May 17 Laramie WY to Stuart, IA

**NO PICS TODAY**

Day 16 started at 8:00 a.m., Temp was 49 degrees, sunny with the top up following the 55 degree rule (top down after 55 degrees). Today was to be our longest travel day across Nebraska and into Iowa. We decided to give the camera a rest today, no offense any of our readers from Nebraska, as we knew the terrain would be the exact same thing through the entire state. For those of you watching our gas prices and mileages we made two stops for gas today. First fill up was in North Platte, NE . . . . $3.999/10 gal/$40.00 and we traveled 277.9 miles - 27.8 mpg. Our second stop was in Stuart, IA . . . $3.999/12 gal/$47.75 and we traveled 309 miles - 25.7 mpg.

Our final day of travel plans start with attending Zion Lutheran Church in Dexter, IA for their 8:30 a.m. service and then to complete the final 297 miles to complete our journey.

God Bless,

Mike and Ron


Vital stats for today:
Distance Traveled 645.7 mi.
Avg. moving speed of 76.0 mph
Total time of 10 hrs. 16 min.
Moving Time of 8 hrs. 29 min.
Stopped Time of 1 hrs. 47 min.
Top Speed Today 91.7 mph (Ron)
Total Distance of Trip 4602.2 mi.

May 16 Wendover, UT to Laramie WY

Day 15 started at 8:15 a.m., Temp was 66 degrees, sunny with the top down all day. We started our day with a visit to the Bonneville Speedway which was about 4 miles away from our hotel. We got a couple pics of the Salt Flats and speedway and Mike took his car out on the flats to see what she could do (see pic of GPS – Max Speed in upper right hand corner) The salt was much softer than anticipated and the car was dripping upon his return. Our departure was delayed as we ran the car through the car wash twice. Speaking of the car and car washes, Mr. Anderson I need an appointment for a complete detail next Wednesday if possible for your schedule. We then departed Wendover, UT at 9:53 a.m. topping off the gas tank paying $3.949/4.08gal/$16.15. We made a fuel stop at Green River, WY. paying $3.779/11.0gal/$41.57 we had traveled 314 miles so Reggie the Crossfire, running down the highway, got 28.5mpg J We pulled into our resting place for the evening at 6:32 in Laramie WY. topping off the fuel tank paying
$3.699/7.7gal/$28.50 traveling 206 miles or 26.4 mpg. Our plan for tomorrow, Saturday, is to make it through the exciting state of Nebraska. We continue to marvel at the evidence of God’s creation as we travel the highways.

Mike and Ron

Don’t forget to click on the pictures to view them in a larger form and please keep the comments coming in. We enjoy them and look forward to hearing from all of you.

Vital stats for today:
Distance Traveled 521.8 mi.
Avg. moving speed of 75.1 mph
Total time of 9 hrs. 10 min.
Moving Time of 6 hrs. 58 min.
Stopped Time of 2 hrs. 12 min.
Top Speed Today – See pic of GPS – upper right hand corner
Total Distance of Trip 3956.5 mi.

May 15 San Francisco, CA to Wendover, UT

Day 14 started at 7:50 a.m., Temp was 75 degrees, sunny with the top down all day. Since our hotel didn’t provide any breakfast we found a nice Italian Bakery for a morning coffee (we skipped the pastries – ha ha) and were on our way to start our journey back to Peoria, Il. While we traveled US 80 passing through several towns we enjoyed the changes in scenery and temperatures ranging from a low of 63 degrees and high of 93 degrees. The change in temperatures was directly related to the changes in elevation as we passed through several beautiful mountain ranges (some snow capped) and canyons.
After driving for 637 miles we decided to call it a day and landed at the Best Western Salt Flat Inn in Wendover, UT. (Note - we have two posts dated May 15, please see both or you'll be missing something)

Mike and Ron

Don’t forget to click on the pictures to view them in a larger form and please keep the comments coming in. We enjoy them and look forward to hearing from all of you.

Vital stats for today:
Distance Traveled 637.0 mi.
Avg. moving speed of 76.6 mph (our pace is picking up J)
Total time of 8 hrs. 53 min.
Moving Time of 7 hrs. 29 min.
Stopped Time of 1 hrs. 23 min.
Top Speed Today 100 mph (Ron & Mike J)
Total Distance of Trip 3434.7 mi.

May 14 Cambria, CA to San Francisco, CA

Day 13 started at 8:17 a.m., Temp was 57 degrees, sunny with the top down all day. We left the wonderful accommodations of the Blue Dolphin Inn in Cambria, CA. and are headed to sunny San Francisco, CA. Our first stop of the day was a level 1 tour of the Hearst Castle now owned and operated by the State of California Parks Department. Our guide Andy was very knowledgeable of the Hearst family history and of the castle. It was very informative and unbelievable – we really did get to see how the ‘filthy rich’ live. For example he indicated there were over 2 thousand works of art in the castle and one sculpture, which he mentioned as an example and only 3 of them were sculpted, was currently valued at 15 million dollars! (we took lots of pictures but can only share a few now). We departed the Hearst Castle at 10:40 with sunny skies and 66 degree temperatures to continue our drive up US 1 or Pacific Coast Highway. We made a small detour to take the 17 Mile Drive at Pebble Beach as Mike wanted another glimpse of Pebble Beach Golf Club. We decided to take in lunch and visit the pro shop while there.
By 2:30 p.m. we were back on track to complete our trip up US 1 and to San Francisco. We did make a fuel stop in Pacifica, CA. with the following stats on gas ($4.349/8.7 gals/$37.88). We were greeted in sunny San Francisco with 83 degree temps and the usual traffic jams. We checked into our motel, Bayside Inn at the Wharf, and quickly prepared to travel by bus to AT&T Park for the San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros baseball game. While we didn’t spend our kids inheritance on the tickets, lets say we had some NICE seats – 23 rows behind home plate. (unfortunately the home team lost L)

