Day 21 Friday August 14, 2015

Days without an incident - 0
Days without rain gear - 7

We finished the second leg of our trip this morning by continuing down the Pacific Coast Highway to the Santa Monica Pier.  Along the way, we passed the Naval facilities in Ventura County which include the Naval Air Station at Point Mugu and the home of the Seabees.

Just a short way down the road we crossed into Los Angeles County and the 27-mile long city of Malibu.  Home to movie stars and million-dollar mansions.

It's almost easy to understand the insane price tags on

properties along this stretch of the Pacific Ocean.  The views alone are worth the money.

We got up on the Santa Monica Pier for our official start of the ride home.  From this point forward, our general direction will be east.

The pier is a lively place even at 10 o'clock in the morning.  Tourists milling about checking out the souvenir stands and local vendors.  Locals fishing while surfers and sunbathers filled the beach below.

After posing for a photo at the Route 66 sign (It should say "Beginning of the trail" on the opposite

side), we dove into the Los Angeles traffic trying to thread our way down the now poorly marked Route 66.

We stopped at Philippe's for an "Original French Dip" sandwich before continuing on our way.  Los Angeles is not tourist-friendly when it comes to roads or drivers.  On a motorcycle, you are truly taking your life in your hands.

We were able to find our way to Pasadena and Colorado Boulevard continuing eastward.  As we proceeded, the temperature continued to rise.  Our hope was to make it to Barstow.  When 66 merged with I-15 we weren't sure we would get there.  In fact, we weren't sure we would get anywhere!

Traffic was moving at the blistering pace of about 5 mph.  With the heat from the sun, combined with the heat from the traffic, the bike's engines, and the reflection off the road surface, we all started to show signs of heat exhaustion, bordering on heatstroke.

We finally found the only shade by getting off the interstate and hiding under the

Guess who doesn't seem to be bothered by the heat?

bridge that carried the road above us.  One of us, completely drained, laid against a fence as we poured water on their head and torso. While there, several people stopped to give us more water.

A short distance up the road was a service plaza...those "Golden Arches" never looked so good.  Even the clean-up girl saw the distress on our faces and began to offer assistance.

An hour or later, after we had cooled and refreshed sufficiently, we got back on the road.  The traffic lightened and it was a clear, but incredibly hot ride to our destination for the night.  At 106°, cold showers and time in the pool were immediately on the agenda.