Saturday August 1

Riverside to Santa Monica - 97 miles

We left a motel in Riverside at 8 sharp.  It was coastal cloudy in the morning.  We reached US 66 where we left off yesterday for a visit at CSDR and deaf social event in Riverside. 

Our first glimpse of US 66 nostalgia today was at the Wigwam Motel, an historic landmark on Foothill Blvd.  There were teepees which were well preserved for overnight stay.

Along the way we saw many US 66 icons and neon lites that showed a bit of charm of good ole' days.

We connected our way to the Arroyo Saco Parkway (the world's first freeway) that led us to the Oliver Street district in Los Angeles' first settlement for our lunch but there was no parking space for our motorcycles so we had to move on to the Costa Alleger Restaurant (authentic Mexican restaurant on Sunset Blvd).

The exciting part was that we went on Hollywood Blvd where there were many people being distracted by our motorcycle noise at the Grumman’s Chinese Theatre.  We considered ourselves like rebels invading the town that we saw "Wild One" by Marlon Brando. 

We stopped by the graves where one of the most famous people is buried at Westwood Village. We found the final resting places of famous stars including Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin, Natalie Wood, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Peggy Lee, George Scott, Burt Lancaster, Eva Gabor, Rodney Dangerfield, Dorothy Stratten, Brian Keith, and many more. 

After a long journey from Riverside for 7 hours, we finally arrived the end of US 66 route in Santa Monica at 3 pm. There was a large deaf crowd gathering and waiting for us at the side of pier so we were witnessed for the feat of dear’s historic group ride from Chicago. 

We had a big celebration and hugged each other inside the basement of parking lot. We were showered with water, not any of champagne or milk.  We had a closing ceremony at the Barney's Beanery at the Santa Monica Promenade.  Excellent location for Route 66 memorabilia!  We hailed Paul Stefurak for his hard horse work about planning the whole trip for several years.  Thank to him!  

After that the bikers went on their own way back to their original destination.

Total of Miles: 2284.3