We made it in about midnight last night. It was a long drive, but made quite shorter due to two factors: Dramamine and Road Games. I took a dramamine ’cause I get carsick in the backseat. Unbeknownst to me, it also makes you drowsy. So I’m all settled in the back, thinking about sleep, putting in my earphones and putting on some Arcade Fire and then…wham! Indi hits me with a road game. I could not choose to not play.
It was the classic ‘Name an (actor) that starts with the letter A’ then B, then C, etc. It lasted the WHOLE TIME. ALL OF IT! Sleep did not happen. But at least there wasn’t drab driving involved.
We took an alternate route to Dallas; normally I go through OKC. Instead, we went through some smaller towns, including the ominous ‘Stringtown’ where we actually stopped at a travel plaza. Indi got a Big Red there, which is the worst cola ever. It doesn’t even belong in the cola category. Horrible.
Anyway; today we’re going to breakfast, and then the Container Store, perhaps a bookstore. It’s cold but there is no snow. I wonder how Tulsa is faring…
Rhys Martin is an author and photographer from Tulsa, Oklahoma. His love of travel was awakened in 2009 when he sold all of his possessions and left the country. For ten months, he lived out of a backpack and explored southeast Asia and Europe. When he returned home, it was with fresh eyes for his home state.
As he drove the back roads of Oklahoma, Rhys discovered the significance of historic Route 66 to the greater American story. He has traveled all 2,448 miles of the Mother Road and continues to seek out the quiet Main Streets of the Midwest.
Rhys's travel writing and photography has been featured in numerous publications, including Tulsa People Magazine, This Land Press, ROUTE Magazine, Nimrod Journal, The Oklahoman and Tulsa World. He wrote the book Lost Restaurants of Tulsa, which features the stories of nearly 50 iconic eating establishments from the city's past. He has also been a contributing author to multiple Route 66-based travel and history books.
Rhys is the President of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association and serves on multiple boards and commissions related to the Mother Road and its upcoming Centennial in 2026. He loves to connect with people and share his experiences.
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Rhys' Pieces 