This week’s episode features historic Springfield, Illinois and another star turn for Amy Beadle, Marketing Manager of the Springfield Illinois Convention & Visitors Bureau. Tune in or download and hear about events planned for 2025 in the Land of Lincoln. The 63rd International Carillon Festival, held in beautiful Washington Park, will be moving to Memorial Day Weekend this year. Springfield is also gearing up for the 16th Annual History Comes Alive season June 6 – August 10 with live history programming for 10 weeks. In addition, Springfield boasts nearly 40 things to see, do and eat along Route 66. Join us for a busy show!
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President Jimmy Carter: Citizen of Plains, GA
Our first episode of 2025 is a tribute to Jimmy Carter, America’s 39th President and beloved citizen of Plains, Georgia. Erika Nelson joins us to share her memories of visiting the church where Mr. Carter taught Sunday School as well as her appreciation for the people in Plains and the diverse modes of living to be found in rural Georgia.
Visit WebsiteIn Memoriam Tributes and Cars Yeah Memories with Mark Greene
Our last episode of 2024 features Mark Greene of Cars Yeah fame with In Memoriam tributes to four car culture legends who passed away this year. Also, we offer a retrospective on Mark’s successful podcasting career as owner and host of Cars Yeah as he slows his roll and hands over the wheel to a new host. Over the past ten and a half years, Mark has talked with over 2,550 Inspiring Automotive Enthusiasts™, sharing their lives, careers, businesses, and ideas.
Visit WebsiteStories Galore in Jonesborough, Tennessee
Cameo Waters, Tourism Director of Jonesborough, Tennessee is our guest this week. Rich in regional history, Jonesborough attracts heritage tourism because of its status as Tennessee’s oldest town and its proud architectural tradition, thanks to local historic preservation efforts. Among the landmarks is the Chester Inn, built in 1797, which still stands impressively downtown. Beyond all that, the small hospitable city is known as The Storytelling Capital of the World!
Visit WebsiteYikes! Some of the Worst Cars EVER Made
What seemed like good ideas at the time to motor moguls in Detroit and other car capitals sometimes turned out to be star-crossed cars that were so unpopular, they have become infamous legends in their own right. It wasn’t just the Edsel or Yugo either. Many famous brands have suffered in the marketplace as the result of wayward imagination and misbegotten technology. Karl Petry, classic car and auto industry aficionado, is our guest and he has numerous examples to share. Oh, the inanity!
Visit WebsiteYear-round Splendor in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho
In this encore episode, we talk with Destiny Egley, an authority on Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. Open year-round, the city has become a popular resort location, noted for its five hot pools suitable for bathing and featuring a turbulent inner tube run coursing through part of the town.
Visit WebsiteRoadside Yuletide with Erika Nelson (encore)
Erika Nelson, when she is not gracing the American landscape with her popular art projects, curates the Worlds Largest Collection of the Worlds Smallest Versions of the Worlds Largest Things. “Roadside Yuletide” is a phrase we coined to describe public monuments erected for when ‘Tis the Season. They are seen around the country. Erika shares about several of the best. (encore presentation originally aired November 25, 2022)
Visit WebsiteWelcoming the Holidays in Seattle and the Sound
Seattle and Puget Sound are shaking off the effects of a bomb cyclone, undeterred in their preparations for Thanksgiving weekend and the traditional kickoff of the Christmas holiday season. Matt Shea, a frequent contributor to American Road Trip Talk, stops by with his detailed report on a variety of ceremonies and activities that offer family-friendly options for celebrating the “most wonderful time of the year.”
Visit WebsiteHitchcock, The Birds and Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay in California found immortality as the setting for Alfred Hitchcock’s natural horror-thriller, The Birds (1963) and continues to draw cinephiles, Hitchcock fans and curiosity seekers by the thousands more than 60 years later. The seaside village combines laid-back charm with the echoes of its cinematic past and permanent association with Hollywood’s Master of Suspense. Geoffrey Mark guests with stories and perspective regarding the area, the film, the stars and the man who conjured terror on the wing.
Visit WebsiteClassic Road Trip Movies with Geoffrey Mark
From It Happened One Night to The Grapes of Wrath to Easy Rider to Thelma and Louise, some of the most iconic films ever made celebrate the dynamics of memorable characters taking to the open road. On this edition of American Road Trip Talk, we visit with classic Hollywood expert Geoffrey Mark to get the inside story of movies that took audiences on a vicarious ride to destiny.
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