Roadrunner Lodge Archives - Roadrunner Lodge Motel

Holiday TV Classics

Rhonda loves these 1960’s Christmas TV favorites.

Rhonda and her family traditionally have celebrated these two classic
60s animated holiday children’s movies. And we’ll bet your family
still enjoys them as much as hers!
The first of nearly 50 Peanuts television movies, “A Charlie Brown
Christmas” is the longest-running cartoon special in history, airing
every year since its debut in 1965. Whimsical, melancholy, and
ultimately full of wonder, it is a holiday favorite for countless
families. For Peanuts fans everywhere, it just wouldn’t be Christmas
without this classic holiday delight. Christmas lights may be
twinkling red and green, but Charlie Brown has the Yuletide blues. To
get in the holiday spirit, he takes Lucy’s advice and directs the
Christmas play. And what’s a Christmas play without a Christmas tree?
But everyone makes fun of the short, spindly evergreen Charlie Brown
brings back – until the real meaning of Christmas works its magic once
again.

In mid-1963, nearly 30 years after Montgomery Wards produced an
illustrated storybook, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” as a marketing
giveaway to children, the movie version was officially in production.
Over the next 18 months, GE poured the equivalent of more than $4.5
million into the special’s innovative stop-motion animation also as a
marketing tool for homemakers. GE developed four accompanying
commercials featuring characters from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
These ads pushed new products like an electric toaster, an electric
can opener, and an electric blanket, and who could forget Santa riding
a Norelco Triple Header?

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Do you do TV Dinners

John Asks Rhonda: Rhonda, do you like Turkey TV dinners?

“When TV dinners first arrived in our grocer’s freezers in the mid 1950’s my mom was ecstatic! So, she bought 13 complete turkey dinners and we had ourselves a mid-century modern Thanksgiving celebration. Clean-up was a breeze but alas, there were no leftovers.”

What was YOUR favorite TV dinner?

Salisbury steak? Fried chicken?

Did you watch The Munsters?

24 October 2022/0 Comments/in Rhonda, Roadrunner Lodge /by Rhonda

Monica Asks Rhonda:

Rhonda – what was the crazy inspiration behind the creation of the 1960’s TV show, The Munsters?

Frankenstein Monster

The hilarious 1964 TV show “The Munsters” was actually created as somewhat of a parody of the 1954 television show, “The Donna Reed” show’s opening credits. The comedy, The Munsters were a weird but underlying wholesome family comprised of Herman (the father) a Frankenstein monster. Lily (his wife) and Grandpa (her father) were vampires. Eddie (their little son) was a werewolf. And their tongue-in-cheek humor suggests Marilyn (their pretty niece) was the only normal one who was considered the family’s ugly duckling. They lived in the “typical” haunted house, drove a hot rod funeral hearse, and were endlessly trying to fit in with the neighborhood. My family religiously watched it every week.

Here’s a 5- minute sample! Happy Halloween everyone!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL47z7HJckI

Mmm, mmm! Time for a Mai Tai!

1 July 2022/0 Comments/in Rhonda, Roadrunner Lodge /by Rhonda

Tiki skull cocktail at a bar.

Robert says, “Hey Rhonda – I hear a lot of people in the 1960s talking about a Mai Tai Cocktail? What the heck is a Mai Tai?”

Robert, A Mai Tai Cocktail is a traditional “Tiki Bar” rum cocktail served in the summer. The man who invented the Mai Tai, Victor Bergeron, is better known as Trader Vic! Vic was inspired by a Jamaican rum and it’s a classic 60s drink. It was traditionally made with rum, Cointreau, Orgeat Syrup, Lime and garnished with pineapple.

We appreciate you!

21 August 2021/0 Comments/in Rhonda, Roadrunner Lodge /by Rhonda

Because of YOU, we are thankful!

The Roadrunner Lodge Motel has been voted the #1 BEST ROADSIDE MOTEL in USA Today’s annual 10best Readers’ Choice contest for “BEST ROADSIDE MOTEL” in America!

