Day 23: Woo Hoo!!!!! We Made It!

Day 23, and we made it to the end of Route 66! We left San Benardino this morning and made our way to the end of our journey! Since we took a trip on the double six to Upland to visit our friends in the BNI Home Office yesterday, we decided to take the interstate back to that point this morning, and then scoot back to pick up the journey on the actual Route 66 pavement. We have often made bad decisions on this trip, and this was truly a double edged sword! Route 66 goes through Los Angeles. Not on the highway, but through the city of unique individuals. The interstates were glorified parking lots, and Sunset Blvd, never stops! No place to park and get out and walk, and if you did get a chance to pull off the road, you will have a heck of a time getting back in the flow. And the flow moves along at a break neck speed! No time to take pictures, so Hazel just held the camera over the windshield and started snapping! The other side of the story is that we gawked just like the tourists we are at EVERYTHING! The people, the buildings, the everything is just so very awesome!

We buzzed through Pasadena, Highland Park, and through the heart of downtown LA, on through Beverly Hills and down to Santa Monica! The traffic thinned out considerably through Beverly Hills and Belle Air, but once through there, it was Nelly Bar The Door...again! After that whirlwind drive, we were just numb. We walked along the pier stopping in at several shops, but buying nothing (told you we were numb), and decided to move on down the road to Venice Beach. It wasn't until we were back in the car that we realized that we didn't take one single picture of either of us under the Santa Monica Pier sign going woo hoo, or any picture of the Flat Boys celebrating the moment. Our penance is that we will have to go back there on our way out of town to record the momentous event.

We are now in Venice Beach/Marina Del Rey. Stepping onto Venice Beach is like walking into a carnival. The people; tourists, street performers, vendors of all sorts of odd and exotic wares and foods, and local residents combine to perform an endless promenade of gawkers and hawkers. It was after 6:00 PM when we started our search for a room. Once again, bad, bad decisions. We finally found the last affordable room and are finally getting the opportunity to stretch out and relax. We have booked the room for 2 evenings and plan to spend most of tomorrow at the beach getting sand between our toes. I have promised Hazel that I WOULD NOT feed the seagulls.

Before I sign off for the evening, I would like to send out a shout to Manoj Patel. On our way to Upland to visit BNI, we stopped at the famous Wig Wam Motel. Unfortunately, we had already taken a room for the evening, so did not stay there, but Manoj was fascinated by our tale and gave us the tour of 2 of the tee pees. These are really cool, and I highly recommend a stay there if you get the opportunity. The rooms are surprisingly big, with pillow top beds, and beautiful headboards. The grounds are well kept and tidy, and if Manoj represents the rest of the staff, it's a very friendly place. Thanks for the tour Manoj (http://www.wigwammotel.com/).

~ Penny S. Head