We started out at a little after 9:00 this morning. Temp was about 80 F and it was partly cloudy. We let the Motel and headed west on Foothill Drive toward the Santa Monica Pier. Traffic was extremely light for about the first 25 miles.
It was easy to see that we were on Historic Route 66 from the signage along the road. Many towns along the way but none were ghost towns and there were not any shuttered businesses. This whole section was town after town with no break until we reached Los Angeles. I missed the sign that it was supposed to tell me to turn right for Historic Route 66. After a GPS entry, it set the route along several of the expressways and surface streets. We had a chance to see the LA Skyline from several miles west of it while on the expressway. We finally did get to the Pier and the Pier parking lot. $20 to park and if you leave the lot and come back, it is another $20. We walked probably a 1/4 mile to get to the main visitor entrance stairway and looked where the biggest crowds were. There were all kinds of people on the Pier & Boardwalk and on the beach.
The first thing I saw on the Boardwalk is what looked, to me, like it could have been the End Of The Route 66 Trail sign, but it was one side of a small souvenir shop. I stopped and asked the Lady in the booth if her booth was the official sign and she said no. She took a liking to Kelso and brought out some treats and a small bowl of water, pretty nice of her to do that. Kelso really like that. We did find the Official Sign about 200′ away so that formally finished the first portion of the trip.
Way too many people on the Pier so we went down to the beach. We did not go far out because there were so many people and I did not want Kelso looking for more treats from them. We did get of the boardwalk and walked in the sand. We stayed there for a while, a nice setting, just way too many people.
I have a nephew who lives in Torrance CA with his wife. Only about 16 miles from the Santa Monica Pier. We are going to meet them tonight and go to dinner and Kelso is part of the dinner group. Mike is a Veterinarian and works in the Torrance area.We spent the next couple of hours driving around looking for a motel near Torrance so we could rest and post today’s travels. We ended up at the Hampton Inn, about 15 to 20 minutes from Mile & Julie’s apartment. I am looking forward to a good Italian Dinner.
Tomorrow we head north on the coast highway. It will probably take us a couple of hours to get thru the LA Area and it’s associated traffic.
Glad you officially made it to the end of Route 66! Great to have a beach to walk around on!
Is the sand different there? Compared to Michigan.
At least the end of the route made a big deal. Interesting how along the way how abandoned a once main throwaway was at certain points.