What a day. The traffic in Los Angeles is insane! Mike and I vowed never…….I mean NEVER to travel to and from Los Angeles between the hours of 9 AM and 6 PM ever again. It literally took us over four hours to get from the beginning of Foothill Boulevard in Rialto to the Santa Monica pier on Route 66 and almost three hours to get from the pier back to the Wig Wam! Talking about the stress poster child!! I could have been the spokesperson for Mylanta!
Although Route 66 has lost most of the old-time charm approaching Los Angeles, many cities along the way take great pride in their stretch of the Mother Road, and many modern signs/shields and businesses exist along with many former gas stations and many old hotels. We drove by the Sycamore Inn and found the giant Aladdin lamp at the Magic Lamp Inn in Rancho Cucamonga. Mike managed to snap a photo of the Madonna on the Trail Statue and a really quick photo of the Foothill Drive-In Theater sign in Azusa. We also took the earlier alignment in Monrovia to check out the vintage station on Shamrock Avenue.
Once we got on Colorado Boulevard, traffic really picked up and slowed us down. There is plenty to see on Route 66, but we just didn’t have the time or there simply was nowhere to pull over at each vintage motel/café to take pictures, so we decided to push on through Highland Park to Sunset and Santa Monica Boulevards in time to make the pier and spend some time with Dan and Jessica at the 66 to Cali stand on the pier!
Jerry’s description of the end of 66 on the corner of Lincoln and Olympia is correct. It was truly unsatisfying. There is no “End Historic 66” sign like there is in Chicago. If one looks at the history of the western terminus, it changed a handful of times over the years. In recent history, one site near the pier did bring closure to the journey. Many people visited the Will Rogers Highway Marker in Palisades Park. It is an “unofficial End” of Route 66.
There is, however, an “Official End” to the Mother Road once again at the Santa Monica pier, thanks to people like Dan Rice and Jim Concle. Check out “The Story” http://www.route-66-to-california.com/the-story. We got to the pier, saw the sign, and thought it was great! Dan and Jessica were incredible hosts and are terrific representatives of the Mother Road. One can hear the passion of the road in Dan’s voice as he shares his 25 years of Mother Road experience. I had to buy the tee shirt Jerry was wearing when I got my EZ Guide autograph (I am wearing it as I write this)!
The drive back to the Wig Wam Motel was also excruciating. A drive that could take an hour and half took nearly three hours, even by taking the interstate. The drive was worth it. You MUST stay at a Wig Wam! The teepees are cool on the outside and the inside. The grounds are well maintained, and there is Route 66 ambiance everywhere. I cannot describe it in words……….JUST DO IT!
We were both hoping we had more time, as we would have spent another night, but the end of the “Dudes on the Mother Road” westward journey on Route 66 had reached a conclusion. Tomorrow we are going to visit Ronnie James Dio’s grave (RIP Ronnie) and then it’s on to San Jose to drop Mike off and pick Rich up for the return trip to Litchfield, IL for the Route 66 Festival!
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