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GETTING OUR KICKS ON ROUTE 66!
Route 66 Through the Inland Empire & San Gabriel Valley
© 2002
by Darryl Musick
This is a very low key trip, yet it is connected very well with some very major tourist destinations. It's served by excellent, accessible public transportation yet you will be hard pressed to find other tourists while you're here. You'll find yourself on possibly the most famous...and fabled...highway on earth but you won't feel you're at a tourist mecca.
Route 66 of course is that fabled route to California from Chicago made famous by the likes of John Steinbeck and Bobby Troupe. Although the highway was decommissioned, hundreds of miles of it still exist.
One stretch that almost no one talks about any more is the part that winds its way though San Bernardino County into the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. The past icons along this stretch are quickly succumbing to encroaching suburbia, but there is still much to see and do here.
There are three areas of lodging that are particularly good here, depending on what's important to you. Staying in the lovely little college town of Claremont gives you superb access to the area's transporation grid...even if it is a bit out of the way. It's also close to our hiking area, noted below.
Staying in Pasadena puts you right in the thick of things but if you want to see more of the region, you'll have to back-track on transit to get where you want to go.
The third choice is my choice for the best compromise. There is a hotel/restaurant row right on the border of Arcadia and Monrovia that gives you great affordable lodging in a good neighborhood with a very short walk to dozens of good restaurants.
For lodging, you have budget (Oak Tree Inn), midrange (Springhill Suites, Holiday Inn), and upscale (Four Points, Hilton, Embassy Suites) to name but just a few. Rates run from around $50 a night at the Oak Tree, to $80 at Four Points, to over $170 at the Embassy Suites with a lot of rooms in between. We have stayed at the Four Points and the Oak Tree and find them both great places to stay. All the hotels in this area are newer and have good handicapped rooms.
You can fly to Ontario, Burbank, or LAX to get here. Ontario or Burbank would be best.
OK, on to the report...
Day 1
We sleep in a bit, wanting to shake off travel fatigue. Just up the street from the hotel, we indulge in an early lunch at BJ's Pizza, Grill, & Brewhouse just west of the hotel. There are so many restaurants here that the only problem will be choosing which ones to eat at.
I have a superb french dip sandwich, my wife has a pot roast sandwich, and Tim has a BJ's burger. It goes very well with BJ's own beer and cider. For three people, it's less than $25.
After lunch, the Foothill Transit route 187 bus (the 187 traces mostly along Historical Route 66 from Colorado Bl. in Pasadena to Foothill Bl. in Claremont) picks us up across the street and drops us off a minute later at Santa Anita Racetrack (for those up to it, it's about a quarter mile walk from restaurant row to the track). We enter the back entrance which leads into the infield and spend the afternoon watching the ponies and trying not to lose all of our money. We actually end up about forty dollars ahead. (Santa Anita has live racing in October and from late December through April...it is pretty much open all year for sattelite wagering)
One note here, although we had a lot of fun and met some wonderful people who work at the track, we did go up to the clubhouse restaurant (we had clubhouse passes) for drinks and ran into the rudest people who work there. After receiving very poor service and attitude, we left before ordering anything and returned to the friendlier confines back at ground level.
After the races, we returned to the hotel and had dinner at the Claim Jumper, right next door to our hotel (the Oak Tree Inn). Priced moderately to expensive, you get three meals worth of food for each order. You could very easily split something, or take leftovers if you have a place to store it and heat it up. It's all very tasty...and filling!
Day 2
Wanting to exercise some of those Claim Jumper calories off, we again board Foothill Transit's 187 line heading east right in front of the hotel. In Claremont, it's an easy transfer to Foothill's line 292 at Mountain Avenue and Foothill Bl. The 292 drops us off at Baseline and Mountain and we walk three blocks west to the Thompson Creek Trail.
Along the Thompson Creek Trail with Mt. Baldy in the
Background
This trail, owned and maintained by the City of Claremont, is a very wheelchair friendly paved path that traces the edge of civilization. On one side are the tract homes of Claremont...which progress from humble bungalows to stately mansions at the end of the trail...on the other is mostly wild area, scrubby chaparral.
