Traveling With The Chronicle | Discovering Communities, One Journey at a Time
- Yanice Y. Carter
- 1 day ago
- 10 min read
Let the adventures begin!
Every journey offers an opportunity to discover new places, strengthen family bonds, and create memories that last a lifetime. Every community has a story waiting to be discovered. Sometimes it is found in a neighborhood café. Sometimes it is hidden along a historic highway. Sometimes it is revealed through a landmark, a family conversation, or an unexpected problem that forces us to slow down and see life differently.
At The Chronicle News, we believe travel is about more than the miles traveled. It is about the people we meet, the cultures we experience, the history we uncover, and the memories we create along the way.
That is why we are excited to introduce Traveling With The Chronicle, a recurring feature inviting readers to explore America with us, one destination at a time.
As a publisher, community storyteller, and mother of two adventurous children, I have learned that some of life’s greatest lessons happen outside the classroom. Every road trip becomes an opportunity to learn history firsthand, support local businesses, experience different cultures, and appreciate the character of communities across the country. This series will not present travel as one perfect photograph after another. We will share the beautiful places, the unexpected discoveries, the honest reviews, the wrong turns, the setbacks, and the moments that teach us something about ourselves. Because real travel is not always glamorous. Sometimes the most meaningful part of the journey is what happens when the plans begin to unravel.
Following the Mother Road
Our summer adventure began at home in Lansing, Michigan, where we packed the car and set out in search of family memories, new experiences, and the open road. Our route carried us through Indiana, into Illinois, across Missouri, and onward to Oklahoma. Portions of our journey followed Historic Route 66, affectionately known as “The Mother Road.” This is the Route so famous a song was written about it. (Click here to listen to Route 66 by Nat King Cole on YouTube)
Stretching 2,448 miles from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California, Route 66 opened in 1926 and became one of America’s most famous highways. It carried generations of families west in search of opportunity, adventure, and a fresh start. Although much of the original route was later replaced by modern interstates, Route 66 remains a powerful symbol of freedom, exploration, roadside culture, and the classic American road trip.
Our first major stop was the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. Standing beneath the towering monument was a reminder of America’s spirit of exploration. At 630 feet tall, the Arch rises dramatically over the Mississippi River and remains one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks. Although the Gateway Arch was completed decades after Route 66 opened, it has become a popular destination for travelers exploring the historic highway and the St. Louis region.
Photo Credit: The Chronicle Media Group
1. The Gateway Arch-The Gateway Arch rises 630 feet above St. Louis, offering travelers one of the most recognizable sights in America. 2. Gateway Arch National Park Sign-A stop at Gateway Arch National Park added history, beauty, and a sense of adventure to our family road trip.
Just across the Mississippi River in Collinsville, Illinois, we stopped to see the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle. Originally built in 1949 as a water tower for the G.S. Suppiger Catsup Company, the 170-foot structure has become a beloved piece of roadside Americana.
Photo Credit: The Chronicle Media Group. World’s Largest Catsup Bottle-The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle in Collinsville, Illinois, is a quirky roadside landmark that captures the playful spirit of Route 66.
It is quirky. It is unexpected. It is exactly the kind of attraction that makes a road trip memorable.
Continuing west into Oklahoma, we visited the famous Blue Whale of Catoosa, one of Route 66’s most recognizable roadside attractions. Built in the early 1970s by Hugh Davis, the giant blue whale has welcomed generations of travelers who stop to take photographs, walk through the structure, and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. Before leaving, I purchased a copy of My Little Golden Book About Route 66 from the Blue Whale gift shop. The book became the perfect souvenir because it featured several places we had just visited, including the Gateway Arch, the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle, and the Blue Whale itself.
Seeing our journey reflected in a children’s book made the experience even more meaningful. It reminded me that Route 66 is not simply a highway. It is a collection of stories passed from one generation of travelers to the next.
Photo Credit: The Chronicle Media Group. -Blue Whale of Catoosa-The Blue Whale of Catoosa has welcomed generations of Route 66 travelers to stop, explore, and make family memories.-Blue Whale Visitor Center-The colorful Blue Whale of Catoosa visitor center welcomes travelers exploring Oklahoma’s stretch of Historic Route 66.
