|
You do realize that if you want to motor west, you should take the highway that's the best, and, in fact, get your kicks on Route 66. That's how the famous song goes – here's the classic Nat King Cole version and here it's performed by the composer, Bobby Troop – and there's the Rolling Stones' version. And back in the sixties there was the television series. The road is famous of course.
And from the New York Times of November 12, 2009 –
The question of where the old Route 66 officially ended in the West has been the subject of debate among history buffs and roadsters. On Wednesday it was resolved in a quintessentially American way, by placing the terminus in a place where it can best be monetized.
A Route 66 sign embossed with “end of the trail” was dedicated at the Santa Monica Pier, a popular tourist destination, marking the 83rd anniversary of the road’s opening…
It was called the "Mother Road" by John Steinbeck in “The Grapes of Wrath” – it opened in 1926, Chicago to Los Angeles through hundreds of miles of winding road in eight states. It actually terminated on Seventh Street in downtown Los Angeles, but was later extended to the intersection of Olympic and Lincoln Boulevards in Santa Monica – a real nothing place. The pier is better. It's the far end of America.
Of course Route 66 was officially decommissioned by the federal government in 1985 – the Interstate System made is pointless. So all this is just myth, about heading west, to Southern California, where everything will be fine.
Did someone mention John Steinbeck?
|