Thompson Creek is really a concrete lined drainage ditch, but other than that, the scenery is wonderful. My wife, ever the bird watcher, pointed out hundreds of Cedar Waxwings, a Flicker, dozens of Robins, warblers, and the occasional hawk or eagle. I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye and stopped. Up on a ridge about 100 yards away sat a family of four deer keeping a wary eye on our progress. The two mile trail (four miles round-trip) ends up in a brushy field in the shadow of Mount Baldy. Another more primitive trail starts just north of this one. We'll save that for another trip.
Cedar Waxwings in the Trees Along the Trail
Retracing our way back, the 187 westbound takes us to a true Route 66 treasure, Pinnacle Peak in San Dimas. On the menu here are big, juicy, cowboy steaks cooked over hardwood charcoal served with beans and bread. What's not on the menu here are ties. Thousands of forbidden ties hang from the rafters. They are cut off the offending owner's neck and strung up. If you do wear a tie to dinner here, just to add to the collection, be aware that they have a big ceremony where everybody in the place stops what they're doing just to see your tie get sliced. That's the voice of experience talking there...
That night, we soak our weary bones in the hotel's spa before turning in.
Day 3
Today we want to expand our horizons a little. After breakfast, we take the 187 east to Myrtle Ave. in Monrovia. Using our free transfer from Foothill Transit, the MTA 270 bus takes us to Ramona & Tyler in El Monte. From here it is a two block walk north to the El Monte Metrolink Station (if you stayed in Claremont or Montclair, you would have easier access to Metrolink but be farther away with less amenities...the choice is yours). You could also stay on the 270 into the El Monte bus station and catch an express bus into L.A.
On Board Metrolink...It's Accessible!
We ride Metrolink into Los Angeles where we get off at Union Station and take the elevator downstairs to the Metro Red Line. Our Metrolink tickets allows us to transfer for free to the Red Line Subway.
The North Hollywood bound train takes us to the Hollywood & Highland Station. Upstairs is the brand new Hollywood and Highland complex which includes a shopping center with great views of the Hollywood sign, restaurants ranging from hot dogs to very expensive sit down dinners, the Kodak Theater (home of the Academy Awards), and the Chinese Theater...a true Hollywood landmark.
At the Hollywood & Highland Mall..Home of the Oscars
We grab a couple of hot dogs and compare shoe sizes with the stars in the forecourt of the Chinese Theater. The shopping center has great access from the subway and is nice if a little bland. It does make a big improvement to a very nasty neighborhood. That's a big step in the right direction.
Back downstairs, the Red Line continues on. The next stop in Universal City.
At that stop, we cross the street to catch a shuttle up the hill to Universal Studios. The shuttle pulls up and...it's not accessible. No problem, the driver radios up the hill and a lift-equipped van is dispatched to pick us up (you don't want to walk up this steep hill in a wheelchair...even if you're up to the challenge, the curb cuts stop half-way up, forcing you into a very busy street).
Watch Out for Sharks at Universal Studios!
One more nice thing about Universal is that only two attractions actually require users to get out of their wheelchair...Back to the Future and Jurassic park. All the rest of the rides, shows and attractions are doable in most wheelchairs.
Universal Studios is a lot of fun. We take the studio tour, see the Backdraft special effects walk-through, ride Jurassic Park, ET, and Back to the Future, and see the Waterworld show. In between, we have a few beers at Mulligan's Pub and then out from the pub to see Terminator 3-D across the way. Afterwards, we have a nice dinner at Karl Strauss Brewery & Gardens at the adjacent CityWalk. The Red Line takes us back to Union Station where we catch the Metrolink back to El Monte and retrace our steps back to the hotel.
Waiting for the Train Home in Union Station's Grand Lobby
Day 4
Today, we want to see the ocean. Back on the eastbound 187 (ask for the free transfer) to Myrtle where again we board the southbound MTA 270. This time we stay on till the end of the line where 45 minutes later we are deposited at the Green Line Station in Norwalk.
Our fare and transfer has expired at this point, so we buy a new fare and transfer here (note: MTA charges a quarter for a transfer...on Foothill it's free). The Green Line train takes us to Rosa Parks Station where we transfer to a southbound Blue Line train to Long Beach. At the end of the Blue Line in Pine Square, we board a free shuttle that takes us to the Aquarium of the Pacific.
It's nice. We see plenty of sharks, rays, and watch a sea lion show. You can walk underwater in a coral reef, see divers feeding the fish, and pet lorikeets in an outdoor aviary.
