Early on Easter Morning, Samantha and I boarded a flight to Ontario. Not Canada, mind you, but Ontario, California. The annual Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership meeting was being held in nearby Claremont the first week of April and we decided to make a little vacation out of the trip. Sam and I hadn’t visited southern CA together before so it was a nice opportunity to see some new spots and revisit places we’d seen separately before.
Back in 2009, when I left the country, I met Doug for the first time. He opened his home in Signal Hill before I stepped onto that freighter and his hospitality has been a California refuge ever since. This was the first time Samantha got to meet him and they hit it off immediately. Although rain had put a damper on Easter Dinner plans, we had a wonderful time visiting. When I’d first come west all those years ago, Route 66 was not even remotely a part of my life. Now, of course, it’s a big piece of my world. Doug had mentioned this to his Aunt Barbara, who was a big fan of the road, and she graciously put together a bag of goodies for me. She had newspaper articles, postcards, a few photographs, and a terrific 1992 66th Anniversary Map. When I flipped the map over, I was shocked to see it was purchased from the Oklahoma Route 66 Association! What a wonderful, small world it is. I haven’t been able to figure out where in Oklahoma her photo was taken exactly, but I’m still working on that.
That first night in California, we booked a unique overnight stay…on the Queen Mary! This 1930s-era ocean liner has been docked in Long Beach since 1967 and has operated as a tourist attraction and hotel. I was a little skeptical about what the experience would be like…but as soon I stepped aboard and was surrounded by the decor, it felt like time travel. Sam and I walked the sun deck and the promenade, marveling at all of the details. We learned about the ship’s time transporting troops during World War II, the care taken with the ship’s restoration, and watched the sunset from the bow. Our little stateroom was pretty snug, but that’s how it was. We had a delightful stay!
The next day was a full one. We started with a visit to the Petersen Automobile Museum in Los Angeles, where we were met by Jim Farber. Jim had curated a new exhibit that had just opened three days prior called, “Eyes on the Road.” It celebrated the art of the world in which the automobile operates and included works by artists such as Ed Ruscha and Andy Warhol alongside actual roadway artifacts from the Cyrus Avery collection, the California Department of Transportation, and Oklahoma’s own Jim Ross. There were also some FANASTIC space-age concept cars to further sell the imagination and artistic flourish of something we generally take for granted. The rest of the museum was also absolutely astounding…check out the photos to see some of my favorite displays. And you can’t miss that crazy building.
After we said farewell to Jim, we headed to Will Rogers State Historic Park. This beautiful tract of land near Santa Monica is the former estate of Oklahoma’s Favorite Son; it was donated to the state in 1944. His wife, Betty, donated the ranch house, the land, and all of the items inside which means it’s pretty much an exact capture of life in the Rogers home during the peak of his career. We were given an in-depth tour by a long-time docent and a park ranger, who were both excited to connect with someone from Will’s home state. They are also very excited about the upcoming Centennial of Route 66 – the Will Rogers Highway! We’re going to see how we can best collaborate.
Typically, those two stops would be enough for a day, but we had another place to hit while we were in the area: the Santa Monica Pier! Sam and I had both visited this spot individually but this was our first visit together. It also gave us an opportunity to stop and say hello to Ian, our friend at 66-to-Cali. I love looking through his photography and being a fly-on-the-wall as people stop to get their Route 66 completion certificate. One couple said that they had enjoyed Tulsa so much they were planning on returning and spending an entire weekend there in the future!
As is tradition, we also stopped to see the Will Rogers Highway marker in Palisades Park. That night we had dinner with our friend Toshi Goto, President of the Route 66 Association of Japan. The road is a linear community, after all.
That was just Monday! On Tuesday, we fulfilled a long-time desire of mine and went to Disneyland. I’ve been before, but not in quite a few years…and now I had a new, singular focus: Cars Land! It was a little surreal to walk through a life-size recreation of Radiator Springs, which itself was an amalgamation of so many aspects of Historic Route 66. It felt like a theme park built just for me and I tried not to point out every single little thing to Sam, but she did the same right back at me. My favorite detail was the small ‘Auto Corps of Engineers’ stamp on a truss bridge. And, of course, hearing Michael Wallis’ voice give instructions as the Radiator Springs Racers ride got underway.
The Star Wars area of the original park was also REALLY well done – as were the new rides there! Had Rise of the Resistance not broken down and caused us to have to return late in the day, we probably would’ve done it twice. At least we got to experience it the one time!
On Wednesday, we left the coastal area and headed to the Inland Empire for the Road Ahead meeting. We spent several productive days together working on our Mission and Goals, talking about the Centennial, and discussing new ways to work together for the betterment of Route 66 as a whole. I also got to see the inside of the Rancho Cucamonga Service Station for the first time, tour the Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino, and have an excellent meal at Vince’s Spaghetti, a local institution since 1945. Highly recommend!
Was it a busy week? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Southern California often gets the shortshrift when it comes to Route 66 since it’s at “the end”, traffic is intimidating, and people are eager to see the ocean. But don’t skip these communities between San Bernardino and Santa Monica – they all have amazing things to see and do.
Rhys' Pieces 
Dear Friend, Thanks so very much for sharing those wonderful pics. I’ve been to most of those places but not for many years now. In fact, I still have an unused E ride ticket to Disneyland I kept when my wife and I went on a Route 66 sojourn (married Balboa Park, drove 66 to Monterrey AND back in a week) as part of our wedding trip in June 1981. We then went next door to Universal Studios and took the tour, and the newest thing about the entire park in those days was a somewhat almost working Cylon they’d jury-rigged to make it look like it fired at that spot where the cute little waterfall would always almost swamp the cars. We actually met Debby Reynolds and Robert Wagner who were the stars they trotted by us Okies on the tour. Great Memories! Thanks for rekindling them for me. I appreciate you updates so much. Oh, as a Tulsa youth I actually got to meet our great state treasure Willard Stone when a boy in my class named Vince Hightower’s parents, who were family friends of the Stone’s were able to arrange for Mr Stone to come to my elementary school Herbert Hoover on Darlington Ave in Tulsa for a visit. Anyway, Mr Stone not only spoke to our class but he also spoke to the entire school, he also brought many exhibits of his completed works he then let children play with. Think how priceless those pieces are today. It was great fun and My Stone stayed at Hoover almost all day talking to different groups of rapt children and even showing little kids how to carve wood, it was after all the ’60’s. Please accept my pitiful non sequitur story as a small token of the enjoyment reading and seeing the pics about your trip brought this 66 year old who is currently hobbled up and using a walker after I had a hip replaced just last week. You can’t keep us Okies down.
Please Take CareRick Gragg
This is a wonderful story! Thank you so much for sharing, Rick. I wish you a full and speedy recovery.