Road Trip Day 21 - Wednesday,15th May, 2019

Headed out of Pasadena the next day after a brief tour around the various routes that 66 followed during its heyday. It is a prosperous city, made famous in the UK recently as the location for the Big Bang Theory. As a fan of the series, I spent a futile half-hour trying to find the apartment building as listed on fansites. However, I did spot these!

Sign to CalTech, the university where
 Sheldon, Leonard,Howard, and Raj
work.

The Cheesecake Factory where Penny worked

There are many Route 66 sites in Pasadena, but they are spread out across the number of different routes that the road took through the city at different times, and the traffic was heavy, so I must admit to giving them a miss. I was also planning on getting to Santa Monica to take a look around that day, before I flew out. 

Driving through the environs of Los Angeles on Santa Monica Boulevard was slow and tiring. Sunset Boulevard, at this end, was dilapidated and a far remove from the glamour the name conjures. Palm trees vie with looping telephone wires and power lines along its length. It seems extraordinary that America has failed to bury all this cabling. But this is a paradox that seems to persist. In the midst of all the beauty this country has to offer, there is an ugliness born of - indifference? lack of will? lack of a cohesive political strategy? It extends to the attitude to recycling and managing waste; to the abandonment of the unwanted and unused rather than cleaning up; to the continuing despoilment of the land in search of resources. 

 The contrast when you move into West Hollywood, which is the next neighbourhood, is stark. Suddenly, it all changes. This 1920s/30s building was undergoing renovation. 

And part of that transformation is having Pride. Specifically -

There is a neighbourhood in St Louis called The Grove. Until relatively recently, it was just another deprived, run-down area of a city which had seen better days. Until the LGBTQ+ community moved in, bought up the lovely little brick houses and the rows of shops, renovated them and created a lively, thriving community. It looks like West Hollywood has been similarly transformed.

There is a memorial garden dedicated to Matthew Shepard, the young boy killed in a homophobic attack in Wyoming in 1998. His murder led to the introduction of a hate crimes bill, signed into law by Obama in 2009. Within it a a number of commemorative plaques charting progress on equal rights.

The wide streets leading off Santa Monica Boulevard are lined with purple Jacaranda trees.

This bathing belle and mobile art decorates the median in West Hollywood. 

West Hollywood merges into Beverly Hills -  opulent, flashy - and then into Santa Monica, with its spindly palms.

Route 66 officially ends at the junction of Lincoln and Olympic, which is a road junction and little else. 

 A more picturesque "ending" has been created at Santa Monica pier by Road enthusiasts, which means you get to see the Pacific.

Santa Monica Pier is a bustling, touristy, gimmicky place. Think English seaside town with better weather and more overseas tourists. But it has the same slightly desperate, faded charm.

 Meet Esmerelda's brother, Zoltar, although this is a recent copy.

This small chain of fairly recent pop-up stands originated in Canada. It serves Japanese style hotdogs - the usual sausage loaded with Japanese toppings and flavourings, such as Terimayo, with teryaki sauce, mayo and seaweed. There were queues. I think I've seen it all now.

Los Angeles International Airport is surprisingly close to Santa Monica, so I headed straight there. On the way, I passed through Venice Beach, location of Baz Luhrmann's film of  "Romeo and Juliet". It was impossible to drive near it, but a back street revealed this oddity - a mermaid house. It seemed a fitting end to a trip full of curiosities and testaments to people's fertile imagination and boundless creativity.

Sadly, I said goodbye to Ruby at the Thrifty car return. She had carried me for 3,400 miles.

I had just missed the 4.55pm to London, owing to the distance to the Rental Car Return from the airport entrance and the time it took for the bus to get through the traffic, so I bought a standby ticket for the 21.35. Treated myself to Premium Standby, which I thought would upgrade me to World Traveller Plus, but in fact upgraded me to Business. A pleasant surprise at the end of a long journey. 

Road Trip Day 20 - Tuesday, 14th May, 2019

The road west of Barstow is described in the EZ Guide as very quiet, running alongside the railroad and criss-crossing the Mojave River, which is mostly dry. The traffic takes the I15 heading to and from Las Vegas, about 160 miles north-east. Not all the traffic, and that which takes old 66 is manic, driving way above the speed limit of 55 and very intolerant of little old ladies pottering along at 45 taking in the sights. The only thing to do is be ready to pull over every few miles and let them overtake.

Mojave River

Advertising sign for the defunct "Polly" gasolene brand in Helendale. Gas in the east is around $2.90 per gallon. By the time you get to California, it is nearer $5. The price on this sign, circa 1930, is in cents.

Site of an inn of ill repute owned by "Sagebrush Annie" at Helendale.

A little further west at Oro Grande is this extraordinary art installation, "Bottle Tree Ranch", created by Elmer Long. You are invited to walk freely around the yard, which dots artifacts from old 66 and elsewhere amongst trees made of bottles, many thematically chosen.  It is a place to be heard, as well as viewed as there are numerous windchimes. It is utterly captivating and I spent way too much time wandering around, spying odd items.

The Road Hog is a popular biker cafe, currently undergoing restoration.

Opposite was this bizarre place. No idea if it is a joke, a genuine advert or another art installation! 

The Cross-Eyed Cow pizza place in Oro Grande.

This "Modified Baltimore Truss" bridge crosses the Mojave River at Victorville.

Twenty miles west of Victorville, 66 gives way to I15 to negotiate the Cajon Summit to San Bernardino. The Cajon pass runs between the San Bernardino Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains and was created by the movements of the San Andreas Fault. It marks the end of the western desert. 

Seeing these poking over the horizon was puzzling. They must have been at the small regional airport called the Southern California Logistics Airport north of Victorville.

Looking back north to the pass

Looking back north-west to the summit.

Looking south towards San Bernadino

Another species of Yucca is found here - Chaparral yucca Hesperoyucca whipplei.

Once over the pass in San Bernardino, there is no more open country.  You are in the suburbs of Los Angeles which stretch from San Bernadino to the sea, 80 miles to the west at Santa Monica. I had hoped to make Santa Monica tonight, but the manager at the Wigwam Motel advised that with the number of stoplights on 66, it was a four hour, rather than two hour, drive. I might make Pasadena before nightfall. 

The Wigwam Motel in Rialto is another of the eight that sat alongside 66. It has recently been renovated and was fully booked. Each tepee is a room.

The businesses along old 66 take pride in their heritage, and alongside authentic 66 buildings and signs, there are modern interpretations, such as this one at Starbucks.

La Verne

In Glendora, the early route 66 passes through what are now up-scale suburbs with gated communities.

This is the re-purposed Foothill Drive-in Movie sign, now outside the Azusa Pacific University.

The restored Dale's garage and gas station in Monrovia.

The Aztec Hotel in Monrovia, built in 1925.

In Pasadena, 66 runs down Colorado Boulevard where the Rose Parade is held annually on January 1st, the precursor to the Rosebowl Tournament for College football. 

The Whistle Stop model train shop has been operating here since 1951.

This Denny's occupies one of the original California-style diners. On trips with the kids, we often went to Denny's as it was reliable and relatively cheap.  James, however, has never forgotten eating meatballs at one in Florida, which made him ill as they were undercooked. 

Spent the night in Pasadena.