Tulsa Adventures
In Tulsa, we visited the Golden Driller, a 76-foot statue celebrating Oklahoma’s oil industry. The massive figure is one of the state’s most recognizable landmarks and certainly earns its nickname as Tulsa’s “giant miner.”
Photo Credit: The Chronicle Media Group-The Golden Driller-Standing 76 feet tall, Tulsa’s Golden Driller celebrates Oklahoma’s oil heritage and remains one of the state’s most recognizable landmarks.
We also explored the nationally acclaimed Gathering Place, where Liam and Jillian enjoyed the imaginative play areas, walking paths, gardens, and open spaces. Watching them laugh, explore, and simply enjoy being children reminded me that some of the best travel moments are not found on an itinerary. They are created when families have room to be present with one another.
Photo Credit: The Chronicle Media Group-Liam and Jillian at Gathering Place-Liam and Jillian enjoy an afternoon at Tulsa’s Gathering Place, one of the country’s most celebrated public parks.
Of course, no road trip is complete without food. We stopped at Egg It On Café, where the chicken and waffles made for a satisfying start to another day of exploring.
We also visited Fixins Soul Kitchen. The food was fine, but some of the more basic menu options felt a little overpriced for what was offered. Traveling With The Chronicle will always give readers an honest experience, even when a popular destination does not completely live up to the hype.
Photo Credit: Chronicle Media Group-Egg It On Café-Egg It On Café provided a hearty breakfast stop before another day of sightseeing and family adventure.
Rolling With the Punches
The photographs show landmarks, smiling faces, family attractions, and meals shared along the way. What they do not show is everything happening behind the scenes.
One morning, after leaving our cabin in Owasso, Oklahoma, we stopped at a gas station while preparing to continue toward our family reunion in Sardis, Mississippi. A kind man approached me and told me that one of our tires was flat.
I was grateful that he noticed. Thankfully, I had a can of Fix-a-Flat in the car. I used it to inflate the tire temporarily, giving us enough time to reach the nearest Discount Tire. I was also extremely thankful that I had purchased the tire warranty. What could have become a major expense and an even larger disruption was handled, and we were able to continue down the road. Because apparently the journey had not tested us enough. That flat tire felt like one more insult added to an already complicated trip. Still, we handled it. We found a solution and kept moving.
Later, as the trip was coming to an end, another challenge arrived.
We were staying with our dear cousins in O’Fallon Illinois(right near the boarder St. Louis MO), and everyone was preparing for an early departure. Our cousins were headed to Disney World, while we were preparing to begin the long drive home to Lansing. It was one of those hectic mornings when everyone was rushing, loading bags, checking travel plans, and meeting the needs of the little people.
Liam was hungry and misplaced his sausage, which immediately became the morning’s most urgent crisis. In the middle of trying to feed him, gather our belongings, and get everyone into the car, I failed to do my usual final check for my phone. By the time I realized it was still inside the house, my cousins were already in an Uber on their way to Orlando.
Just like that, I was beginning the drive home without the phone that contained my contacts, work applications, navigation, account access, and practically half of my life. For a moment, I felt completely lost. Still, we had to get home.
I used OnStar to guide us until I could create a more permanent solution. Afterward, I contacted OnStar and subscribed to a complimentary month of in-car Wi-Fi. That allowed me to connect the Android phone I had given my daughter and use it to navigate us to the nearest T-Mobile store.
At T-Mobile, I had my phone number temporarily transferred to the Android device.
I typically use an iPhone, so suddenly relying on an Android device made me feel displaced and out of my element. Even when I could remember my passwords, two-factor authentication prevented me from accessing many of my accounts because verification codes were being sent to the phone sitting inside my cousin’s home. That one forgotten phone created a chain reaction involving unfamiliar technology, missed verification codes, locked accounts, changing phone numbers, transferring money between accounts, and trying to continue working while traveling.
There were moments when I questioned whether I had enough energy to solve one more problem. Yet every obstacle forced me to become more resourceful.
I learned how to use a different phone.
I adapted to unfamiliar technology.
I found another way to navigate.
I regained access to important accounts.
I kept working.
I kept parenting.
I kept moving forward.
Not because it was easy, but because stopping was not an option. That is what resilience often looks like. It is not glamorous. It does not arrive with inspirational music playing in the background. Sometimes resilience looks like standing at a gas station using Fix-a-Flat while two children wait in the car. Sometimes it looks like sitting in a parking lot trying to regain access to an account. Sometimes it looks like changing your phone number twice in less than 24 hours. Sometimes it looks like using OnStar, free car Wi-Fi, a borrowed Android phone, and sheer determination to find your way home.
