DAY 14

We got up in Barstow, CA. at the Best Western. I went downstairs and got my Motor ready for travel. I looked around and the other Motors were still tucked away. Just as I was finishing, Jim cam down and started on his Motor. I went to the lobby for breakfast. I looked around and couldn't find the continental breakfast. I asked the lady at the front desk and she pointed to the room next door and said that it was in there. I went is and, sure enough, it was there. I served myself breakfast and sat at a table in the corner. As I ate, I watched Jim and Kathleen walk past the breakfast area and into the lobby. Soon after they came inside. J.B. and Bruce were next to come to breakfast. They walked past the breakfast area and into the lobby. Soon after they came inside. Jan was next. We were betting that he would do the same. He did. He walked past and into the lobby. He walked in soon after. Bruce, J.B. and I applauded Jan as he walked in. Bruce called his a "D.A." (dumb ass) for doing as he did. We also told Jan that we all were D.A.'s because we did the same thing also. Chuck was the last to arrive. We were betting that he would also be a D.A. ...he was. He missed the room. We all had a laugh about it. We finished our breakfast and packed our Motors. It was a very nice day for riding. None of us had to wear a jacket. Jim led us a few blocks away where we gassed up our Motors. We left at 8:40 AM.

I took over the lead and we rode southbound en route to Santa Monica. We were very close and it saddened us that we were almost at the end of our journey. I was happy to lead this leg because we were going to an area that I am very familiar with since my family and I have made many trips to the L.A. area, including Santa Monica. We stopped after riding 97 miles and at 10:03 AM in West Covina for a pit stop and to drink. It was warm after coming down the hill. We left at 10:28 AM and continued.

We had no problems maneuvering the L.A. freeways. When we passed L.A. and were closing in on Santa Monica, there were two collisions. The freeway became backed up and we had some waiting to do. We got through it and at 11:20 AM after riding 38 miles, we arrived at Santa Monica, CA. at the pier. We found a parking lot close to the Pier. Jan, J.B. and I waited with the Motors while the rest went sight seeing. We didn't want to leave the Motors alone with a lot of our gear packed on our Motors and exposed. Chuck and the rest later returned and told us that they found the 'Marker" indicating the end of Route 66. They took photos there and at other places. The view of the beach, Santa Monica Pier with the carnival atmosphere, the distant mountains and the ocean was breathtaking. Chuck and the rest returned and it was our turn to explore. Jan, J.B. and I walked to the "marker" and also took pictures. As we walked back to the parking lot, we stopped at the entrance of Santa Monica Pier and spoke with the attendant. We asked if we could bring our 6 Motors, position them in the lane under the Santa Monica Pier sign and take a picture. The attendant said that it would be OK to do it...so we did. We returned to the parking lot and told the rest. We rode our Motors to the entrance, entered and made a u-turn all in single file. It was impressive to watch. It must have been. Most of the people in the area stopped to watch us make the u-turn and position our Motors for the picture. The attendant was kind enough to take my camera and take the picture. It came out pretty good. Especially the green Goldwing with the Bald guy! :) We made this photo op a quick pose because we didn't want to get the attendant in trouble. We left and got back on I-10 eastbound. We were trying to get out of the L.A. area as soon as possible.

As I stated earlier, Chuck had forgotten his gas cap in Needles, CA. when we stopped for gas. This trip has been his trip for losing things, such as his rain coat and swimsuit. Luckily Bruce had spares and Chuck has been borrowing them. Hopefully Chuck won't loose his underwear! Anyway...as we rode eastbound on I-10 we stopped at 12:55 PM after riding for 53 miles in Montclair, CA. at a Harley Davidson Store. Well, we almost made a trip without going to one the those! :) This was a good break because it was warm, the Store was air conditioned and they gave free iced water. We looked at the new Harleys and the Harley guys were trying to convince Bruce and me to trade our Goldwings in for Harleys. We left the Harley Dealership at 2:37 PM.

