Sat 7th & Sun 8th June - LA Galaxy & Homeward Bound

Hollywood sign - taken from the Hollywood & Highland Centre.
Come on the Galaxy! Good game! We love you David!

That can't be good! Entrance to LAX, flight home getting nearer! (Although at that point I think we all wanted to be at home!)

Friday 6th June - Santa Monica

As the end of the route is in Santa Monica we decided to spend the day at the beach.
The common concensus was that we should've based ourselves here instead of Hollywood. There seemed to be a better vibe going on.

Done it! That plaque is the end of Route 66 and thereby the end of what we set out to do on May 25th. Total miles clocked in the car was 2,607.

Not bad, not bad at all!

About10 minutes after this pic was taken we saw Vinny Jones!

Thursday 5th June - Leaving Las Vegas

Today was reminiscent of the day after Albuquerque as we left Las Vegas and headed for Los Angeles. Slight difference today was that we'd be dropping the car off and the "roadtrip" would be complete.

From Burbank (car drop off point) we got a cab to the Hollywood Orchid Suites (right behind Hollywood Boulevard) and checked in for the final leg of our trip.

Las Vegas

Three nights in Vegas obviously kicked off with a few beers and some gambling.

All three nights we stumbled upon "Margaritaville" as they had an awesome house band. "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Save a horse, ride a cowboy" were set highlights.

Dueling piano's at the piano bar in Harrah's were visited two nights. Really good atmosphere in there.

View from the front of Circus Circus
Circus Circus all lit up!

Las Vegas is too big to take in 3 days, that's why I want to again and again.

It's all quality, over the top quality, I love it!

Monday 2nd June - Off the route to Vegas baby!

Up and at 'em we were today as we would be leaving the route behind for a detour to Las Vegas. We stopped to see the Hoover Dam before getting on the road once more to finish the trip to Sin City.
I took this photo standing in two states!

Our Vegas home! (Circus Circus)

Sunday 1st June - Grand Canyon then Kingman, AZ

Anyone who goes to the canyon should do a flight over it. The views are amazing. Having said that, doing a flight if you don't feel very well is at your own caution!
Colorado River running through the canyon

We took advice from the guy at the tours place and he said we would be better off staying in Kingman rather than Seligman. With this advice on board we left the canyon and headed for Kingman. We visited Seligman and it was a really nice little town. We then drove the old route loop via Peach Springs to Kingman. Again, the scenery is top draw.

A visit to Walmart, and then we checked into another Motel 6. Dinner was at JB's and it was pretty good. We went to pick up some beer and snacks and then played poker and watched TV.

Saturday 31st May - Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona then drive to the Grand Canyon

After an early night, we opted for an early start as we had designs on seeing Winslow, Flagstaff and Williams before staying at the Grand Canyon village that night.

After we all had pictures "Standing on a corner" we were on our way. We visited the meteor crater en-route to Flagstaff, that's a big crater!


We arrived at the Grand Canyon village late afternoon and checked into the Red Feather Lodge. We went for a drive up to the Canyon itself and we were all amazed by it. (Like millions of other people no doubt!) A walk around, a few snaps and we headed back to the village to book a flight over the canyon the following day.

Dinner that night was ok, nothing special. However, special mention should go to the biggest serving of Garlic Mushrooms ever!

Friday 30th May - ABQ to Holbrook, AZ (ah, quiet time!)

Sore heads and late nights meant the first hour or so leaving Albuquerque for Holbrook, AZ was pretty quiet. The landscape in New Mexico / Arizona is something else. It's so beautiful!

Before Holbrook is the Petrified Forest National Park. We visited it and yet more extraordinary views!


On the road once more, and Holbrook was short drive away. We wanted to stay at the Wigwam Motel (rooms pictured) but unfortunately they were fully booked. We drove through the town and found a Motel 6 that was more than adequate (and $99 for two rooms too!). An hour or so by the pool and then it was time to eat.

As lovers of fine cuisine, we opted to take our evening meal at La Pizza Hut. 4 large pizzas later and we'd left more than half! Just too big! We found a bar where we had a quick beer and a few games of pool before heading back to the rooms to watch a film.

Thursday 29th May - Halfway there, few beers in Albuquerque!

Breakfast in the Steak Ranch, before buying Cowboy hats in the gift shop was the start to what turned out to be a very good day on the route!

Just past Amarillo is the famous "Cadillac Ranch"
We had to stop and take a few snaps (although we did actually drive straight past it!)

Back in the car and we realised that halfway point of Adrian, TX was nearby. We stopped for a drink and a look around the gift shop before taking on the second half of our mammoth journey!
Crossing the state line into New Mexico and we had a list of stops before reaching our Ultimate destination of Albuquerque. The first of these was Tucumcari to see the famous Blue Swallow Motel. Second up was the Blue Hole pool in Santa Rosa. We decided to have a kickaround with the football here and dip our toes in this big natural pool.


We were back on the road again headed for Albuquerque. We arrived about 5.30pm (ish) checked into our motel and hit the pool for an hour or so. We were all buzzing from the last couple of days in particular so we thought we'd make a night of it out on the town. The taxi dropped us in a popular part of town and we started the night in Maloney's Tavern. We went on to a comedy club and then another bar before retiring for the night. Good night out had by all in Albuquerque.