Mike and Ron

Don’t forget to click on the pictures to view them in a larger form and please keep the comments coming in. We enjoy them and look forward to hearing from all of you.


Vital stats for today:
Distance Traveled 228.4 mi.
Avg. moving speed of 42.4 mph
Total time of 7 hrs. 14 min.
Moving Time of 5 hrs. 23 min.
Stopped Time of 1 hrs. 51 min.
Top Speed Today 81.2 mph (Ron)
Total Distance of Trip 2797.7 mi.

May 14 The Sunset in Cambria, CA

Day 12 is starting, instead of ending with our blog. We are planning a visit and tour of the Hearst Castle and hopefully taking in a ball game after we reach our planned destination of San Francisco. Being unsure of how or when our day is going to end, we thought we would go ahead and blog the sunset in Cambria, CA. Our pictures of today’s trip will be posted later. The temp is starting at 52 degrees but is going to reach the mid 70’s as we get closer to San Francisco. I am sure the top will be down as we head out after breakfast and packing up. Pray for us as we travel some very challenging, twisting, yet awesome roads today.

Sharing our adventure,
Mike and Ron

May 13 Santa Monica, CA to Cambria, CA

To properly celebrate our arrival at Santa Monica and completion of our trip along Rt. 66 we tipped a Guinness at Finn McCools Irish Pub. The place was empty when we arrived but news spread quickly that the two guys from Chicago, IL who just completed the entire trip down Rt. 66 were in the house. Within 30 minutes the place was filled to capacity with fans. (Well, actually it was Trivia Night.)

Day 11 started at 9:48 a.m., Temp was 68 degrees, sunny with the top down all day. We left Santa Monica after cleaning the car and walking down the street to the Omelet Parlor for breakfast. Mike had apple cinnamon pancakes and Ron had a “SEXY OMELET” (chick, cheese, & mushrooms – Sharon you should she what a change it made in Ron :-) We drove from Santa Monica, CA to Cambria, CA along the Santa Lucia Range. On the way we stopped at the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. The mission interior was awesome. The flower gardens were unbelievably beautiful and we took lots of pictures. Also along the way we spotted some lamp posts that symbolized the guiding light for the missions from 1796 (http://www.californiabell.com/). Our room at the Blue Dolphin Inn is fantastic. We have already taken a walk along the boardwalk and beach that is only about 100 feet from our corner window with a view of the Pacific Ocean. We are waiting for the sunset and will plan to send pictures tomorrow.

p.s. no stats today as Gabby was struggling to maintain a signal as we thought we were unable to have her attached to our window in California. We saw several locals with a GPS mounted so were going to use her again tomorrow.

Mike and Ron

Don’t forget to click on the pictures to view them in a larger form and please keep the comments coming in. We enjoy them and look forward to hearing from all of you.

May 12, 2008 Rialto, CA to Santa Monica

Day 10 started at 10:10 a.m., Temp was 65 degrees, but sorry, it was cloudy and we hit some occasional rain showers so the top was up until we got to the east side of Santa Monica. We topped –off the gas tank last night in Rialto, CA at $4.099 / 3.964 gal. / $16.25. We only traveled a total of 85 miles today from Rialto to our final destination of Santa Monica, CA – the official end of route 66. We only made one stop today for lunch at Riches Dinner where Ron successfully ate the entire plate size cinnamon roll.(see pic) While entering Pasadena, CA we drove over the Colorado St. Bridge (aka suicide bridge) which is the reason for the railings along the sides. While our distance to be traveled was short, our road to get there required all city driving (thus the reason it took so long to travel such a short distance). Because it was raining during our travels we didn’t take as many pictures as usual. It is hard to believe that after all the research and planning over the previous several months we have finally completed what we sat out to do – get our kicks on Rt.66. We have enjoyed seeing God’s creation from Chicago, IL to Santa Monica, CA. To celebrate our arrival we decided to spend our children’s inheritance and splurge on a mini-suite (see pics). On The Mother Road,Mike and Ron

Don’t forget to click on the pictures to view them in a larger form and please keep the comments coming in. We enjoy them and look forward to hearing from all of you.

Vital stats for today: Distance Traveled 85.0 mi.

Avg. moving speed of 24.9 mph

Total time of 6 hrs. 35 min.

Moving Time of 3 hrs. 24 min.

Stopped Time of 3 hrs. 11 min.

Total Distance of Trip 2569.3 mi.