Deep in the heart of Texas you can get your kicks on Route 66.
AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Thursday started the International Route 66 festival and this year it's being held in Amarillo. It is already bringing enthusiasts and travelers from across the globe.
"We're here to celebrate the 85th birthday of the mother road," said Marty Bilecki, who drove all the way from Illinois with his wife Geri. The two are part of the Route 66 Association of Illinois and recipients of the 2009 Czech Rt. 66 Award for persons of the year and the 2010 Tri State Int. 66 Festival for the Lifetime Achievement Award. They also co-authored a novel titled, " Kruzin with the Bilecki's"
Completed in 1926, Route 66 winds 2,448 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. In runs through most of the western states, including Texas and New Mexico, and Route 66 follows Interstate 40
"Route 66 is so embedded in our history, it's the Grapes of Wrath, the Dustbowl, migration west, it's a slice of our history," said Eric Miller, the Director of Communications for the Amarillo Convention & Visitor Council. Because of that history it's celebrated with an international festival, "You get to see all the cars, motorcycles, the people," said Lyn Seyfrosch, a server at Smokey Joe's, which sits on a stretch of the historic road.
"Every time someone stops maybe they spend the night, maybe they go to one of our restaurants or one of our shops on Sixth street, maybe they go to a business somewhere else in town, so it really starts to roll over through our economy," said Miller. "We're the only major Texas city on Route 66, no one else in the state of Texas comes even close, so it's very unique to us," said Miller.
Many said they want to roll down the windows and drive this historic stretch to celebrate the romance and freedom of this country. It's that nostalgia, that's even in the Route 66 song, that brings hundreds to Amarillo.
"This is my way of enjoying what God, the people of this country, gave us to enjoy, when I drive down a county road like Route 66. I have a motto with my wife Geri, who is my partner in this venture, if you don't go you won't know and our other motto is, "Keep Kruzin'," continued Bilecki.
On Saturday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. the intersection of Georgia and Sixth will be shut down through Mississippi street for the free festival. Participating restaurants will be offering a signature item at 1966 prices. Smokey Joe's will be serving a Frito pie for $1.66.