A block away is Shoreline Village (and the Long Beach Convention Center...new West Coast home of the Abilities Expo) where you can samples hundreds beers at the Yardhouse. The other way, that same free shuttle can take you to the Queen Mary where you can tour the famed ocean liner. For a completely different adventure, you can catch a ferry to Catalina Island at the terminal next door to the aquarium.
We take a long walk on the beach where a great, smooth, paved path winds a few miles on the sand to Belmont Shore. Lots of families frolicking in the ocean, people flying kites & radio controlled gliders, and speedo-clad gentlemen looking for new friends.
Sandcastle Construction on the Beach at Belmont Shore
Two hours of trains and buses take us back to our room at the Oak Tree. We have dinner across the street at Tokyo Wako, a teppan-steak house that's very good (think Benihana's).
Day 5
We're tired of traveling around, so we want to stay close. The eastbound 187 takes us again to Myrtle Ave. A three block walk north takes us to the fun and charming Old Town Monrovia district. We have breakfast at the busy Monrovian Family Restaurant where I have a delicious special of eggs & rib eye steak while my wife has heuvos rancheros. Tim has a burger.
It's a very familiar site here, the old-fashioned hardware store, the many quaint shops. Why? Because over 150 movie and TV productions a year film here. You've seen this street many times before, even if you've never set foot within a thousand miles of here.
After strolling around and talking to the friendly (well, mostly friendly) shopkeepers, we take in an early matinee at the Krikorian Theater here. Ocean's 11 turns out to be a pretty good flick.
We head over to the nearby Cajun Way Café (just east of Myrtle on Colorado). I have a delectable pork roast, my wife has a scrumptious catfish ettouffe, and Tim's has a chicken po boy with spicy fries that he just can't get enough of. This is the best restaurant of the trip. They also have live Cajun & Zydeco music on Saturday nights.
Day 6
The trusty 187 takes us westbound for a change and deposits us at the brand-new Paseo Colorado mall in Pasadena. This is a wonderful outdoor shopping plaza that makes for as good a place to people watch as it is a place to shop (much better than the Hollywood & Highland mall). Just one block west is Old Town Pasadena where hundred more shops and restaurants tempt you to stop in.
After a morning shopping, we head a few blocks east to Yahaira's, a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant that serves the best tortas I've had in a long time (a torta is a Mexican style sandwich). Their salads are pretty impressive too. For those so inclined, Yahaira's has a bargain priced dinner menu and you can then take in an obscure movie at the art-house Laemmle Theater across the street.
For us, dinner takes us back to the area around our hotel where we have one last meal at BJ's (yes, this is the same BJ's chain that graces our Maui trip report...just as good too, but no live entertainment).
And so concludes our trip along this unsung portion of Route 66. Although, we didn't do too much kitschy Route 66 stuff, reminders of it abound here with the Historical Route 66 signs greeting you often, the old downtown districts of Pasadena and Monrovia, the old roadhouses such as Pinnacle Peak in San Dimas, The Derby in Arcadia, and the Trails in Duarte, and the Azusa Drive-In (soon to be demolished). Nearby Duarte also has a Salute to Route 66 parade and picnic each September to celebrate this road's place in history. Not to forget, except for our detours to Long Beach and Hollywood, the whole trip takes place on Route 66.
UPDATE: The Trails Restaurant now faces demolition. Follow link for more information.
THE BUDGET (Three Adults/six nights ... add airfare to below)
Lodging: $300
Transit Fares: $60 (note: disabled fare is 45 cents on both MTA and
Foothill Transit)
Meals: $250
Universal Studios: $129
Aquarium of the Pacific: $58
TOTAL: $797
Helpful Web Sites:
Recommended hotels:
Oak Tree Inn, Monrovia: www.gtesupersite.com/oaktreeinn/
Four Points Sheraton, Monrovia: www.starwood.com/fourpoints/
Embassy Suites, Arcadia: www.embassysuites.com
Springhill Suites, Arcadia: www.springhillsuites.com
Transit Agencies:
Foothill Transit: www.foothilltransit.org
MTA: www.mta.net
Metrolink: www.metrolinktrains.com
Krikorian Theater, Monrovia: www.krikoriantheatres.com/showtimes/monrovia.htm
Map of Thompson Creek Trail: www.ci.claremont.ca.us/city_services/human_services/city_map.htm
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