Day #11

The spooky story continues…

So, I woke up at 6:00am because of how early I had fallen asleep. Pete had climbed into bed with us, and Steve was waking up, too. I put on my shorts and went to check on Andy in the other room (well, look at his door…he was locked in). I decided to step out onto the balcony in the front of the hotel to see what the weather felt like. There were two guys sleeping on chaise lounges out there!

I came back inside and locked the door. I checked on the desk downstairs, and still no one. So, I went back into my room and wrote my blog for the day before. When I went to get Andy up, I asked him how he slept. He said that he slept okay, but the party upstairs woke him up. I asked him “What party?” He said there was a lot of laughter, clinking of glasses and he thought he heard music or a TV. I was hoping I was going to get the chance to ask someone about the balcony sleepers and the party Andy heard.

Once everyone was showered and part-way packed, we headed downstairs. There was a woman there vacuuming. She had brought breakfast items for us. As we were sitting there eating, the phone rang and I heard her end of the conversation. Apparently someone from the wedding party thought they had left something behind and he/she was hoping they had found it. As she talked to the person we all heard her say “Yeah, I know. We are listed in a few Haunted Guide Books.” That is NOT what I wanted to hear!

Once she was off the phone, I mentioned to her about the two sleeping guys on the balcony. Apparently, there had been someone else in the hotel in room 208, and they had gotten spooked and ended up sleeping outside! She also said that no one was up on the third floor, that they very rarely have anyone sleep up there. It was very very VERY creepy. She also told us about her conversation with the guy on the phone. Apparently he had been shoved through a door during the reception when no one was behind him (AND, she made it a point to say, he WASN’T DRINKIN’!) Again, this was NOT what I wanted to HEAR!!

Anyway, we left as quickly as we could and didn’t look back. After getting ice and LOTS of water, we headed out of Kingman and towards the Mojave Desert. We watched the temperature in Needles climb to 103 and it was only 10:30 in the morning! We drove a lot of Route 66 through the desert. I think it was a more interesting way to go than via the ‘super slab.’ We stopped at one point outside of Amboy to write “Bumba” with rocks alongside miles and miles of names and words other people have written with rocks. It was fun! (as long as you avoided the snakes)

Amboy was cool because of Roy’s Café. This is an INSITUTION along Route 66 and has been closed since 2003 because the original owner passed away. It was just featured in the June edition of Route 66 Pulse that it is going to be opening again soon. We stopped for a potty break and to go inside. The guy inside, Larry, was great. We bought a few T-shirts and visited with him. It will be opening as soon as they can get it all fixed up. It looks wonderful inside; and what a great place to stop in the middle of the desert!

Anyway, moving on, we headed through many a “used to be” town…many towns don’t even have any buildings anymore. I can’t IMAGINE having a business in the middle of the desert! We stopped in Ludlow at the Ludlow Café and had a pretty good lunch, and then did a little on again/off again of Route 66.

Mostly our day consisted of taking quick photos from the car and moving on. It was HOT so who wanted to get out?! (I think it got to about 110 for the high…which Larry said was great! It HAD been 127!...lucky us?) We saw a covered wagon which was possibly used on the TV show Death Valley Days, an old Solar Power plant, the Baghdad Café (from the cult movie? Never seen it), two dormant volcanoes, a Bottle Tree Ranch and Roy Roger’s Ranch.

Once we made it through Barstow, we had to get back onto the highway to make it through Cajon Pass. Route 66 used to be here, but they put the Highway right on top of it (mostly). Once we got on the highway at Cajon Pass, we didn’t get off again until Pasadena (“Uh, Steve, don’t we want to get off now and see the original McDonalds or the Giant Route 66 Coffee Cup?” “No! We’re making good TIME!”). I had to tell the kids that San Bernardino was ‘over there’ so that they would know we had made it to the end of the song: “You go through St. Louis, Joplin, Missouri, Oklahoma City is oh so pretty, you’ll see Amarillo, Gallup, New Mexico, Flagstaff, Arizona, don’t forget Winona, Kingman (yuck), Barstow, San Bernardino”!

So, even though we are at the end of the song, we aren’t quite to the end of the Route. Tomorrow we get to the Santa Monica Pier and we can say ‘WE DID IT!!’

Meanwhile, we checked into our hotel, which ended up being the huge Family Suite with THREE beds, AND a NICE WARM POOL (and not very expensive, I must say)! AND NO FREAKY GHOSTS!! Hurrah! After the long, hot, sticky desert, we WELCOMED the pool. After swimming, we showered and dressed, and headed out to Old Pasadena (recommended by our friend Ben Hardy who lives in Hollywood…we’ll see him tomorrow) We had an excellent dinner at a place called Yard House (Good Beer, Good Rock). After dinner, we retired to the hotel so that we can be rested for tomorrow. I am so glad we don’t have to pack up in the morning. We get this most excellent room again for another day…yay!

Tomorrow…we MAKE IT ALL THE WAY!!