical society, library and a museum,” Hoogenboom said. [...]
Collecting and planning each trip around old travel guides, Hoogenboom said he enjoys small-town America.

“I like out-of-the-way places and offbeat attractions. I avoid interstate highways, fast-food restaurants and chain stores,” he said. [...]

“I think travel is a great teacher. I wanted my kids to see America the way it really is, and I think that the learning just falls into place.”

Hoogenboom mentions in the article all the places and states he’s been. One of his favorite towns is Albuquerque.

However, he’s still never been to Disney World.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has an excellent article about Bob Mullen and his humongous collection of filling-station memorabilia, dubbed Gasoline Alley, near Cuba, Mo.

Although he is not sure when his interest in gasoline advertising began, Mullen says it may be related to his childhood spent on a nearby farm, which had a view of historic Route 66.

“I can still remember watching the old Campbell 66 Express trucks with their ‘Humpin’ to Please’ camels and ‘Route 66′ logos on their sides going up and down the highway,” he says.

The collection can be seen prominently along the eastbound lanes Interstate 44, east of Cuba. Much of his outdoors collection is even illuminated at night.

If you want an up-close look at Mullen’s collection, call 573-885-3637 for an appointment.