USA: Iconic Roads and Their Famous Nicknames

 

There is no greater pleasure than taking a drive just for the fun of it. There are many classic roads in the USA that will definitely add some excitement and glamour to any excursion: the Pacific Coast Highway, Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, Lombard Street in San Francisco, Bourbon Street in New Orleans, or the Overseas Highway through the Florida Keys.

These are just some examples but there are a few other roads that are so iconic that they have special nicknames. 

Are you familiar with The Great White Way? You may know it as Broadway in New York City. The Great White Way was inspired by all the white lights on theatre signs and marquees that illuminated the area. In the early 1900s, when gas lamps were replaced with electric lights, the landscape was completely dark except for the dazzling strip known as Broadway.

Speaking of radiant strips, Las Vegas Boulevard is fondly called The Strip. It’s where all the most glamorous hotels and casinos are located, and it’s a wonderland for brilliant neon signs and inducements. 

If you ever find yourself in Chicago, make sure to take a drive or a stroll down The Magnificent Mile: Michigan Avenue. Steps away from Lake Michigan, this cosmopolitan street is dotted with upscale shops, fine dining, and famous historical landmarks (Chicago Water Tower, the neo-Gothic Tribune Tower, the Wrigley Building skyscraper and the 100-story John Hancock Center). 

I finish with The Mother Road: Route 66. Popular in films, music, and books, Route 66 stretches 2,448 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. According to route66roadtrip.com, “The legendary highway was known far and wide for its variety of ‘mom and pop’ motels, neon lights, drive-ins, quirky roadside attractions, flat tires, cars with no air conditioning, dangerous curves, steep hills, and narrow lanes.”

Route 66 has been a popular thoroughfare and road trip adventure since its construction in 1926. It is also recognized by the US government as “a symbol of the American people’s heritage of travel and their legacy of seeking a better life.” The Mother Road attracts many people who plan journeys on this famous highway. Even former Beatle, Paul McCartney, was spotted along different points of Route 66 in August 2008. 

Hopefully you’ll be inspired to take a drive through this beautiful country along some of its legendary roads. 

How long does it take…..?

When talking about the duration of time to do an activity, we say “How long does it take + infinitive…?”

It’s a common way to ask about the time needed to do various things.







Travel from point A to point B. 
- How long does it take to fly from Chicago to Rome? - present tense
(It takes eight hours.)
- How long did it take to get to the office from home? - past tense
(It took 15 minutes.)

Travel somewhere via different modes of transportation. 
- How long does it take to get to the university by bus? - present tense
(It takes 35 minutes to get to the university by bus.)
- How long will it take to arrive in the city center on foot? - future
(It will take 40 minutes on foot.)

Doing anything
How long will it take for the tree to grow fruit? - future
(It will take five years.)
How long did it take to build the Great Pyramid of Giza? - past tense
(It took 20 years.)

You don’t always have to be precise with the time. You can use these phrases: 
- It didn’t take long / It won’t take long (It didn't take long to read that book.)
- It takes a long time / It took a long time /It will take a long time (It took Carlo a long time to finally graduate.)

You can personalize these kinds of sentences too: 
- How long did it take Simona to get to the office from home? - past tense
(It took her 15 minutes.)
- How long will it take you to arrive in the city center on foot? - future
(It will take me 40 minutes on foot.)
- How long did it take slaves to build the Great Pyramid of Giza? - past tense
(It took 20 years and thousands of slaves.)


In conclusion: if we are talking about time, we use the phrase “How long does it take…?”, “How long did it take…?”, “How long will it take…?”

American kitsch: vintage motels

Kitsch is defined as art, objects, or design considered to be in bad taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic way. I love the nostalgia and humor of American kitsch and will occasionally share amusing examples of it in this blog. Today's post is dedicated to vintage roadside motels.

Are there vintage motels where you live?

Before corporations dominated the travel industry, there was a time when privately owned motels (first known as motor courts) were the norm. These family owned “mom and pop” lodgings began appearing during the 1930s when more people traveled by car instead of by train or horse. In 1900, there were 8,000 registered automobiles in America. By 1930, that number had dramatically increased to 23 million. People were driving all over the country and they needed places to sleep at night.

First there was roadside camping, then roadside cabins. As competition for tourist dollars increased, the offerings became more sophisticated and comfortable, and so the “motel” was born. With wild and wonderful neon signs, motels sprang up (grew) across the country to entice travelers in for the night with festive names like Siesta Motel, Pink Cloud Motel, Pink Poodle Motel, Sea Shell Motel, Half Moon Motel, and the ever-popular Wigwam Motel.

If you’re lucky enough to come across (find) one of these relics of the golden age of the automobile, immerse yourself in an era of the past, the glory days of the open road, and stay for a night. Because of the interstate highway system that began construction in 1956, the charming motels were often bypassed and, consequently, many of these treasured establishments closed and were overtaken by the corporate chains.

Although the majority of family owned motor courts and motels are long gone, they are not forgotten!

My vacation

I returned from my vacation yesterday. I went to my most favorite place to enjoy Wisconsin’s natural beauty, the Chain of Lakes in Waupaca, Wisconsin. This location is rather particular because of its arrangement of 22 connected lakes which were formed by glaciers during the Ice Age, between 35,000 and 11,150 years ago. That’s a long time ago!

Spreading over many kilometers, these crystal clear lakes are spring-fed and extremely clean. Many Native American Indians have a special name for the Chain of Lakes, such as the Menomini Indians, “Se-se-pe-comeow” meaning “sprawling water,” or “water that spreads out like an animal basking in the sun.” The Potawatomi Indian name for the Chain of Lakes means “scattered water,” or “scattered group of lakes.” The Chippewa also had a name for them,“Wai-wai-ba-si-pi,” meaning “soon one after another” which describes how one lake follows another in a chain or series.

There are narrow channels connecting the lakes which provide the perfect opportunity to travel (by boat, of course) from one lake to the next, to the next. I spent a majority of my time canoeing, kayaking, and swimming last week. There are always new places to explore and a lake to satisfy if you like the pace active or peaceful. Being a nature lover has never been easier.