2024 WB Day 19 - End of the Road

Back out of 66 on Foothill Blvd are a couple of points, worthy of note. Cucamonga Service Station was built in 1915 when the region was full of citrus trees.

It lived through the glory days, serving as an anchor to the community for decades at the western end of the Mother Road.

Only in the last decade had a group of enthusiasts rescued her from certain oblivion and lovingly restored the gas station to a point it’s an attractive point of interest to interrupt our interstate travel.

It’s a welcome break from the freeway which was the best way to make our way toward the coast.

Aztec Hotel in Monrovia is another attraction but with a less certain future. It’s just been permanently closed but the hope is to find a sympathetic owner to put life back into the famous building.

The Arroyo Seca parkway is part of our interstate travels. This, the first freeway in USA is still used today and links us around downtown LA and on to the i10 which leads to Santa Monica.

Lincoln Blvd is the final official point of the road, a road that’s been our home for the past three weeks.

Mel’s Diner is a welcome sign too. We celebrate the finish, with local friends Steve and Bonnie, who join us for lunch.

All that remains is to make it to Newport Beach, an hour south, for our last overnight! Hmmm… traffic in LA, even outside peak hour, can be such a nightmare!

Kyle Millen showed us the workings of Stillen, the business his racing driver father (and ex pat kiwi) Steve began back in the kid 1980s.

It’s a different world now and Kyle is brining new ideas to the table to broaden Stillen’s place in the automotive aftermarket sector.

Not much has changed on Balboa Island though. Our celebratory final dinner at our usual haunt is just as pleasurable, a fitting end to what has been a great run across country with a great group.