California Kicks on Route 66

theramblers88
Sep 26, 2019
2 min read

7/19

Leaving Big Bear Lake means descending switchbacks from 6700 feet to 1000 feet. That was exciting (read: Yikes!).

San Bernardino was our first stop back on Route 66 in several days, after a few side trips. We began by stopping at the site of the first McDonald’s, now a museum of the fast food establishment’s memorabilia. As stated on the roadside attraction sign, “ this site is ground zero for all modern day fast food chains.”

Next up, a restored Chris’ Burgers, formerly a Burger Chef. The cool thing, it was restored for the TV show "Madmen". We went inside to see the booth where Don & Peggy eat!

Driving through Fontana, we find Bono’s Historic Orange stand. It’s a giant orange that used to sell OJ. Fontana and the surrounding area was once citrus groves as far as the eye could see.

Further west on 66, a surprise awaited us in Upland. I was doing a bit of research and found there was a neighborhood bar right on the Mother Road - Eden East Bar. Inside was a Detroit theme! Boy, after about 5 minutes, we felt like we were regulars. A fun, welcoming place and Randy, the owner was wonderful. We also met another couple, Paulie & Maureen. The more we talked, the more we had in common, with our Michigan background. What a fun little coincidence.

We come to a fork in the road in Pasadena...literally a fork in the road. It was an art work at a 3-way intersection. So this now makes 3 giant forks on our journey!

As we leave the Mother Road for our campground in Van Nuys, we find another Muffler Man - Kevin. He’s advertising for smog checks at a car repair place.