Toes in the Water, End of Rt 66

We Did It — Route 66 Complete!

I can't even remember how long I’ve dreamed of doing this trip. I used to joke whenever I was on Route 33 heading toward Marysville that I’d at least done “half” of Route 66. But now, I can officially say we’ve traveled the full Route 66 — and wow, what a ride it’s been.

The trip was unbelievable. The scenery, the stories hidden in every mile, and seeing how much of the road has changed over the years — some places thriving, others worn by time and hardship. Next year is the 100th anniversary of Route 66, so we saw a lot of places under renovation, getting ready for the celebration. Not sure if we’ll be back for that, but we’re just so grateful we got to do this now.

When we finally reached the end in Santa Monica, we had to stop and do a little dance in front of the “End of the Trail” sign. Totally worth every single mile. We’ve been blessed with nearly perfect weather the whole way — except now that we’re in California, it’s a chilly and cloudy 65 degrees all week. So… not much swimming on this leg, but we’re still heading up the California coast.

While we were at the Santa Monica Pier, Peg found a chair that said, “Be kind, unwind, and play games,” and took a much-deserved break. Janet stopped to talk to Zoltar about her fortune — naturally. The pier was full of life: street performers everywhere. One guy was entirely silver — clothes, paint, everything — standing like a statue in the heat. Another group of five performers were doing flips and stunts, and one of them actually flipped over four tall men. It was amazing.

We even saw a little kid playing music who reminded me of a young Michael Jackson. Before we dipped our toes in the Pacific, we stopped for a $20 cup of fruit — and honestly, it was so worth it. The guy chopped it fresh right there in front of us: pineapple, watermelon, cucumbers, papaya, melon… okay, we’ll spare you the full ingredient list. Just know it was delicious.

The coolest moment? Caysen and Andy called to tell me where to stand so they could see us on the live stream on the Santa Monica Pier cam. That was pretty special.

We also talked to the guy at the “End of the Trail” Route 66 booth and picked up the softest t-shirt ever — it has the full route on it, ending in Santa Monica. And we got our official certificate saying we completed the whole thing. It felt surreal.

After checking into our hotel, we headed to Ventura Beach for sunset photos, and it did not disappoint. Gorgeous skies, peaceful ocean, and of course — I had to take some shots with palm trees. You know me and trees.

This isn’t the end of the journey — just a very, very important chapter. One I’ll remember forever.

We’re continuing up the California coast, then through Oregon, and eventually crossing Route 20 back home to Ohio.

Thanks for coming along with us. Stay tuned… there’s more to see.