Wednesday 28th May - Is this the way to Amarillo?

After breakfast we headed into Oklahoma City. We visited the National Memorial. Very moving experience.

Once we were on the road again we headed for Clinton, OK and for the Route 66 Museum. A must if you're doing the trip. One of many souvenir pickup places en-route!

After leaving Clinton, we were heading for Amarillo. We stopped in Shamrock for a quick snack and a drink (first in Texas!)

We checked into the rooms at the Big Texan Steak Ranch (all saloon / western themed) before heading across the car park for one top notch steak dinner!

Several pitchers of Dos Equis (XX) and we were once again suitably fed and watered.

New Mexico tomorrow, goodnight Texas!

Tuesday 27th May - Lebanon, MO to Edmond, OK (via Kansas)

Another early start today. We checked out of our rooms and decided to get straight on the road and aim to pick up some breakfast in Springfield, MO. We hit a Steak 'n' Shake in Springfield and it was really good. A bird flew straight into the window next to us and died which caused our waitress to break down in tears! Awkward situation!

Suitably fed and watered, we got back in the Durango and headed for Kansas. As Route 66 is only 13 miles in Kansas we had to make sure we didn't miss it!


We stopped by a little cafe / shop in Kansas called "4 women on the route". This place was the inspiration behind the Disney film "Cars". They even have their own "Tow-Mater".

A quick ROUTE-Beer and numerous photos and we were back on the road. (...and soon out of Kansas!)

Our plan for today was to reach Tulsa at least. After reaching there relatively early, we decided to keep on driving so we were closer to Oklahoma City for the following day. (We wanted to visit the National Memorial). The very old alignment of the route in Tulsa takes you literally all around the houses!

After filling up at a gas station in Kellyville, OK we continued on and stopped for dinner at Dan's BBQ place in Davenport, OK. After looking at the map we decided that Edmond, OK would be where we would rest our heads tonight. We checked in at the Best Western, and it was a really nice place. The lady at reception gave us a good rate, so we were happy.

Approx 300-350 miles driven today and we had taken so much in. A couple of beers was on the cards so we found a bar and played some pool and drank some bud! (and met the founder of the Oklamhoma City Thunderc....!)

Monday 26th May - Litchfield, IL to Lebanon, MO

Early start required today as we planned to do quite a lot. First things first though, we went to a place called Jubelts (right next to the Ariston Cafe) and had a really good breakfast!

From there we headed to St.Louis, MO and headed straight for the Arch (you couldn't really miss it!) Inside the arch was really interesting, and well worth a visit. Bad weather and enormous queues meant that we didn't go up to the top.

As we were on schedule for the day we decided to take a trip to the meremec caverns. Now, we thought that as they were advertised as Jesse James' hideout that the tour would be somewhat related to this. Er.. no, good tour if you are into Geology! (DO NOT TOUCH THE ROCK!)
The trip to the caverns took longer than we thought, but we really wanted to make it to the Munger Moss Motel in Lebanon, MO that night. It was recommended highly on various sites, books, etc. It didn't disappoint! I would recommend to anyone doing the route that this place is a must!

Evening entertainment came in the form of the retro 70's bowling alley across the street. Cheap games and cheap beer ensured a busy day finished well!

Sunday 25th May - Leaving Chicago, heading West!

We picked our car up from the pickup point and were surprised to find that we could have a better car than what we booked and paid for!

So after acquainting ourselves with the Dodge Durango, we headed out of Chicago to pick up Route 66 so that the adventure could begin.

Our first stop was at the Launchpad Cafe where we had Chilidogs and took pictures of the Gemini Giant.

We travelled through to Springfield, IL where we walked around the preserved homes of Abraham Lincoln and friends. Having planned to make it to Litchfield, IL that evening we got back in the car and did just that.

We decided on Litchfield as our research had pointed out that the Ariston Cafe would be a great place to eat, and that it was steeped in Route 66 history. We only just made it before they closed but we were greeted warmly and Jimmy - our server - looked after us for the evening.

We were going to head to a bar across the road from the Ariston but the heavens opened and it made getting across there a harder task than it should've been. (I can vouch for that as I slipped and fell in a ditch!)

Soaked through and no beer, we were back at the Super 8 for a relatively early night with our sights set on making St.Louis early the next morning.

Saturday 24th May - Chicago

First stop today was Navy Pier, but not before heading to Bubba Gump for some Breakfast!

After taking in Navy Pier, we headed for Sears Tower before taking in a few shops.

As we were picking the car up first thing the next day we decided on having a quiet night and a nice meal.

Friday 23rd May - London to Chicago

After flying from London Heathrow to Chicago via Philidelphia, we were only two days away from picking our car up and taking on "The Mother Road".

Upon arriving in Chicago we checked into the Red Roof Inn Downtown and headed out in search of a well needed beer!

We quenched our thirst at Timothy O'Toole's. What a bar this was! We played some pool, drank some beer and ate some food. (Signs of things to come!)