
After the fun of Vegas next stop was Los Angeles but first we had to find our way back on to Route 66 and after a couple of lovely stops on the way we were soon on the outskirts of the sprawling metropolis that was LA.
And I had thought the traffic in Vegas was bad!!
However, we eventually crawled through the Friday evening rush hour to reach Santa Monica and finally made it to the official end of Route 66 after 17 days and 2,960 miles!!
It was a relief and a sense of achievement to have finally made it and now we had three days to enjoy LA and all it had to offer, chill out and relax a bit before the long flight home via Chicago.
After settling in to our hotel we decided to take a stroll and re-familiarise ourselves with Santa Monica and in particular 3rd Street Promenade and the new Santa Monica Place, where we were very kindly helped by a Santa Ambassador who kindly pointed out I couldn’t smoke on 3rd Street!
Admonished to the corner of 3rd and Broadway I skulked on the corner enjoying my addiction when I was challenged again for my bad habits! But not for long!!
No sooner had I found myself a quiet corner to continue my nicotine fix when I was approached by a woman who started to chastise me for smoking and did I realise how much I was damaging my health and how much it could cost in medical bills if I got cancer?!!
Whoah I thought to myself, this is not happening, looking around to see if Sarah had put her up to it or if it was some kind of American candid camera! But it appeared not and she carried on giving me grief until I told her I was not having this conversation and turned my back on her.
When I shared with Sarah what had happened she laughed so hard, only in LA!!
The following day we headed to Hollywood and the traditional tourist traps of the Kodak Theatre, Chinese Theatre and even a 3 hour tour of the Stars Homes! Tacky but fun and we did spot Sharon Osbourne having lunch on Sunset Plaza!
A fun day and all was well as we headed back to Santa Monica in our hire car until WHAM some idiot hit us from behind!
We pulled over and got out of the car to assess the damage and exchange details with the idiot who had ran into the back of us – and who panicked so much he phoned the emergency services!
Before you could say book him Danno the LAFD and the LAPD were on the scene!
However, seeing as nobody was injured they were not interested and would not even be filing a report, leaving us to deal with it ourselves.
Thankfully Alamo were very helpful and supportive and we felt confident and reassured that it would all be dealt with smoothly, thankfully. (and it was!!)
Bruised mentally, if not physically,, by our driving encounter in Hollywood and encouraged by the fun we had at the Grand Canyon we decided the following morning to venture out on bikes that were available to hire from the hotel reception desk.
Having navigated our way across the main roads and down to the cycle track along the beach we decided to head for a nice quiet ride to Venice Beach. Sadly so had about 3,000 others, it was so busy with bikes, roller bladders, runners and any other form of exercise routine it almost felt as if we were back on the highway!
But it was fun as we cycled at a sedate pace in the glorious morning sun burning through the clouds and built up an appetite for brunch!
Along the way Sarah was convinced she saw Ricky Gervais cycling the other way trying to look anonymous but declined my offer to behave like an idiot abroad and chase after him to see if it really was him!
It was a very pleasant way to spend the morning, watching the helicopters flying in the guests to Kim Kardashian’s wedding along the coast as we cycled back towards Malibu before heading into town to see what was happening there.
We had tickets that evening for the soccer match at LA Galaxy, which would feature not only David Beckham but also Robbie Keane who had signed this week from Spurs and would be making his debut tonight so we were planning an early dinner.
However, as we reach 3rd Street we noticed a film crew at work and being the nosy tourists we are we poked our noses in to see what was happening.
It turned out they were filming the audience reactions to the verdicts on The People’s Court! And before we could say guilty we were asked if we wanted to take part!! Oh yes I said, Sarah slightly less eager held back but agreed when she was told she didn’t need to say anything!
Imagine her surprise when the host – Harvey Levin of TMZ fame – shoved the microphone into her face and asked for her opinion of the case!
It airs in the US on September 16th we were told but so far don’t appear to be able to find it on the 625 stations we have on Sky!
Time for a quick shower, bite to eat and then off to the Home Depot for the match – and another Kodak moment when I managed to spot Gordon Ramsay on his way to his box and stopped him for a quick photo! Sadly Sarah missed him as she had gone to the ladies at the time!!
Saturday night traffic was heavy and it was getting on for midnight when we got back, time to pack and get ready for the flight home the next morning.
It has been an amazing trip, full of memories that will last a lifetime and some experiences never to be forgotten. If you are thinking of planning a trip like this my advice is simple – do it!
Finally, given our experiences with my health problems on day one and the car smash at the end don’t ever try and save a few pounds by not being properly insured, our experiences showed us just how important it is to be properly protected on a journey such as this.
Now, where did I put that Cars DVD……….