“During the early years of the 20th century, Americans took to the nation’s brand new highways, and roadside motels (a portmanteau of “motor hotel”) popped up to accommodate these travelers. Many of these historic properties have gotten retro-chic makeovers, blending their vintage charm with modern amenities. The restored Roadrunner Lodge motel on Route 66 blends mid-century style with modern conveniences, like premium mattresses, plush towels, free wifi and HD TVs with more than 120 channels. The historic property is truly a mom-and-pop operation.”Share a pic and caption on our Facebook page that you took when you stayed at the Roadrunner Lodge

What could be better than driving Rt 66 in a vintage car?

20 May 2021/2 Comments/in Roadrunner Lodge /by Rhonda

Rhonda asks: Since it’s Route 66 Road Trip Season, what could be better than driving Rt 66 in a vintage car? Rhonda wants to know… if you could drive Route 66 in a classic car, what would that car be? Tell us the year, make and model!

The History of the Easter Bonnet

14 March 2021/0 Comments/in Roadrunner Lodge /by Rhonda

Carol asks: How did the tradition of wearing an Easter Bonnet begin?

Little girls love wearing Easter Bonnets

The Easter Bonnet was first worn at what was to become the traditional Easter Parade. The Parade began in New York City in the 1870s, on the first Easter after the end of the Civil War. The event was celebrated with crowds carrying flowers, clothed in uplifting pastel colors to signal the “renewal of life”. Eventually, the Parade became a yearly ritual for the social elite to attend Easter church services and afterward parade down 5^th Avenue in hopes of onlookers, and each other, to be granted a chance to show off their new Easter hats and bonnets.

1960s Convenience Foods

18 January 2021/0 Comments/in Roadrunner Lodge /by Rhonda

Great question, Sue! Being a mom and homemaker in the 60s gets easier every day with new and innovative items we discover on our grocer’s shelves. I only buy the very best NEW convenient foods from the 60s for my family of 4. We start our day with choices my kids ask for. Have you tried the new super-sugary breakfast cereals for that extra energy BURST in the morning, like Froot Loops, Honeycomb, Cap’n Crunch, and Lucky Charms? And, for after-school snacks, Pringles, Bugles, Ruffles, Pop-Tarts, Doritos, and Chips Ahoy are a real treat! I recommend you try the newest soft drinks, Gatorade, Tang, or Sprite too. They go perfect with the new Squeeze Cheese (aerosol cheese is my new best friend) and let’s not forget spaghetti-os!

What exactly is a Lava Lamp?

2 December 2020/0 Comments/in Roadrunner Lodge /by Rhonda

Lava Lamps can still be purchased today, and come in a variety of colors.

Mickey asks: What exactly is a Lava Lamp?
The original lava lamp was designed by the inventor of lava lamps and founder of the company “Mathmos”, Edward Craven Walker, revealed the invention of the Lava Lamp in 1963 and 1964 and has been in continuous British production since then. A classic lava lamp contains a standard incandescent lamp which heats a glass (traditionally tapered) vessel of a specific liquid and “lava”. The “lava” formula from a 1968 US patent consisted of water and a transparent or opaque mix of mineral oil, wax, and carbon tetrachloride. The clear water or mineral oil can is typically colored with bright shades of transparent dye. It is presumed that Walker came up with the idea for the lava lamp after watching a homemade egg timer as it was bubbling on a stovetop in a pub. He hired British inventor, David George Smith to develop his vision as well as the chemical formula, and the idea took off.

Who Gave Us Mini Skirts?

18 July 2020/0 Comments/in Roadrunner Lodge /by Rhonda

Bettie asks: Who invented the mini skirt and when?

Hello Bettie, Hemlines are starting to creep up in the mid 60s, born from the world-wide youth culture’s longing for fresh, fun and flirty styles. Up until now, teenagers were much like their parents. They dressed and acted like their parents and for the most part started raising families when they were right out of high school. As a result, teen culture before the Vietnam war started was practically non-existent.

We are seeing drastic changes in culture, politics, tolerance during the 60s and it is leading the way for the liberation of women! The mini skirt was most widely associated with Mary Quant, a London boutique owner and fashion icon. Quant herself is hesitant about the claim that she invented the mini skirt, rather to give credit to her customers as they actually have been driving the hemlines higher through requests.

Do you know Twiggy? The fashion model rising to fame in 1965 was most likely the movement’s figurehead. Her pixie haircut, large eyes, thick lashes and childlike frame were contrary to the mature female icons of the previous decade. What a decade of change!