We rode a few blocks north to a restaurant called, "The Hat." It was in Upland, CA. We arrived at 2:40 PM and 1 mile later. It was very good food and they served very large portions. We could have shared a small order of fries among the 7 of us. After lunch we rode next door and gassed up our Motors. We left at 3:42 PM.

Bruce was up to lead now. Bruce took us northbound toward Barstow, CA. After going northbound on I-15, we turned off and got onto 66. We followed it for approximately 29 miles and at approximately 1 mile from the Lenwood/Barstow city limits, we stopped by a large "Route 66" sign painted in the middle of our lane. We took pictures standing next to the sign when there weren't any cars coming. We posed with our Motors on the road and even lying on the street. We were in front of a house and the homeowner came out and questioned what we were doing. We told him that we were all right and that we were tourists! He went back in his home. We left at 5:11 PM.

We rode for another 3 miles and at 5:55 PM we were eastbound on Main Street of Barstow, CA. Bruce was leading with Chuck behind him. We got to the intersection of Main Street and Avenue H and the traffic light changed to red. Guess what? We all stopped for the red light...except Chuck. He rode right through it! The light changed to green and we pulled into a parking lot about a block away. The first think Bruce asked Chuck was, "Why did you go through the red light?" I was going to verify it with Bruce before I ribbed Chuck about it. Too late! Everyone starting in on Chuck. We took some pictures in the area and Jim and Kathleen rode nearby to a Train Museum and took pictures. We were done at 5:50 PM. At 5:55 PM we stopped 3 miles away for gas. We decided to top off our tanks and continue to Needles, CA. where we intended to secure for the night. We left at 6:18 PM.

Even though we gassed up our Motors, Bruce still led us. We headed for Needles. It soon became dark and we all had to secure our sunglasses. Some of us didn't have a place to put them so they went down our shirts. At 7:44 PM after riding 107 miles, we stopped at a rest area in Fenner, CA. We took a pit stop and put on our jackets. It was getting cold. We left at 8:01 PM.

So now we arrive in Needles. When we were at the rest area, Chuck had called the Best Western in Needles to make sure that there were rooms available for us. He was told that there were and there are 2 Best Westerns in Needles. They are about 2 blocks apart. Chuck knew which exit to use to get to the Best Western of our choice. Chuck was now leading because Bruce asked him to lead. Chuck exited I-40 at a different exit. He made a turn, then another turn, and then another, and then another...I was toward the rear of the pack and we were taking a tour of somewhere in Needles. I know that we passed a car wash twice and a high school once. Nonetheless, we found the Best Western. It wasn't the Best Western that Chuck had called. It was the other one. We still got a good rate and there as a good restaurant next door. We arrived at the Best Western at 8:10 PM after riding 39 miles. We checked in and unloaded our Motors. We then tucked our Motors in for the night.

We went to the restaurant for dinner. Kathleen stayed in the room. While at dinner, we all, except Jim, ordered a celebratory cold, draft beer. We toasted our journey, as is our tradition, and now await our next ride. Next year we are going to ride the Pacific Coast Highway starting in San Diego, going up to the Van Couver area and then southbound passing through Yellowstone Park. Well, that is our plan so far. It could change. Well see...

We rode 426 miles today, which wasn't bad, considering that we spent a lot of time in Santa Monica and at the Harley Store. Tomorrow we will enter Arizona and ride the Oatman area of Route 66. This is the area that we skipped because of "Bike Week" in Laughlin, NV and all of the bikers in the area. We have plenty of time to do this and to take our time. Our journey will end tomorrow as we will return to Phoenix and our Loved ones. This journey will have lasted only 15 days as opposed to 36 days last year. Since we will finish tomorrow, it will be in time for our weekly "COFFEE TIME" (or as my family calls it, our TEA TIME) at Denny's on Tuesday. I can hardly wait! :) More blog later...