Dec 1, 2021
Are We There Yet? — Roadtrip Games
MORE 1962 FUN & HISTORY
This week, Roadtrip-’62 ™ is doing something truly different. I’ve got a few games you can play to pass the time while on the road! When I was young, back in 1962, my brothers and I used to play various games in the car to keep us occupied. My favorite one was to log all the different gas stations or gas station billboards we could find. We would keep track by brand to see who had the most stations in whatever area we were traveling. There were always the familiar Gulf, Standard, Cities Service, Texaco and other big oil company brands and one of these always had the most. But back then, there were a lot of independent stations too. We loved finding one-off brands that were new to us. Today, that pastime would not be as interesting, as I suspect that on any given trip you would not find more than about eight different brands out there.
But you can play games like that any time by yourself. I have a few pencil-and-paper games for you today. First up is a crossword puzzle featuring clues from 1962. I’ve been interested in crossword puzzles since I was about nine years old and constructed many using the tiles and board of Scrabble Junior. I think this game was on the back of a regular Scrabble board we had but I cannot find any evidence it was ever sold that way. Scrabble Junior was first sold in 1958. It was designed to be easier for kids under age nine because it had pre-printed words on the board so you did not have to remember how to spell words. In fact, you probably learned how to spell words just by matching. Anyway, I would design crosswords on the space. Here’s my adult 1962-themed crossword for your enjoyment! (Answers at the end of this post.)
ACROSS:
3. First done at a Target store in 1962
7. Studebaker car model new in 1962
8. Continent of China-India war of 1962
11. Region of US
12. Owed as a debt
13. US President during 1962
14. One more than one
16. Car used in 1962 James Bond film, “Dr. No” (2 words)
18. First US manned orbiting spacecraft
19. Businessman Billy ___ Estes, investigated in 1962 for fraud
20. Public service announcement acronym
21. Catholic Pope during 1962
23. Poem
24. 7th note of Tonic Sol Fa scale
25. Television communication satellite launched in 1962
DOWN:
1. 1962 World Series winning team
2. Painted outdoor advertising spaces
3. Industry unsuccessful in raising prices in 1962
4. Informal greeting
5. Cooking utensil
6. transistor device for music listening
9. 1962 World’s Fair city
10. 1962 Kentucky Derby winner
15. Post Kashim Ibrahim was appointed to in Nigeria in 1962
17. African country became independent in 1962
18. Chairman of People’s Republic of China in 1962
19. Pacific island country became independent in 1962
20. Fruit-filled desserts
21. Popular peanut butter brand in 1962
22. President Eisenhower’s nickname
Another of my favorite games is a maze. Here’s a roadtrip maze: get from home on US-6 in Indiana across Ohio to reach Pennsylvania. But NOT on the fastest or straightest route! Instead, the task is to travel at least part of EVERY US-numbered highway in Ohio…in order. Alright, alright, let’s try almost in order. There are a few places where that does not work, but I’ll list those below so you can navigate to the next road that is in order. See the map above for the maze; here are the highways in order and the special instructions.
ROUTES:SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
- You do NOT have to drive US-20 ALT, US-50 BYP, or US-50 ALT.
- You can use any of the orange connector routes outside of Ohio at any time, and as often as needed. (These are not numbered highways but merely connectors to ensure that when you leave Ohio you can return.)
- When traveling US-30, you can choose either US-30N or US-30S. You will need to retrace part of this area later, to cross from US-68 to US-127, and at that time you must use the opposite route.
- EXCEPT for the following, you must travel each route number only ONCE. These links must be traveled TWICE:
- US-6 and US-20 overlap for a short distance northeasterly from Cleveland.
- US-21 and US-250 overlap for a short distance.
- US-22 and US-40 overlap for a short distance.
- US-23, between US-223 at Toledo and US-224, must be traveled once northbound and once southbound.
- US-27 and US-33 overlap for a short distance southeast of Fort Wayne, IN.
- US-36 does not leave Ohio. The easterly end must be accessed from US-250, northwest of Wheeling, WV. You will need to drive this part of US-250 TWICE, traveled once northwestbound and once southeastbound.
- From US-52 along the Ohio River, you will need to use a short piece of US-68 out of order, BEFORE you drive US-62. You will travel part of US-50 westbound out of order to return to US-68 northbound.
- As mentioned in #3 above, you will need to travel part of either US-30N or US-30S out of order, between US-68 and US-127.
- And of course, like any maze, AVOID THE DEAD ENDS.
That’s more than enough driving for one day! I’ll see you next time at Roadtrip-’62 ™ for more sight-seeing. Oh, and click these links to see the crossword and maze answers. I hope you got them all right!
All photos by the author and Copyright © 2021 — Donald Dale Milne, except as noted.
All other content Copyright © 2021 — Donald Dale Milne.
Originally published at https://www.roadtrip62.com.
