You sometimes forget that there was a time before highways…
I drove Route 66 from Chicago to L.A. (just like the song) and it was bittersweet to see all these cool stores, gas stations, and restaurants that where left behind. Once the new freeway was built, traffic wasn’t going to pass by again.
It was around the ’60s when freeways started to crisscross America. When it comes to searching for cool Mid-Century establishments, you have to go where cars used to travel. Tiki was at its height in popularity in the ’50s and ’60s so it didn’t surprise me to learn that a cool Tiki motel was located on the main road that used to go right through the center of Mount Vernon, Washington.
