The parade to Santa Monica and the End of the Road.

Friday, Oct. 8 -- Rialto, Calif.

This day, our last, dawned clear and crisp. That was the good news. The bad news was that my e-mail had been hacked. It seems I was now selling Korean computers, which certainly is better than selling blue pills for men! I quickly changed my password and hoped that all was OK.

For at least half an hour, we'd heard the throaty rumble of 1950s-era engines as other T-Birds rolled into the Wigwam Motel. Here were our fellow T-Birders from several local clubs -- Inland Empire, Palm Springs and  Southern California -- ready to accompany us in our triumphal drive to the End of the Trail in Santa Monica. In all, 12 Birds made the trip to Santa Monica, but not without incident.

Before we left the Wigwam, we lined up the four PSEB Baby Birds by one of the teepees with Les and Jo's "California or Bust" Bird in front. Perhaps one of the photos will see the light of day in a magazine?

We began as a grand parade on the freeway, attracting an unbelievable amount of attention. It was beautifully planned: Lucy was in the lead, followed by our little group, and Doc was the last car; they were able to communicate using hand-held radios.

Unfortunately in short order we lost half the group; someone had a fan belt failure that caused overheating. The Birders behind the disabled car stopped to help, and soon our small PSEB group at the  front of the caravan was running solo. Lucy doubled back to find the breakdown with us in tow. By the time we got there, repairs were underway, and believe it or not, we all arrived at the Santa Monica Pier in tact and pretty much at the same time.

Once in Santa Monica, Lucy led us onto the iconic wooden Santa Monica pier where parking had been set aside so we could all be in a group. We were quite the attraction as we rolled onto the pier and also after we were parked. A lot of cell phones recorded our beauties --we'll never tire of this kind of attention!!

Before we went to lunch, Gordon ceremoniously attached our new Route 66 front license plate to the grill. "This is never coming off," he says.

And Lin Somsak, a member of the Southern California club and editor of the international T-Bird magazine, Early Bird, presented each couple with a customized khaki baseball cap, "We Did It!" We can't thank Lin enough for her generous and thoughtful gift commemorating our arrival in Santa Monica. It has become a treasured memento of the entire trip.

Lucy had arranged for lunch at Bubba Gump's, a popular eatery on the pier that takes its name from the movie, "Forrest Gump." Sad to say, two of our group had to leave at this point: Earl still wasn't feeling well, so he and Jane opted out of the lunch and began the trek home. Also, Les and Jo had to beat feet homeward because Jo was due back in her office on Monday.

Lucy's lunch plans went far beyond the usual. She and the others who joined us on our tour to Santa Monica paired up with a PSEB couple and treated us to lunch! It was such a surprise and so generous of our T-Bird friends.

Lucy presents a "Mother Road Musical Memories" CD to Nancy.

In addition, Lucy presented each couple with a CD she created, "Mother Road Musical Memories" "for the Thunderbird Road Warriors of Washington." This not just some CD in a plastic sleeve; this is the full-meal deal -- a CD case with photos of Route 66 on the front and back covers as well as the CD face itself, and a personal inscription, "From one Road Warrior to another! -- Lucy Clark." The 20 songs all pertain to Route 66 and include "Going to Chicago," "St. Louis Blues," "Dust Bowl Refugees," "King of the Road," Amarillo by Morning," "Fourteen Miles to Barstow," "California Sun," and my personal favorite, "It's Hard to Find the Old Road Signs of U.S. 66!" Lucy is some kind of clever sleuth to have found all these songs, and we all are delighted to have this special remembrance of our journey.
Thank you, Lucy!

Doc presents a certificate.

Not to be outdone, Doc Dockter, the other consummate T-Bird Road Warrior, also had something for us: A Route 66 Completion Certificate from the "Thunderbird Road Warriors of Southern California." Below our names, it says "for driving about 3,552 miles out of your way to cruise all 2,448 miles on Historic Route 66 (The Mother Road) from Chicago, Illinois, to the Santa Monica Pier in California in a Classic Thunderbird." It's signed by both Doc and Lucy. Ours will soon be in a frame and on the wall for all to see. Thank you, Doc!

