It’s the last day of our Route 66 road-trip, driving from Needles, California to Santa Monica, California. Who are we? Jeff and Jane, expat Brits living in Santa Monica, California. We have just finished our number one bucket-list item – driving Route 66 from Chicago back to our home town. Our mission? To Eat Vegan on Route 66 and share our experiences with you.

Route 66: California Dreaming

Don’t forget to fill up with gas before you leave Needles (or better still across the border in Arizona). The last Chevron before the Mohave Desert has vastly inflated prices, that they sneakily hide on a low sign in a bush. We got caught out, as did many others. They also told us that we could not drive to Amboy on Route 66, as all the bridges had been washed out and never repaired. Too late, we discovered there was another route via Kelbaker Road.

We dropped into the Bagdad Cafe, hoping for a bite to eat but they only sell sodas nowadays. Although a Route 66 icon, this place gave me the creeps and I couldn’t wait to get out of there, Now starving, we checked out Happy Cow and were astonished to find the vegan-friendly EddieWorld a few miles away on I-15. There, I tried an Impossible Burger for the first (and last) time, but felt nauseous for the rest of the day. We then got a little lost, being turned back by armed soldiers at the Barstow Marine Logistics Base!

In Barstow, we visited one of the last remaining Harvey Houses, which had a trio of interesting museums; Route 66, Railroad and NASA. We had a browse of the fascinating NASA Goldstone exhibit, describing the Deep Space Network of satellite communications. One of the antenna is located in Canberra, where we once lived.

We planned to overnight at Victorville, but the surrounding cement factories and abandoned Main Street were definitely not appealing…so onwards to Los Angeles.

How to Eat Vegan on Route 66: Home Comforts

The scenic Cajon Pass proved to be one of the highlights of the day. Here, Route 66 runs alongside the freeway I-15, where we could see an enormous traffic jam. Luckily, we only hit a small jam ourselves. But then, we faced the 75-mile slog across the vast urban sprawl of Los Angeles. We made very slow progress following Route 66 – with traffic lights at almost every intersection. Not much fun, especially if you already know and hate the LA traffic!

Much, much later, we arrived in Santa Monica. There, we could not resist stopping at our own home, just a mile from the Route 66 end. But certainly, an easy way to Eat Vegan on Route 66 as we had the choice of our local restaurants, a vegetarian Indian, Chandni, or the dependable Veggie Grill. In fact, we decided upon a selection of vegan deli items from the Whole Foods at the end of our street. A welcome night in watching the telly.

Next morning, we completed Route 66 on foot as we walked the last mile down Santa Monica Boulevard to the pier. But where is the end of Route 66? There is the sign on the pier, one on Ocean Drive by the information booth, and Mel’s Diner claims it too! In fact, if you look up at the intersection of Olympic and Lincoln, you will see the official road signs in brown for both Begin and End.

We’d travelled 2,300-mile on Route 66, snaking our way across the nation from Chicago, IL to Santa Monica, CA. From multi-lane highways to pothole-strewn back roads. From great cities to tiny clusters of shacks that time seemed to have forgotten. From endless miles of suburbs to vast desert vistas. From lush forests to imposing mountain ranges. A most excellent adventure – but it was certainly nice to be home.

Tip of The Day – be aware that the hardest parts of the drive are negotiating the cities. There, Route 66 follows backroads through endless suburbs and industrial neighborhoods. It is certainly not scenic! Make sure you add extra time to your itinerary – and do your best to avoid the rush hours.

Finally, use my public shared Google Map Route 66 Vegan to locate all the places mentioned on this trip.

Miles Traveled Today: 300

Total Miles Traveled: 2302

Next stop – Home!