Wednesday, August 25, 1999
Epilogue
It's now been ten days since we arrived home safe & somewhat sound from our adventure. Looking at the pictures I've since developed makes me realize that those images, though plentiful (way TOO plentiful according to Cindy), only capture a very small amount of the spirit of Route 66. The trip really was so much more.
To backtrack, after arriving at Santa Monica and the end of 66, we looked around for a motel room, but we failed to realize that a room at Santa Monica beach would be neither cheap or easy to come by. We finally found a room at the Holiday Inn Santa Monica beach and paid WAY more than I would have liked. Since we had planned on a motel instead of a hotel, we didn't have anything in the car consolidated for a bell hop, so we were embarrased to get all our junk piece by piece out of the car while she looked disgusted and loaded it onto her cart for the trip up to the room.
The next morning we decided to take a look around LA. First stop was Santa Monica Pier. The pier has many shops, street vendors, and some amusements & rides. Chris got a Henna tatoo....temporary (thank GOD!).....but lasts about two weeks. We went down to the beach and waded in the Pacific Ocean. Our hotel was just across the street from the pier, so we had left our stuff in the room while we explored. We checked out, and headed for Venice Beach.
Chris loved Venice Beach. All up and down the boardwalk (made of asphalt actually) were small shops selling everything from sunglasses to CD's to tattoos and piercings. Chris got another Henna tattoo on his arm from one of the vendors. There were artists displaying their works under large umbrellas, and the thing Venice Beach is famous for, the bodybuilders at Muscle Beach. Along one section of the beach a movie production company was filming a music video. People watching here was fascinating.
When Chris had his fill of Venice, we headed for the hills of Hollywood. We saw the stars in the sidewalk on Hollywood and took a picture of the "HOLLYWOOD" sign up on the hill. Chris was hoping to see someone famous, but we didn't see anyone we recognized.
The rest of the day was spent driving around Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, and Bel Air, seeing the sights. We found the House of Blues on Sunset Strip & ate supper there.
Earlier in the day we had found a TraveLodge close to the airport, so we headed back there for the night. It was time to consolidate all our junk into the smallest number of bags possible for the airplane trip home.....it didn't prove as hard as I had imagined it would be.
The next morning we headed to the airport at 5:30 am. Dropping the rental car went without a hitch, and we checked our bags, which were loaded down with dirty clothes, souvenirs, and big hunks of petrified wood, with the Skycap at the curb. The plane, a huge 747 was packed full of travelers, but other than the typical crowded conditions, the flight was uneventful.
Our luggage all arrived at the baggage claim apparently undamaged, and we rented a couple of the airport luggage carts and headed for the train to the long term parking lot. Our car was there just as we had left it, and after loading the stuff into the trunk and back seat, we filled up with gas and hit the interstate for home.
The interstate through downtown Chicago was bumper to bumper as usual, but no major traffic tie-ups. As we turned east on I-80 and headed into Indiana, I swerved toward the center of the 8 lane interstate and hit the concrete median divider. The car stayed stable and just ground hard into the cement until I was able to stop it. Luckily, neither Chris nor I were hurt, and the air bags didn't blow up. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but at the time of the accident I had been listening to this comedian on a CD and had just been laughing really hard at a particularly funny part...maybe I hyperventilated, maybe I nodded off.....not sure. A police car pulled up almost immediately and took all the info from me. He asked if I had a cell phone. When I said I did he told me to go back to my car and call the wrecker. Fortunately, the damage to the car seemed confined to the left front fender, the door and the front tire which was destroyed. The engine compartment seemed intact, and I hoped I'd be able to drive the Aurora home to be repaired. My Triple "A" card had a toll free number which I called and within 45 minutes a wrecker was there who put my miniature spare tire on the back and moved the back tire up to the front drive wheel. As we pulled back into the lanes of traffic the car shaked and groaned and rattled, but did seem to be driveable. The steering wheel pulled hard to the left, but I was able to go about 55 mph and pulled into the garage at home at 11:00 pm.......what a day!
We unloaded the car and I dumped my bags in the office and bedroom, to be unloaded after a good night's sleep in my own bed.
Chris told Cindy HIS interpretation of some of the idiosyncrasies of his father that had been annoying on the trip, and of course, Cindy just fed right into that!
We ended our journey tired, safe, with many memories, souvenirs, and 21 rolls of film to be developed.
