So we left the motel at 8 or so, another bright and sunny day in California. We were told that it would take a half to hour to get there, ha ha. About ten miles down the line we spotted a car wash; we thought we could not drive to the pier in a dirty Corvette. This should shock any Vette people that are following the blog. Actually this is the fourth time I have done it on this trip.
Now off with so far good driving directions and we can even understand the CA map we are following. Hold it Jerry, I made a wrong turn and we saw some pretty nifty areas, cannot see how they can live adjacent? Well here is the road we are looking for, Sunset Blvd, down to Santa Monica Blvd.
Went from some run down stores to some just surviving; these were marked with some neat graffiti. Then into the Beverly Hills district where there is a lush grass park alongside the boulevard, many beautiful flowers, cactus and art pieces?
We get down to the Ocean Ave and there right in front of us is Santa Monica pier entrance but no end of Route 66 signage. So we went back to the guide and followed some directions, ran into a cop making a corner on a non-busy road and asked directions. Got back to the pier. We give up. We drove over a bridge onto the wooden pier.
There as we turn to go into the Old Pier parking ($7 not bad) we see the End of Route 66 sign but cannot drive close for a shot. It is situated over the center of the wndshield. But took one anyway, back end of the car with the sign 30 feet away. Well we will park and walk down the pier to see where to eat, no evening meal last night and no breakfast today.
I had seen on a website this morning about some restaurants in the pier area. I noticed a restaurant - Lobster, which turned out to be at the head of the pier and had an overlook of the Pacific, it was marked as a high end restaurant. But we will be here only once, so we walked back to it and found it would open in 45 minutes. So a stroll down the park area on Ocean Ave was in order.
There were many flowers blooming, the bird of paradise was just so nice. The trees had a weather beaten look to them but why? And a real beauty on them. We found a visitor booth and got directions to President Reagan’s Museum. There I struck up a conversation with a couple that had Gold Wing shirts on, turned out they were from The Netherlands, mentioned we made the Floriada in 02, they appreciated it. They had done a motorcycle run from LA to Cabo San Luca and back, headed back to Europe at 5 pm today.
There were many homeless people lying on the grass, one with a sleeping bag and blanket; one with a large suitcase on wheels; one with just a blanket and he had his shoes off lying next to him; there were more and some where ladies also. Most of the homeless were cruising the trash barrels, they always found something, no matter who just went thru it a minute before.
As we walked down the Avenue we came upon the Will Rogers park, called Paradise Par, Still maintained by the family. This marker extols the fact that he followed Route 66 and found his dreams.
Shirleen had a cup of coffee and a 1.5 pound Steamed American Lobster, sautéed Swiss Chard, Roasted Russian Fingerling Potatoes and Drawn Butter.
I a glass of Corte Giara Pinot Grigio for the meal a Sake Marinated Hawaiian Mahi Mahi with Sticky Brown Rice with Shitake, Almond and Scallions with young Broccoli and House Teriyaki sauce. We split a fresh baked Black Berry Crumble with a scoop of Home made Vanilla Ice Cream.
We then walked out on the pier; a steady cool breeze was blowing so we went to the end and back.
Now the story of our picture at the sign. When we went to have our pic taken there were four men taking there’s also and were wearing Route 66 shirts. I heard a foreign dialect and inquired where they were from. Responded Norway, I said welcome to America. I asked if they were here for anything special. They commented that they had done the Route 66 from Chicago to here. When did you start, Sunday March 7th at noon, I said we did same day but at 3 PM and we end up at the end at the same time. They took our picture but cut off the top of the sign as did a guy from Alabama, another from someplace in Europe. Finally we looked at where they would have to take the pic to get it all in, I looked around, a number of people but just then four young adults stopped by the sign, Ah they look into it. They agreed to take the pix and I asked where they were from Switzerland. Not many Americans around.
As the day had turned foggy we thought off to Simi Valley to get close to the Museum. With no really good map we winged it with what we had. We hit another of those roads that wound up and through a canyon. What fun, the curves were switchbacks and on a couple they dove down and curved quickly the other way and the front rubber damn scrapped the pavement.
It was also one of those house scenic drives, many houses perched high on the side of the hill without anyone around them. At times there were signs which could have been written in Greek as the towns and directions meant nothing to us. But we managed and here we are. In Simi Valley at the Posada Royale Hotel and Suites, a Best Western, one of the grandest I have every seen or stayed in. we are second floor over looking a pool area.
Next to the hotel is an Elephant Bar and Wok Grill, similar to the Phoenix one we ate at with Dave and Pat. We topped off the day with a light evening meal.
Shirleen had a glass of Kendall jackson Cab with a bowl of Baked Onion Soup with a side order of Sweet Potato Fries with a Szechwan spiced ketchup. I a glass of Guiness and a Kung Pao Shrimp – with tofu, red and green bell pepper, peanuts with rice and a fun meal. Jerry
1 comment:
Congratulations! You traversed Route 66 from beginning to end! Love, Mary
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