They rolled in single file under the Santa Monica Pier archway, a rumbling 23 car salute to Steinbeck’s “Mother Road.” They were Chevys, Fords, Plymouths, Pontiacs and Chryslers, modern and vintage. Riding tall in a convertible 1956 Bel Air a high desert beauty queen waved at passersby. Waiting for them on the pier were a handful of Route 66 enthusiasts and gear heads and about two dozen reporters, photographers, cameramen and slick-haired television news personalities and their transmitter vans.
Route 66, Santa Monica, CA November 2009
The parade hung a left at the press pool and headed for the parking lot where they stopped in three neat lines. Once they were all in and accounted for they revved their engines in unison; one last blast of horse power for the road and our atmosphere. Then they fell silent.
Route 66 Beauty Queen, Santa Monica, CA November 2009
The crowd settled around a podium and sign shrouded in black cloth. Speeches were made praising Veterans Day, Route 66, Americana, and the Santa Monica Pier. Then, the black shroud covering the new landmark sign was lifted. Beauty queens, boosters, and Blues Brothers impersonators converged on the sign and cameras clicked wildly.
Route 66 Landmark, Santa Monica, CA November 2009
After everyone got their fill of the sign they drifted back to the cars on display to gawk, inspect and talk old times. Kids played, mothers corralled and fathers polished their machines as the California sun broke through the morning fog.
Family Time, Santa Monica, CA November 2009
It took 83 years but on November 11, 2009 the Santa Monica Pier officially became the western terminus of America’s Route 66. Finally, the Mother Road has finished her long and winding journey from Chicago and now can dangle her feet in the Pacific.
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