Once we'd finished lunch it was time for a group photo at the End of the Trail sign, and then, for the benefit of a local newspaper photographer, we paraded off the pier and then back on. From there it was hugs and goodbyes and heartfelt thanks to our T-Bird hosts. The trip that was our dream during more than 18 months of planning had come to its official end. The reception by the California T-Birders put the frosting on the cake for us -- it was a wonderful and gracious send-off as we headed north toward home.

We took Pacific Coast Highway, our old Malibu stomping grounds, out of the L.A. area with Duane and Nancy and Bill and Doris on our tail. It was a beautiful afternoon as we sped up the coast with the shimmering ocean on our left. Our goal for tonight was San Luis Obispo, which would put us in good striking distance for another T-Bird gathering tomorrow in Los Gatos.

As we went inland, the sputtering and gurgling we'd heard in the exhaust system when we were in Arizona got louder. By now we were sounding like a truck and as we came downhill into the valley, we backfired every time Gordon let up on the gas. I remember when it was cool to make your car backfire; not now however.

We plan to check it out tomorrow, but for now, it's another motel room in another town.

Saturday, Oct. 9 -- San Luis Obispo, Calif. --

Gordon was on the phone bright and early trying to find a muffler shop that could take a look at the Bird.  He located one in Arroyo Grande, about 15 minutes south of SLO and was off by 8 a.m. Once they had it on the rack, it was obvious that the exhaust system was just plain exhausted! The head pipe needed to be replaced. This was something we could not have foreseen -- there had already been a lot of wear and tear on the pipe, but the continued driving at speed and the heat over the past 21 days had accelerated its deterioration. Although it meant we'd be late to Los Gatos, it was something that had to be repaired.

We left SLO shortly after noon and put the pedal to the metal to get to Los Gatos. Our hosts, Barbara and Paul Perry, live in a beautiful canyon surrounded by redwood trees. Barbara had met the other two PSEBers to lead them to her home, but we plugged the address into Gypsy and we had no problem at all. Actually, their house would have been hard to miss -- countless Baby Birds lined the road on both sides -- quite a sight to see.

Birders from nearby clubs, and some not-so-near such as Region 3 Director Chuck Korenko and his wife, Lani, who came from Sacramento, had put on a potluck meal. What a joy to have real food instead of restaurant food! The burgers and dogs were delicious, the salads were plentiful, and the desserts were to die for. We enjoyed meeting so many fellow Birders and had fun sharing some of our Route 66 tales.

Although he couldn't be there because of a family wedding in Las Vegas, Doc Dockter, who lives in the Bay Area, hatched the idea of this wonderful T-Bird gathering and did a lot of the behind-the-scenes communications and coordination. We're so glad he did! Thank you, Doc.

Once again we were struck by the genuine friendliness of other T-Bird owners. Perhaps it's because we share the love of an American icon, or perhaps it's that only really cool people own these marvelous machines. Whatever the reason, we revel in the camaraderie we experience no matter where our T-Bird takes us. Our thanks to all the Northern California folks who came to the Perrys' lovely home, and we thank Barbara and Paul for their delightful hospitality. We would love to have the chance to reciprocate some day.

And so our Route 66 saga comes to a close.


Would we do it again? In a heartbeat -- but we probably won't because the open road is calling us to new places: Canada Highway 1 through the Rockies, and the network of back roads from British Columbia into the wilds of the Northwest Territories and Alaska.


Do we recommend it? Absolutely. It gave us a look at a bygone America.

What did we learn? That Route 66 is alive and well . . . traveled, that is, not by the people who once supported hundreds of gas stations, motels and diners as they went from Point A to Point B. Instead, today it is a remarkable asphalt ribbon that is a mecca for nostalgia buffs worldwide who want to catch a glimpse of automobile travel in America as it was 70 or more years ago.

And yes, we DID get our kicks on Route 66.

Judy and Gordon