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Click HERE for entire Route 66-based story.
Click HERE for entire Don’t Forget Schuster.
Click HERE for entire The Newspaper Limo.

(inspired by my 09/2009 Route 66 road trip)

CHAPTER 80: GOOD DELAYS

A recurring proverbial “warning” the eldest sibling had received from other Route 66 travelers while he planned his Route 66 trip was to not get tied to a schedule. As you drive & stop & talk to people, he was advised, you’ll soon discover what feels like a 10-minute chat is actually a 2+ hour conversation, which will torpedo any plan you have for any given day. Up until now, however, the eldest sibling & his younger brother had been fairly good at keeping their schedule, thanks in part to the youngest’s radio broadcasts for-on WSM.

Then came the drive from Ted Drewes in St Louis MO to the Meramec Caverns in Stanton MO. The brothers’ 1st deviation, based on a suggestion from someone who they spoke to at Ted Drewes, was a stop at the Museum of Transportation in Kirkwood MO. They left the famous ice cream place in time to arrive at the museum ~3:30p, just a half hour before it closed. While they didn’t enter the museum proper, they ended up talking with a volunteer there for nearly an hour. That volunteer suggested they try Lewis Cafe in St Clair MO, if they were hungry when they arrived there.

Nearly an hour & a half later, when they arrived in St Clair, the brothers were starting to get hungry again. So, the eldest pulled the tan 1976 Caprice Classic sedan into a parking spot in the lot across the street from the restaurant just before 6p, the time they had planned to be at the Meramec Caverns. A little concerned the Meramec Motel was expecting their arrival now, the eldest called to advise they’d be a tad bit late; the eldest was surprised, but not really surprised, the staff had expected a later-than-anticipated arrival. The brothers then walked into the diner & immediately felt the “at home warmth” of the place. They ordered food, ate & chatted with other patrons & the restaurant staff.

Their departure time was 2 hours later, closing time for the diner. They had truly discovered what it meant to be delayed by good food, good people, good conversation & good times. They didn’t mind it at all, though they broke 1 of their rules: traveling “after dark”. Finally leaving St Clair proper ~8:15p, they managed to arrive at the Meramec Motel area just before 9p, so they really didn’t get to “see” too much of the road they were driving into the Cavern area. In fact, at one point, the darker it got, the more they began to think they had made a wrong turn. Making a stop in a well-lit area, the brothers quickly consulted several maps & determined they were on the correct road.

Finally settled into their room ~9:20p, the brothers each reviewed the photos they’d taken that afternoon & evening & posted some to social media. The youngest announced his next radio show would be early that following morning, live from Meramec Caverns.