Getting Our Kicks on Route 66

Our Oklahoma City Grands came for the weekend last Thursday evening

.

They came on Thursday so that we could get up on Friday morning and make a trip to this little gift shop / cafe in Galena, Kansas. Galena is a very small town (the population is reported to be just over 3,000) and is filled with really friendly folks.

The draw for us wasn't just to have lunch. It was mainly to visit this guy.

Does he look familiar? Maybe you're familiar with his animated alter ego, Tow Mater from the the Disney Pixar movies, Cars and Cars 2.

The Grands were really excited to see Tow Tater* in the flesh  rust.

Son was pretty excited about seeing this guy too. Maybe even more excited than the Grands. That's a pretty big grin on his face.

Photos were taken from all angles. Notice the sign. It announces to visitors that Tow Tater* was the inspiration behind the very popular Tow Mater.

Melba is one of the owners of the gift shop / cafe. She'll come out to greet those who stop by and invite them in to tell Tow Tater's story and show you a couple of books which substantiates his story.

If visitors are in need of sustenance after their trek to Galena, they'll find that the cafe menu is pretty typical. The prices aren't so typical though.

The meat on each single burger contains is .6 of a pound of beef. That's a pretty good sized burger considering the price. I ordered the cheeseburger and fries at a cost of $4.75 (plus tax). Both the burger and the fries were excellent.

I should say here that this isn't 'fast food' like Mickey D's or other chains. There was a bit of a wait - not too long - but that time passed quickly as we visited with other folks that were there for lunch.

AD totally enjoyed talking to some of the guys in the cafe as he chowed down on his $6 double cheeseburger and fries. That $6 burger we see advertised on t.v. from another chain doesn't hold a candle to the one he had.

A sweet surprise was in store for the Grands. A local couple that happened to be in the cafe that afternoon came back to our tables after paying for their lunch and let us know that they were seeing to it that the kids could each choose an ice cream treat - as long as they cleaned their plates finished their lunch. I told you those Galena folks are friendly.

The kids got right on it. And they really enjoyed that ice cream, especially G5.

Other fun activities went on throughout the weekend and posts of some of them are upcoming. They're going to have to wait until AD and I get back though. We're going to take a few days off and make a trip to Branson.

See you soon!

*According to Melba and the documentation in her scrapbook, Tow Mater's inspiration truck had to be christened with a slightly different name due to copyright laws. A contest was held and a little girl's idea of 'Tow Tater' was picked as the winning entry. Now that's a story she'll enjoy telling to her children and grandchildren someday.