Destination Cozy Cone
By Erika B. Perkins
“If you’re going my way, I wanna drive it All night long…”
Road Trips have been a way of experiencing the American Dream, one gas station and multiple bug splats at a time, since Henry Ford first introduced his novel little horseless carriage in 1908. Our family loves the road trip experience, we have our rituals for these long rides, for instance it’s the only time we buy beef jerky, and we love to listen to a good book or to blast some great tunes and it seems the random search on the iPod always brings us the best and most perfectly apropos road tunes.
We are also a car family and have always had cars that seem just perfect for eating up the miles and for cruising in style. We also love animation and even before our kids were born you could find us (perhaps the us was one dragging…encouraging…the other…ahem) in theatres for the newest animated adventure. Now we get to share those same passions with our kids and when a film about cars and road trips from the animation Gods at Pixar was announced you could count that we would see it! I have always had a soft spot for the Michael J. Fox movie Doc Hollywood and Cars most deftly hit those same buttons of learn to love yourself, learning to trust others and learning to work as a team and Cars was an instant hit, and favored tear jerker, in our family. It also sparked so many conversations and so much learning and my youngest son was astonished to learn that the Cozy Cone Motel, “newly renovated,” was actually based on a real roadside hotel located along Route 66, called the Mother Road in the Cars film, and even more astounded to learn that it was only two hours away from home.
Thus a Road Trip was born! It took two years to actually get that two hour Road Trip planned and in that time Cars 2 came out, so who knows maybe our sequel will be a European one too! We started this Road Trip by way of Los Angeles and a great day with our local Unschool group the San Diego FunSchoolers (putting the FUN in UN!) exploring the world renowned Getty Museum (and if you have not experienced the Getty do put it on your Life To Do List!). From Los Angeles we drove down the 101 to the 210 and found our way to the famed Route 66 at the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains on the border of Rialto and San Bernardino and we had finally arrived, after much anticipation, at the Cozy Cone Motel. OK, OK, they call it the Wigwam Motel but this is where the Cozy Cone Motel was born and this is where we had come to make a little boy’s dream come true.
The Cozy Cone Motel as portrayed in the Cars film is actually a blend of the Wigwam Motel, Blue Swallow Inn and Roy's Café and has been a historic Route 66 icon since it was first built in 1949. “The mastermind behind this retro motel was a clever man by the name of Frank Redford, who was heavily influenced by the native Indian culture. A total of only seven Wigwam Motels were built throughout the nation, of which three managed to remain preserved. Two of the last three remaining rest along historic Route 66 in the states of Arizona and California, while the other rests in Redford's home state of Kentucky.” The Wigwam Motel, just like Sally says about her Cozy Cone Motel, is “newly renovated” and has the funky appeal of every great roadside Americana attraction.
The Cozy Cone Motel as portrayed in the Cars film is actually a blend of the Wigwam Motel, Blue Swallow Inn and Roy's Café and has been a historic Route 66 icon since it was first built in 1949. “The mastermind behind this retro motel was a clever man by the name of Frank Redford, who was heavily influenced by the native Indian culture. A total of only seven Wigwam Motels were built throughout the nation, of which three managed to remain preserved. Two of the last three remaining rest along historic Route 66 in the states of Arizona and California, while the other rests in Redford's home state of Kentucky.” The Wigwam Motel, just like Sally says about her Cozy Cone Motel, is “newly renovated” and has the funky appeal of every great roadside Americana attraction.
