Are you ready to take the ultimate road trip? We’ve written reams about the upcoming RI Convention in Los Angeles, but the journey is as important as the destination. With that in mind, we asked freelance writer Mark Mitchell to rent a car, start in Chicago (the birthplace of  Rotary) and drive old Route 66 to L.A., visiting Rotary clubs along the way. He’s not a Rotarian and admits being totally unprepared for the warm reception from enthusiastic, dedicated members he met in Lebanon, Mo.; Pauls Valley, Okla.; Shamrock, Texas; Deming, N.M.; Kingston, Ariz., and points in between. The romance of what was called the Main Street of America – celebrated first in the 1946 Bobby Troup composition “Get Your Kicks on Route 66” and as recently as the 2006 animated movie Cars – has never gone out of style. And musicians as varied as Nat King Cole (and daughter Natalie, who performs at a convention host event), the Rolling Stones, and country singer Brad Paisley, to name a few, have taken a crack at the famous song. We hope you enjoy Mark’s take on this iconic byway.

We’re doing Mark’s PR for him, but if it’s your club that needs a PR boost, read “The Media Are the Messengers” to find out how RI Public Relations Grants are helping clubs promote their service efforts. Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, talks to Editor in Chief Vince Aversano in “Top Doc” about the CDC’s part in the global initiative to eradicate polio and what it’s like to sit in the medical hot seat every day.

Then from the serious to the silly: Thinking of visiting another iconic destination – Las Vegas – before or after the convention? Well, you may be surprised to find an O’Keeffe painting or a five-star restaurant nestled among the casinos. Our travel columnist dishes on the Bellagio and other rarified spots. And if you don’t hit the jackpot in Vegas, you will at the convention where you’ll find Rotarians from everywhere in the world – and from Route 66, too.