Sometimes it looks like accepting help from strangers, leaning into prayer, and deciding that quitting is simply not on today’s agenda.
Every detour became another story.
Every setback became another lesson.
Every mile reminded me that I was stronger and more capable than I sometimes allowed myself to believe. The trip was not flawless.
It was real. And somehow, through every unexpected turn, we kept rolling with the punches.
The Lesson I Didn’t Expect
One of the most unexpected lessons did not come from a landmark or roadside attraction.
It came through a conversation. During the trip, I happened to come across a text exchange between my daughter and her father. As she shared everything that had gone wrong, including the forgotten phone, unexpected setbacks, my emotional moments, and the frustrations that seemed overwhelming to her at the time, his response was not criticism.
It was grace.
He reminded her that I was doing the best I could. He encouraged her to pray for me. He explained that sometimes people have reasons for their decisions that others may not immediately understand. Reading those words brought unexpected comfort. Not because the trip had gone perfectly. It certainly had not. It brought comfort because another parent recognized something my daughter was not yet able to see.
Children often experience the inconvenience.
Parents carry the responsibility. She saw delayed plans. I saw problems that had to be solved. She saw a forgotten phone.
I saw the need to keep us connected, safe, and moving. She saw detours. I saw decisions.
She saw stress. I was carrying the responsibility of making sure we all made it through the journey and eventually returned home.
That does not diminish what she felt. Her frustration was real. But perspective often comes with time.
One day she may understand that resilience does not always look heroic. Sometimes it looks like a mother quietly solving one problem after another while trying to protect her children from worrying about how difficult things truly are. I do not expect her to fully appreciate that today. She is a teenager. Teenagers do not always recognize their parents’ sacrifices in real time. Sometimes they see only how a situation affects them in the moment. Teenage daughters will humble you quickly. 🤦🏽♀️
But one day, I believe she will look back and remember this journey differently. Maybe she will remember that even when everything seemed to go wrong, we still kept going.
We still laughed.
We still explored.
We still made memories.
That is what grace does.
It does not erase the difficult moments.
It simply refuses to let them have the final word.
More Than a Road Trip
Looking back, this road trip was not nearly as glamorous as I imagined it would be.
There were wrong turns, forgotten phones, technology headaches, locked accounts, unexpected expenses, tears, disagreements, and a flat tire.
There were also national landmarks, quirky roadside attractions, family laughter, new discoveries, great photographs, and moments I will remember for years.
The beauty and the mess existed together.
That is the realness of travel.
Trips do not have to be perfect to be meaningful. Families do not have to agree every moment to love one another. Difficulties do not cancel the joy. Sometimes the trouble becomes part of the story we laugh about later.
This journey taught me about resilience.
It taught me about grace. It reminded me that life rarely follows the itinerary we create, and that is okay.
Grave has a way of covering the messy parts. It gives us the courage to keep moving, the humility to laugh at ourselves, and the wisdom to recognize the silver lining hiding behind an inconvenience. One day, I believe my daughter will understand that this was not simply a family road trip.
It was a lesson in perseverance.
A lesson in faith.
A lesson in grace.
A lesson in family.
Because sometimes the greatest journey is not the one across the country. Sometimes it is the one that brings you back home to yourself.
Every destination has a story. And every story is worth discovering. Welcome to Traveling With The Chronicle!
Our Route
Lansing, Michigan → Indiana → Collinsville, Illinois → St. Louis, Missouri → Tulsa, Oklahoma → Catoosa, Oklahoma → Owasso, Oklahoma → Sardis, Mississippi →Lansing, Michigan
Chronicle Ratings
Gateway Arch National Park
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Breathtaking, iconic, and worth experiencing in person
Gathering Place
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
An outstanding family destination with something for everyone
Blue Whale of Catoosa
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Charming, nostalgic, and a must-see Route 66 stop
World’s Largest Catsup Bottle
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
A fun and memorable roadside photo stop
Egg It On Café
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
A satisfying breakfast stop with hearty chicken and waffles
Fixins Soul Kitchen
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
The food was okay, but some basic options felt overpriced
Comments