Along the road was what the guidebook called the "route 66 public art corridor". People have written their names on the side of the road with rocks for miles. There was also a shoe tree but I missed the picture. There was a "bottle tree" art farm that was really quite amazing!
The Amboy Crater is a national landmark with it's lava covering the desert
After Victorville we decided to stop for lunch at the Outpost Cafe. As we approached, their was a huge wall of fog ahead across the mountain pass. The temperature dropped from 86 to 63 in about 2 minutes as we got off the exit.
As we took off over the Cajon Summit you could hardly see anything. A bit scary!!! The temp kept dropping and ended up at 53 which is what it stayed all the way to LA.
By this point we just wanted to get to Santa Monica so we did not stop anymore but there are things to stop at along the way. The GPS said one hour into Santa Monica on the interstate but of course we took RT66 so it took us forever it seemed but really about two hours. We were going in at rush hour! Surprise! It wasn't any worse than driving in downtown Chicago. We were on city streets the whole time except a short section on Highway 110.
I spotted the HOLLYWOOD sign and knew we were really here!
We drove through West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, West LA, and then into Santa Monica.
FOR KRISTEN
ALMOST THERE!!!We never could find a sign that said THE END so went on into our hotel. The Hotel California!! also of Eagles fame. LOVE IT!!!!!
When i walked up to our door and patio, I had a strong sense of deja vu as I remembered my grandparents front porch. It was the smell of the wood that had soaked up lots of cigar smoke. It smelled really good and took me back to a happy time. I loved that front porch.
FOR DAVE-- in our garden
As we had started our trip with the sunrise over Lake Michigan in the east, we finished at sunset over the Pacific Ocean in the west. Unfortunately, it was overcast so we could not see the sun but I know it was there. We ended our trip at the Palisades Park or Santa Monica Pier with the official end of route 66 signage and a big celebration at Bubba Gump's on the pier. We took a walk down to the ocean to get my feet wet and a big wave came in and started washing my shoe out to sea. Luckily I was able to catch it!
A peace symbol route 66 shirt for the hippie in me!
On Tuesday morning we got up and drank coffee on our little porch and then we walked to the Santa Monica Goodwill. We thought it would be good stuff but it wasn't but Sonny got his GW fix. We went back down to the pier for more photos with sunshine and blue skies so some are repeats. Lots of homeless sleeping in the park.
THE GEORGIAN HOTEL ON 66
It's been a great trip!!!! There is something for everyone to see. We are not big on all the tourist trap places to shop for souvenirs but there are plenty of them if you like it. There are museums everywhere. We like the outdoor beauty and the history so driving worked for us because we saw a lot without going to museums. You could drive this road a dozen times and find different things to see and do. Progress is good but we saw firsthand what the interstate system did to these towns. It's reallly sad at times to know that people's lives were destroyed when their towns were cut off by the big road and they had to close their businesses and walk away from their homes. There was one business that is still exactly like it was 30 years ago when the owner locked the door and left.
I am done blogging this trip. It took us 11.5 days and we could have done it longer but I wouldn't recommend shorter. I might blog occasionly since we still have 2 weeks left but route 66 was the main purpose. i will probably tweak this and add more pictures in a few weeks but for now, I'm done and thanks for reading!
