TMCP #239: Drive Your Next Vacation! Craig Parrish on the Old US 27 Tour and Route 66 Motor Tour

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route66
The Mother Road!
Craig Parrish talks to local news crews during the Old US 27 Tour stop in St Louis Michigan
Craig Parrish talks to local news crews during the Old US 27 Tour stop in St Louis Michigan

This weeks interview is with Old US 27 Tour and Route 66 Motor Tour founder Craig Parish. Craig grew up in Lansing, MI surrounded by old cars and new Oldsmobile’s. His father managed new car dealerships during the day but fixed up old cars to resell at night….and it had a big impact on Craig.  He grew up with an appreciation of classic automobiles that has only grown stronger over the years, which led him to start “driving vacation” tours!

Various classic cars at the Alma stop of the Old US 27 Tour stop
Various classic cars at the Alma stop of the Old US 27 Tour stop


Old US 27 Tour:
Old US 27 is the North/South highway akin to the East/West (and famous) Route 66. Both roads were built at the same time utilizing the same construction techniques. US 27 was the road you would have taken to go between Michigan and Florida back in the day and was the predecessor to the current highway system.

Many towns grew up along this route due to tourism and families out looking for a vacation. These places are being bypassed now because of the newer limited access highways, but the full section of Old US 27 that runs through Michigan still exists and it is on this route that Craig has started his Old US 27 Tour.

The trip stops at thirteen cites and lets tourists get out and see the sights for a couple of hours. There are many things to see, smells to smell, and food to be eaten in these towns that would otherwise have been missed if you stayed on the super highways. As such, this tours lets you experience them all! Of course there are classic cars also to spend time looking at and talking about too.

The Tour starts in Coldwater, MI and goes north to Cheboygan, MI during the week of August 17th through the 23rd (2015) and the registration fee is only $15. For more information check out Old27Tour.com.

Craig Parrish and his Oldsmobile in front of the Famous O'Dell Gas Station in Illinois during the 2014 Route 66 tour
Craig Parrish and his Buick in front of the Famous O’Dell Gas Station in Illinois during the 2014 Route 66 tour

Route 66 Motor Tour: After the success of the Old 27 Tour Craig decided it was time to tackle the big one: Route 66!

Of course, to do it justice he could not just do a little section of it, but instead set the tour for the full length beginning in Indiana and ending in California. He believes this is the first ever organized tour of the entire length of Route 66. He’s already received massive feedback about it has been over overwhelmed with calls and emails from around the world of new registrants.

More cities are being added to the tour and many great historic stops are already planned. 2014 marked the maiden trip of the Route 66 Motor Tour and was a huge success, with most of the drivers returning for 2015.

Each day the tour travels around 200 miles at a leisurely rate to allow drivers to take in the scenery and enjoy the ride. The registration fee for the tour is only $66 and all proceeds go to Route 66 restoration projects including Burma Shave signs, old billboards, and historic building repairs.

Check out Craig’s Facebook sites at Facebook.com/craig.parrish.27tour, Facebook.com/Old 27 Tour as well as the official web pages of the tours Old US 27 Tour and Route 66 Motor Tour

Thanks for the great interview, Craig! Maybe we will see you this summer on Route 66.

-Rob Kibbe

 

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This interview sponsored by our pals at National Parts Depot
your premier source for muscle car restoration parts!

National-Parts-Depot

NPD Update with Kirk Hansen!

It is time once again the monthly “NPD Update” with my great friend Kirk Hansen, Marketing Director of National Parts Depot.

This week Kirk asked for help from The Muscle Car Place listeners to determine the next line of parts that NPD should produce. He asked that we send an email in to NPD at NPDContest@gmail.com with the product line you would like to see in the subject of the email. As a bonus for helping out, NPD will draw 20 emails randomly to send tee shirts too! Check out what NPD already has to offer and then make your suggestions to Kirk.

Also, in honor of the upcoming Daytona 500, I challenged Kirk to another movie trivia clip. Once again he was at the top of his game and I did not even get to use all of my clips. See if you can beat him to the answer (hint: the answer might be “Days of Thunder”).

Thanks for the update, Kirk!

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