Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd June

Left Queen Mary for our two day drive to San Francisco. Roads quiet, lovely sunny day. Took photos at Santa Monica Pier on the way and bumped into a couple we met in Springfield, Illinois on our very first night on Route 66! Hows that for co-incidence? They remembered us and the Route 66 T-shirts helped.
Stopped at Bob's Beachside Cafe at Paradise Cove for breakfast - we should have known when we passed a stream of brightly coloured Ferraris leaving! Not the most economical breakfast experience of the trip!
The road was not as we e3xpected, a lot of inland driving, lots and lots of wind (again), b ut very varied and very beautiful nevertheless.
Stopped at a 50's railcar diner for afternoon tea and the best gooey cinnamon bun we have had!
Hotel at Pismo Beach beyond expectations and for once was exactly like it looked on the internet! Lovely setting and very good accommodations, walked on the beach into town and back, us girls went into the jacuzzi while the boys talked bikes. Walked back in to town for dinner and had really good clam chowder.
Monday morning set off again, very long, but scenic route through Big Sur, stopped for lunch there, the cliff road was fantastic but the drops were quite breathtaking (JC not happy bunny).
Somehow missed connection for 101 and took PCH1 right to the end, detour of some miles, but worth it. Also stopped to watch elephant seals and feed little cliff squirrels, very sweet.
Gave hire car back, took taxi to hotel in Union Square, excellent location.

Thursday 29th May

Arrived Santa Monica separately by accident as got separated in the traffic! Not as bad as we feared though, the day started with us meeting up with John and Max in Rialto, coming in on old 66 as far as we could, but we were running out of time to make it and return the bikes on the same day. so took the option of speeding up the process and went in the last few miles by Interstate - well, we did, but somehow J and M ended up doing all the old 66 down Sunset and Santa Monica Boulevards! We had the quick, scary and uninteresting route while they had the comfortable easy but slow route. After we met up, took bikes back to Eagle Rider - they hung on for us and after much discussion (reasons for all that later) we finally caught a cab to pick up our hire car. Arrived tired and road weary on the Queen Mary about 7.30pm. Dinner on board and early to bed as totally kn.........d!

Wednesday 28th May

Left Barstow on 66 towards Helendale, Oro Grande and Victorville. The route was not as we expected at all - all sand and non-existant places, just little groups of low grade housing. Oro Grande is very disappointing, industrial cement works marr the area. Lots of closed up shops etc.
Victorville wasn't too successful as missed 66 cafe and the museum was closed, so carried on to Apple Valley for coffee. Separated here, we went on up to Big Bear Lake and J and M went on to Rialto and the Wigwams.

Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th May

Two days spent exploring Las Vegas and the various casino attractions, we went to see 'KA' the Cirque de Soleil at MGM - it was brilliant. Travelled on the monorail a lot - but funnily enough the entrances are always right at the back of every casino and no exit signs were in sight! Waited to see the Sirens at TI show, but due to high (not really) winds the show was cancelled - we were all very disappointed, so went back to Hotel and went up to the 107th floor for a cocktail or two!

Friday 23rd may

Left Laughlin separately, John and Max going via the I95 and us the I93 - this was deliberate! We both encountered horrendous cross-winds and neither road had any services for miles and miles! By the time we reached the Hoover Dam we were virtually running on air. The terrain was mainly flat and scrubby, we were between two mountain ranges but they provided no shelter from the wind, in fact they probably made it worse. We rode over the dam, I jumped off to take photos and the plan was to meet Mick on the other side - this proved to be impossible as you are not permitted to do what I did (no wonder I got strange looks) and there is NO dropping off, picking up or crossing of the barriers permitted AT ALL and UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!!! A friendly security man pointed this out to me after I had been spotted on camera trying to break the law! We were lucky not to get a fine, but fortunately although the bike was on camera, we had no registration plates as it was a brand new bike! Lucky eh?
The wind and the unexpected drop-offs stopped John and Max on the other side of the dam, so we met up with them there and as it was about to bucket down, stopped for lunch. A wise decision as it absolutely threw it out of the sky for some time.
We continued to Las Vegas together, but after getting lost and losing each other, we went to Harley Davidsons to get the bike checked out and John and Max continued to the hotel, where we met up at almost the same time. The Stratosphere was ok, huge and very noisy, but....when in Rome. Lugged all the bags into hotel, we have more than we started with - its all those t-shirts the boys insist on buying. We, on the other hand, have been really good and not bought a thing - well, not much anyway! Ours take up less room.

Thursday 22nd May

Separated after breakfast, J and M going to Oatman via the I40 and us going up and over the moutains (!) via Sitgreaves Pass. Riding out over the desert felt like you were riding to the end of the world as the road seemed to go straight into the mountains. Lots of abandoned RV's and mobile homes (people buy them on retirement, then no one wants them and so they eventually are claimed by the desert). We stopped at Cool Springs - the retired sailor who runs it was interesting to talk to so we stayed ages. Fresh coffee too. The road from here on in got more and more twisty, uneven and higher - to take my mind off the drops I filmed the ride! It was a really fantastic road though, Mick loved it. The views from Sitgreaves Pass itself were fantastic, you could see for miles and miles. Carried on down into Oatman, where J and M were waiting. Their ride from Oatman was pleasant down the I40, the road to Oatman became a bit twisty, but there were no drop-offs so JC was ok! Had lunch in the Oatman Hotel where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard stayed on their wedding night. The room looks the same - very tiny and no bathroom. The walls of the restaurant and bar area are covered in dollar bills - proper currency all signed by their donators. Bought yet more 66 t-shirts! Stroked the burros, who are quite friendly but very stubborn - if they are in the doorway and they don't want to move - they don't! They have access to just about all of the town. Watched a gunfight - again and also said goodbye to the AMA group, who were heading direct to Barstow.
We took a really pretty rocky route towards Laughlin, breezy again but bearable. Checked into the Aquarius Hotel - our first sight of a full-on Casino. Rooms very good, nice views over the Colorado River. Wandered along by the river and tried a small gamble in the Edgewater Casino.
Lost -of course!

Wednesday 21st May

Breakfast at Route 66 cafe before leaving williams for kingman. Dry but very blustery, lovely stretch of road. Went on Interstate 40 as far as Ash Fork, then switched to old 66. Crosswinds all the way, desert and juniper trees were our backdrop for the morning. Stopped at Seligman for coffee at the Snowcap (loos very intresting), old 66 frontier town, full of 66 memorabilia shops and tourists - lots of Japanese taking photos of everything. Continued on to Peach Springs, there was no let up from the buffeting wind - great clumps of tumbleweed were flying everywhere, one struck my boot - glad it wasn't my leg! Scenery mostly desertlike and very flat. Had lunch at only eating place in Peach Springs - the Hulapai Lodge. Short ride to Route 66 cafe at Truxton, where we couldn't resist sharing their home made cheesecake! 25 miles further on, after riding through some lovely rocky terrain, we stopped at Hackberry Stores where we bumped into the AMA group again (first seen at Meteor Crater). They were also staying in Kingman that night. Hackberry is very interesting, lots of old retro photos, furniture and 66 stuff. Maxine got the lo-down from an old lady who seemed to know all there was to know! Road into Kingman was wide open desert with scrub again, as ever we were accompanied by the railroad. The flatland is surrounded by fantastic purple mountains and the town sits in the middle. Stayed same place as AMA group and had really good Chinese for dinner - as recommended by their tour guide, Frank.