Ever wanted to travel Route 66? The fabled U.S. highway, which more or less cuts diagonally from Chicago to California, was popularized in song and even a cool little TV series a half century ago. Bypassed by super highways and Interstate routes today, it is very much a broken path. That hasn’t stopped Rob Salem (above) and his nephew Aaron from setting out this summer in their ’89 T-Bird to navigate Route 66 all the way from where they cross the Canadian border in Detroit to Comic-Con in San Diego.The Toronto Star TV critic and his young, pony-tailed sidekick are videotaping their adventures and are posting them on YouTube. Check out their fourth installment, somewhere in deepest mid-America, here. Along for the ride is a bobble head of Heath Ledger, who stares back at you from the dash while the words “HEATH VISION” are burned into the screen.
Salem, a big kid at heart who still collects Batman and Superman memorabilia (and insists on wearing it during press tours), stopped in Chicago to get the ultimate Superman souvenir: a classic “S” shield from the ’50s Adventures of Superman series tattooed on his arm. Aaron gets a freakin’ Batman mural on his shoulder that has to be seen to be believed.Salem and Salem plan to stop at every zany road side attraction and record their adventures all the way to Comic-Con in San Diego and beyond. The trip is also being followed here at Space: The Imagination Station. Check it out, citizens!
