Guess where this is on the Route!!!

Guess where this is on the Route!

Ghost Bridge Route 66

The Roost in Shamrock, TX - Fresh Food and the Nicest Folks!

Tonight Robert and I are in Shamrock, TX. We had to stop early because the battery on the camera was about dead. I had found The Roost on TripAdvisor and they had an exceptional rating and raving reviews. The manager at the hotel gave us a menu for them. They are located to the left of the "Tallest Water Tower in Texas." The address is 117 Rail Road Avenue, Shamrock Texas.

The food was so fresh and full of flavor. I had the chicken salad and it was very fresh and the apples and grapes were crisp. My sweetly picky husband had a turkey club and they fixed it specially for him. The decor is just darling. The rooster painted on the wall in the dining room and in the bathroom is named Screech!

Christy White is the owner and she and Freddy make everything. They have fast food for grown-up... Brown Bag Lunches and people can even take home entire meals to put in the oven at home. They are both very friendly and welcoming. Christy is a local who can tell you a lot about the area. She has the sweetest smile! It was a much needed break after a long day on Route 66!

https://www.facebook.com/theroostinshamrock

Screech!!! The road trip is delayed!

Sadly, we had a wreck in Rolls, MO. We are back home until we find out whether the Charger will be repaired or totaled. We hope we can at least finish up Missouri and maybe Kansas if the car can be fixed. :(

Mother Jones on Route 66

Without this woman perhaps generations of children would have grown up chained to machines. She was once called the most dangerous woman in America... She lost everything twice and still found the courage to stand against injustice and try to make the world a better place. The robber barons of today differ little from the ones of her day. We need to stand against them with the kind of courage she displayed.

Polka Dot Drive-In

Chilli Cheese dog for breakfast anyone! We stopped at the Polka Dot Drive-In this morning and had a good lunch. They were very sweet and let us in a few minutes early since we were there taking pics and it was drizzling rain! We listened to oldies on the real Wurlitzer juke box and wished we had both learned how to dance when we were younger.

Holand style mill in Peotone, IL

Stopped in at an old Holland style mill today in Peotone, IL. It no longer has it's arms, but is still beautiful.  It was constructed in 1872 as a means to grind grains in a place that had limited access to water.  The way the owner made money on the mill was to grind for people in exchange for a percentage of what he ground. Talk about the old fashioned way!

http://www.peotone.com/rathjemill/

We start on Route 66 tomorrow in Chicago. :) It's going to be a great journey with my sweetie!

Laundry Soap Day!!!

We love the Old Road wherever we can find it. We especially love travelling Route 66. However, that takes money. We live simply and are fairly frugal. One of the ways we save money for the Old Road is making our own laundry soap. It's easy to make in about 30 minutes, with just a few simple ingredients.

You need washing soda, borax and a good laundry soap bar. I prefer Fels Naptha, but other recipes I've see use Zotes or even Ivory.

 We grate 1/3 of a bar of Fels Naptha...

And add it to six cups of hot water.... Then stir it over medium heat until the completely melts...

 Add 1/2 cup of washing soda (this is not baking soda), and 1/2 cup of borax. Arm & Hammer makes the washing soda and 20 Mule Team makes a borax.

Continue to stir on medium heat until the washing soda and borax are dissolved and you don't feel any grit on the bottom of the pan.

Pour 4 cups of hot water in the bucket...

 Pour in the soap mixture...

Now... add 1 gallon and 6 cups of water to the bucket... that's 22 cups of water. I use hot but the recipe I use didn't specify hot or cold.

Stir well...

Finally, put on the top and let it sit over-night. I stir it once or twice and by morning it should look like a watery gel and is ready to use! We pour it into old detergent bottles.

It yields about a gallon and a half that's 128 ounces.

A 100 oz bottle of Tide costs about $12  and the ingredients for my soap cost around $15.... however those ingredients will yield about 9 - 128 ounce buckets. We've made it three times so far and have hardly made a dent in the borax or washing soda. I also use the borax and washing soda with salt to make a scouring powder.

So every time we make this laundry soap, we put $10 in the road trip fund! It doesn't sound like a lot, but it adds up over time. In a year it could add up to 3 tanks of gas or for us 900 miles on our favorite road!!! :)

Oh, many thanks to The Family Homestead for the recipe. http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm

An abandoned old house on Highway 70 outside of Jackson TN. someone once loved this little place to plant some daffodils out front. Love and hope once resided here.