TRAVEL

Route 66 Travel Journal — Missouri

We had lots of kicks on Route 66

This is part 2 of my travel journal of my trip along the Mother Road. I began my journey in 2013 and so far I’ve made it to the border of Arizona. I can’t wait to continue my journey.

March 29, 2014 — Day 1

I was lucky to get a shot of this hot air balloon outside the Munger Moss Motel. (photo by author)

We are staying at the Munger Moss Motel for our first night, a famous place on Route 66 in Lebanon. The couple who runs it have had it since 1971. They moved here from Iowa. They specifically came to Missouri looking for a motel to buy and found this one. The woman at the front desk chatted to us for a while. She said Route 66 became popular in the mid-’80s as soon as they decommissioned it. The front desk area was like a step back in time. There was a gift shop and lots of Route 66 stuff to see. They also had free matchbooks that said Munger Moss Motel on them that are 30 years old.

The bad thing about this motel now is that people live here too, which I think detracts from the ambiance. The people who own it did this to make ends meet during the winter. They have 16 of these units in which they took two hotel rooms and made it into one living quarter. I can’t imagine living in a motel.

The Munger Moss originally started as a sandwich shop in Devil’s Elbow, Missouri, but…