Day 25

Days 19 through 25

Ok so I haven't posted in a week.  I've been busy.  Last I left off I was attempting to get to the Grand Canyon and turned back by the monsoon.  The next morning success.  I can't really do it justice with words but it is far more amazing than any picture can really portray.  I was having a hard time believing that my eyes were actually seeing this for real.  This are some pictures but everyone should really go and see it for themselves.

So there's thems.  I'm not the meandering type.  Usually I'll see something like this, take a picture and move on with my life but it's so amazing I wandered around for hours.

That was a long day.  The plan was to drive all the way to Barstow California.  Adding on many many hours at the Grand Canyon left little time to see other things along that days.  Stopped at the Gas and Grub specifically because of these two signs which were originally together on the side of the road.  Now they serve to draw customers into the gas station.

Into California where the first town to see is Needles.  It's nice to look around at the different things here.  Wish I had a bit more time but Needles welcomes you to California with this - -

And into Barstow for the night. 

Day 20 takes me into LA.
The first thing I had to see was the Griffith Observatory.  This is the spot where you can see all of LA and most people's photo opportunity with the Hollywood sign.

It's a really fantastic place for a view.  There are a lot of hiking trails and such if that's your thing.  Just like pretty much every other tourist destination, there were soooo many people there.  And then on to Santa Monica, the official end of Route 66. 
Traffic in LA is as bad as you've heard, probly worse, so it took me a few hours just to get down to the beach.  The pier is a neat little place to walk around.  There's a small theme park on the pier and a bunch of restaurants and shops.

While at the beach of course I had to get in just because.  It looks really nice out there but surprisingly cold.

And so this is technically the end of the Quest Out West.  I'll still be blogging a little on the way back but there won't be quite as many things to talk about.

So then I met my friend Chris for dinner in LA.  I'm not sure but it seems like all the restaurants are trendy places.  Stayed at his apartment for a few days and it was exactly the R and R I needed.  Driving isn't exactly the most demanding of tasks but non-stop for three weeks gets exhausting.  Day 21 was mostly just relaxing and enjoying unbelievably great LA weather.  Met my friend Graeme to check out Pacific Rim.  Really fun watch in IMAX.
Day 22 Chris and I decided  to go to Disneyland and California Adventure.  What a fantastic day.  Chris is a pro at this so we had an expert game plan.  Well, he did.  Anyway we got on a ton more rides than I would've been able to on my own.  So much stuff.  Just can't even describe.  Yea there's a ton of waiting in lines and such but just being there the whole atmosphere was awesome.  You can't really ride everything in one day.  It's impossible. BUT we rode as much as we could.  The Star Wars ride we got on three times.  

One of their newest attractions is Carsland.  Despite how I feel about the movie, this place is pretty sweet.  On the plus side it is all taken from Route 66 so this was kinda the perfect place after driving all the way on the Route.  The line for the ride was enormous.  I wouldn't have waited but we took the lazy way and went as single riders.  We got grouped with strangers but the cars moved and talked like in the movie so it was a pretty fantastic ride.

So that was one of the best rides but the absolute best thing at Disney was the World of Color show after dark.  Essentially it's the Bellagio fountain show combined with a laser light show and a wall of mist that they project videos onto all set to a mashup of classic Disney songs.  It goes on for like 30 - 40 minutes.  Pure magic.  Stills are ok but there's no substitute for the real deal.

 If you can't tell that's the Genie being projected onto a wall of mist.  Just genius.

Pure greatness.  This is a must see.  If you co there at all don't leave before dark.  This is better than five rides put together.

That was a full day.  The next day what is it day 23 I headed north to see some friends in Sacramento. It took all day to get up there.  Day 24 I stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge before going to see Rob and Sarah.

And so I've turned back and am heading East today.  I'm not planning on stopping at everything again so my posts will be fewer.  I do plan on seeing the arch at St Louis cause I missed that last time.  Alright that's the week I just had fairly summarized.