Someday.....who knows when.....I'd really like to do the trip again. Or maybe I'll explore another two lane highway. I have a few in mind I'd like to check out.......
See you on the road.
Joe
August 25, 1999
To backtrack, after arriving at Santa Monica and the end of 66, we looked around for a motel room, but we failed to realize that a room at Santa Monica beach would be neither cheap or easy to come by. We finally found a room at the Holiday Inn Santa Monica beach and paid WAY more than I would have liked. Since we had planned on a motel instead of a hotel, we didn't have anything in the car consolidated for a bell hop, so we were embarrased to get all our junk piece by piece out of the car while she looked disgusted and loaded it onto her cart for the trip up to the room.
The next morning we decided to take a look around LA. First stop was Santa Monica Pier. The pier has many shops, street vendors, and some amusements & rides. Chris got a Henna tatoo....temporary (thank GOD!).....but lasts about two weeks. We went down to the beach and waded in the Pacific Ocean. Our hotel was just across the street from the pier, so we had left our stuff in the room while we explored. We checked out, and headed for Venice Beach.
Chris loved Venice Beach. All up and down the boardwalk (made of asphalt actually) were small shops selling everything from sunglasses to CD's to tattoos and piercings. Chris got another Henna tattoo on his arm from one of the vendors. There were artists displaying their works under large umbrellas, and the thing Venice Beach is famous for, the bodybuilders at Muscle Beach. Along one section of the beach a movie production company was filming a music video. People watching here was fascinating.
When Chris had his fill of Venice, we headed for the hills of Hollywood. We saw the stars in the sidewalk on Hollywood and took a picture of the "HOLLYWOOD" sign up on the hill. Chris was hoping to see someone famous, but we didn't see anyone we recognized.
The rest of the day was spent driving around Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, and Bel Air, seeing the sights. We found the House of Blues on Sunset Strip & ate supper there.
Earlier in the day we had found a TraveLodge close to the airport, so we headed back there for the night. It was time to consolidate all our junk into the smallest number of bags possible for the airplane trip home.....it didn't prove as hard as I had imagined it would be.
The next morning we headed to the airport at 5:30 am. Dropping the rental car went without a hitch, and we checked our bags, which were loaded down with dirty clothes, souvenirs, and big hunks of petrified wood, with the Skycap at the curb. The plane, a huge 747 was packed full of travelers, but other than the typical crowded conditions, the flight was uneventful.
Our luggage all arrived at the baggage claim apparently undamaged, and we rented a couple of the airport luggage carts and headed for the train to the long term parking lot. Our car was there just as we had left it, and after loading the stuff into the trunk and back seat, we filled up with gas and hit the interstate for home.
The interstate through downtown Chicago was bumper to bumper as usual, but no major traffic tie-ups. As we turned east on I-80 and headed into Indiana, I swerved toward the center of the 8 lane interstate and hit the concrete median divider. The car stayed stable and just ground hard into the cement until I was able to stop it. Luckily, neither Chris nor I were hurt, and the air bags didn't blow up. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but at the time of the accident I had been listening to this comedian on a CD and had just been laughing really hard at a particularly funny part...maybe I hyperventilated, maybe I nodded off.....not sure. A police car pulled up almost immediately and took all the info from me. He asked if I had a cell phone. When I said I did he told me to go back to my car and call the wrecker. Fortunately, the damage to the car seemed confined to the left front fender, the door and the front tire which was destroyed. The engine compartment seemed intact, and I hoped I'd be able to drive the Aurora home to be repaired. My Triple "A" card had a toll free number which I called and within 45 minutes a wrecker was there who put my miniature spare tire on the back and moved the back tire up to the front drive wheel. As we pulled back into the lanes of traffic the car shaked and groaned and rattled, but did seem to be driveable. The steering wheel pulled hard to the left, but I was able to go about 55 mph and pulled into the garage at home at 11:00 pm.......what a day!
We unloaded the car and I dumped my bags in the office and bedroom, to be unloaded after a good night's sleep in my own bed.
Chris told Cindy HIS interpretation of some of the idiosyncrasies of his father that had been annoying on the trip, and of course, Cindy just fed right into that!
We ended our journey tired, safe, with many memories, souvenirs, and 21 rolls of film to be developed.
Someday.....who knows when.....I'd really like to do the trip again. Or maybe I'll explore another two lane highway. I have a few in mind I'd like to check out.......
See you on the road.
Joe
August 25, 1999