We were blessed to make the trip with two other fabulous families that are near and dear to our hearts, the Sicards from Ramona, CA and the Sabos from Corvallis, OR and we rented two Cozy Cones, excuse me Wigwams, and we stayed for two days, enjoying the incredible architecture of the Wigwams and the compact kidney shaped pool with waters as crystal blue as could be in the hot foothill sun. They also have lush grass covered rolling hills on the inner grounds of the Wigwam Motel that make for wonderful running, rolling and role play adventures. The current owners are also capitalizing on the Cars film and have many vintage cars on the property and some wonderful souvenirs in the Wigwam shaped lobby and it looks like more improvements are under way. Even in the individual Wigwam rooms you can see the angles in the walls that make up the unique Wigwam shape and you can choose from a Wigwam with two queen beds or with one queen bed and a loveseat and coffee table. The windows in the room are very low and are dressed with fun curtains and the kids loved looking out of the windows which seemed sized just for them. Rooms also feature flat screen TV’s and free wifi. The bathroom was also a huge hit for our family as the shower, which appears to be a combo of original architecture featuring beautiful colored red and white tile and an odd stepping into a water closet sensation, and a Motel 6 drop in half tub with a little seat. My youngest son took several showers and the fabulous funkiness was just another highlight for this incredible Cozy Cone Adventure.
We found that two Wigwams were perfect for three families and the kids enjoyed having two Wigwams to call their own and to move back and forth from! “Each of the 15 sleeping units is approximately 25 feet in diameter and has two windows. The exterior walls are painted white accented with a bright red jagged lower edge at the top of the cone, a bold zig-zag band encircling the building halfway up the wall, and a narrow zig-zag band with small triangles along the inner edge of the window openings and marks similar to exclamation points at the corners. In the narrow bathrooms created by a partition at the rear of the sleeping units, the floor is covered with red-and-white tiles and the walls and stall shower repeat the zig-zag motif. Four slender metal poles project from the top in imitation of branches of wood.” The owners were also very friendly and helpful, and extremely knowledgeable about the history of Route 66 and their energy and knowledge just added to the great experience. We even had a spontaneous pizza party poolside and the owner came out and sat with us for a bit and seemed genuinely happy to see so much Joy going down Wigwam style. You could feel the history of the place and it is a profoundly pleasurable awareness to know that our stay added to that exceptional history!
The town of Rialto/San Bernardino, where the Wigwam Motel is located, is culturally diverse and has tires shops sharing acreage with apartment complexes and every single person we met was kind and wonderful and if the Wigwam is indeed the Cozy Cone Motel than Rialto is indeed Radiator Springs. On the drive in from Los Angeles one of my tires decided to die and we used Latino’s Best Tires, which was recommended by the owner of the Wigwam Motel, and Luigi's Casa Della Tires better watch out because it was one of the best mechanic/tire experiences I have ever had. Latino’s Best Tires was run by two incredible women named Bertha and Linda (Luigi and Guido!) and they were fair, honest and best of all kind and funny. They were also very knowledgeable about the history of their tire shop, the second building constructed after the Wigwam Motel and once a Road House Strip Club and Bar, and it just proves that you are truly learning all the time. They also loved hearing the story of how the Cars movie brought us there and when I picked up my car at the end of the day I brought my son who inspired this great and grand adventure with me and they all came out and high fived him and made him feel so special. We also became regulars at the Coffee Nutzz Coffee House and they had a friendly and helpful staff and great coffee, featuring everything from soy milk to boba balls to fresh made muffins. While there one morning we even met the Chief of Police for Rialto! He was very kind to the kids and he did his department proud with his great energy, friendliness and genuine compassion. Go Radiator Springs…I mean Rialto!
So go make some popcorn, queue up the Cars film and then go fill up the tank, crank up the tunes and hit the road for Destination Cozy Cone! It will be a Road Trip that will be remembered for a lifetime and it is certain that you will make memories that are more colorful than any Pixar film could ever color in!
“If you’re going my way, I wanna drive it All night long…”
“If you’re going my way, I wanna drive it All night long…”
Guest blogger, Erika B. Perkins, lives in San Diego, CA with her husband, two sons and more than the recommended daily allowance of cats. She owns and operates Entropy Squared Consulting Services, a professional organizing service. She is also the founder and owner of the Unschooling Adventure Group the San Diego Funschoolers (putting the FUN in UN!). A devoted Mom and a self-proclaimed Geek with great Geek offspring, she has more Star Wars knowledge than you can shake a womp rat at, has an enviable collection of cool t-shirts and know all the words to Dr. Horrible’s Sing- Along Blog.
Ahh!! it was a good one! Thanks for sharing it with us...
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