Traveling through Oklahoma City, they found its oldest restaurant, Cattlemen's Steakhouse, was worth a side trip for a taste of history.
"This restaurant originally was built for the thousands of workers down here," said manager Craig Johnson, referring to the Stockyards City neighborhood. "That's what we really built our reputation on in the last 116 years."
Priding itself as a destination for celebrities, Cattlemen's dining room is lined with framed illustrations of John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Reba McEntire and others. In 1945, the restaurant was won in a dice game by local rancher, Gene Wade, who ran the restaurant for 45 years.
"The story goes that if he could roll a hard six, he wins," Johnson said. "He rolled it and the next day he was a restaurant owner."
Oklahoma boasts over 400 unbroken miles of Route 66, with prominent museums in both Clinton and Elk City. A museum of a different kind exists in the town of Erick at Sandhills Curiosity Shop, housing vintage signs collected by its eccentric owner, Harley Russell.
"Three groups (were) here today; I had a group from France, Spain and the UK," said Russell. "Yesterday I had the same and I have about the same thing every day; they come from all over the planet."
Russell and his wife, Annabelle, opened their shop up to Route 66 travelers in 1999 to tour their collection and watch them perform Bobby Troup's "Route 66" for donations. After his wife's death in 2014, Russell continued the tradition and allowed passersby full access to the shop, where they can find photos that document two Disney/Pixar research visits.
"They came here the first time, John Lasseter was with them, and they just came in to get some inspiration for their movie, 'Cars,'" Russell said. "I don't know how much they got from me."
As fate would have it, a major character in "Cars," Mater, is said to be inspired by Russell's voice and personality. Sandhills Curiosity Shop's seasoned facade and rusty signage is also mirrored in Radiator Springs' Lizzie's Curios Shop, which can be seen in the film and at "Cars Land" in Disney California Adventure in Anaheim.
"Pier To Pier: Celebrating 100 Years of Route 66" is sponsored by Hyundai.
Disney is the parent company of ABC7 Chicago.