Well, today is the day we finally go home! It seems so long ago that we arrived in Chicago. We have done so much, stayed in some great places, seen some fantastic sights, met some great people and travelled 3200 miles in the process!
Music has played an important part of the journey, mainly thanks to the Route 66 playlist on the iPod. I don't think any of us will be able to listen to Take it Easy by the Eagles without remembering that corner in Wimslow, Arizona. Then there was the time when we were a day away from Tulsa when Gene Pitney came on singing 24 Hours from Tulsa.
Moments like these will really never leave us and always remind us of the 3 great weeks spent driving the "Mother Road".
So it was with a heavy heart that I packed our bags for the final time, they felt a bit heavier than when we arrived! Oh,those outlets!
We checked out of the hotel, put our bags in the car and went for a walk down to Santa Monica Pier.Took our pictures in front of the end of Route 66, had a coffee and a bite to eat. Got chatting to a guy in the mini museum/cubicle on the pier dedicated to R66. It has only been there a few years, was originally in a handcart, but as it got so busy it became a more permanent fixture. Really interesting guy, plenty of facts but more importantly great passion about R66.
It is hard to believe that the road nearly disappeared and it is only recently that it has become so popular. Ironically, it is mainly Europeans that are driving that interest at the moment.
Back to the van for the short drive to the airport. It covers a really great area, the rental office was really easy to find and the shuttle dropped us back at the terminal. The driver was really great, a bit of a character, he loaded all the bags, had a great line in chat and made a slow journey interesting.
The traffic to the various terminals was horrendous, mainly due to the fact that all American terminals are kerbside check in.
Bag drop and security went really well, we even checked our bags in at the First Class desk. Sandra cheekily asked if there was a chance of an upgrade! Of course the wasn't.
Grabbed something to eat, boarded the plane, we were on the upper deck. Nice seats near the rear of the cabin, 2 together. Stewardess was much better than the crew coming out.
As we took off and Sandra tried to put her headphones in the socket, they wouldn't go in. So no chance of listening to any of the entertainment channels! We asked for an adaptor so Sandra could share my jack socket but there were none.
With that the stewardess said that she would move Sandra to World Traveller Plus (Premiun Economy) if that was acceptable. So off she went to the front of the cabin.
I watched American Sniper, great film, Wild, very intense, and 2nd Marigold Hotel, funny! Sandra popped back a few times, and before we knew it breakfast was being served. The flight went really quickly and smoothly. Great plane, plenty of legroom, just a pity that Sandra couldn't be next to me for it.
We had to transfer to terminal 3 from terminal 5,where we landed, to get the bus to the car park. Picked up the car, easy drive home, no issues with driving a manual after 3 weeks of an automatic. The only thing is that everything just seems so small over here in comparison to the States. Drivers seem to be more aggressive as well over here!
Got home, unpacked, did the washing and finally grabbed a few hours sleep at 5 pm.
Our holiday well and truly over, it was good to be in our own bed at last!
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