A Silly Grin In LA - #19

Sunday 22 April

The bikes were wet - caused by heavy fog.  None of the locals looked surprised!

Roger & Wendy were packing up and leaving as I wandered outside yawning and scratching... They had a long way to go.  Wendy signalled me over, it was to help her push her Harley backwards out of the packing space. She was a tiny wee thing. She had a big grin saying I knew I should have backed her in last night but just couldn't be bothered. We wished them safe travels.

Yay, another free breakfast awaited.

It was a bitter sweet day today.  It was going to be our last full day of riding back into where it all began.

We had decided to get to Santa Barbara for brunch and then head down the Pacific highway and turn up into the Canyons for a ride to The Rock Store.  It was a Sunday and a nice day and that's usually when the bikes come out for a ride and catch up with other bikers.

First a stop at Santa Barbara for brunch. The ride was cool with fog present for much of the ride to Santa Barbara. We were warm enough though it was nice just sitting at a steady 65mph. Enjoying our last proper ride. I'd got quite attached to my bike and would miss it when I hopped off for the last time. Again, I had underestimated the fuel situation and when the wee LED came on I started looking for a garage. They are never there when you need them. Eventually we came off the freeway and into a small town that was hosting a car show, old school cars. Some beautiful beasts there were. Lots of bikes in town also, the town for some reason seemed excluded by the fog and was quite nice in the sun.

Onward - Mr GPS bringing us nicely into Santa Barbara and straight to the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Where using their WIFI, we checked our progress and sorted out the route ahead.

We had already decided we would end our trip where it all began, at the Custom Hotel, so we didn't have to worry about sorting out accommodation. We liked it there and it felt nice and familiar. By doing the Rock Store today and then getting into LA we could spend Monday morning finding somewhere to do last minute shopping before we had to drop the bikes off.  So today was going to be quite chilled really.

Santa Barbara was certainly a notch or three up from Santa Maria and could see why the lady had recommended it to stay in preference to SM. It was nice just taking in the views and enjoying the ambiance. People were very laid back and just enjoying their chilled Sunday morning.  Jogging, waking their dogs and calling in for a coffee and muffin.  The Coffee Bean was very busy.

We watched one particularly attractive lady walk past with her wee doggie, Nev sighed and said 'Yip, three weeks is a long time isn't it'.  I knew what he meant and said very firmly to Nev that I wanted to know the very instant that he found me even a little bit attractive! We both laughed with people wondering what the joke was! After a tinkle it was time to throw the leg over our horses again.

Again, it was nice just enjoying the ride as we slid in towards the big smoke of LA. The bikes just humming along. Nev was listening to Joan Jet singing I love Rock and Roll and AC/DC on his bike stereo and I could hear it through his Bluetooth unit in my helmet. I said I never figured you for a AC/DC fan and he replied that his daughter had loaded the CD for him. That explained it.

Riding down towards the Ventura highway I was again running low of fuel and again had trouble finding petrol stations.  Nev made the observation that once you have fuelled up then you only see garages.  Murphy is alive and well in the USA too apparently.

Sending us northward on the 101, and away from the coastal No.1 highway Mr GPS obviously choosing the fastest way rather than the shortest distance. We rode in the Canyon area and eventually onto the Mulholland Highway. We found The Rock Store and it was in full swing. Bikes parked everywhere and more coming and going all the time.  I wasn't sure if it was going to be open because of the owner passing away, but it was.  And it was busy. I bought a pop drink and some T-shirts.

Ahhh - a great Sunday ride!

Moi at The Rock Shop!

We just watched for quite some time, with some interesting bikes in the parking lot. Jay Leno didn't come this Sunday, or at least not while we were there anyway. All sorts of bikers there, the show-offs, the posers, the weekend cruisers. Young ladies who obviously knew how to ride, big ole boys, young guys, tourists, (I guess that was us). Couples, all sorts!

Great paint job!

Loved this one!

Hoping I wouldn't stall, we eventually moved on out and back down the canyon roads towards LA.

Back onto the freeway I tried to conserve the battery of the GPS and turned it off for the long stretch before we would need it again.

Turned it back on, got it sorted and promptly missed the turnoff we needed! Man....  Got back onto the freeway and around and around we went. I was starting to feel a bit stressed and Nev went respectfully and wisely a bit quiet, just waiting for me to work off my frustration!

It was like the LA freeways were just reminding who was boss and having one last crack at this rookie tourist that thought getting a GPS was going to solve his problems.

Just when I really needed it Mr GPS said I'm outta here and shut down! Why oh why don’t these bikes have a plug for a 12 volt plug? Nev & I were free-wheeling it again and having learnt from past experience you can just ride around for hours looking for familiar roads, so when we saw a Starbucks, in we popped.

One coffee later, we found we were on a road that should have been familiar and in fact only 4.5 miles away from our hotel.

My mood got progressively better and Nev sensed it was OK to start talking to me again. Hehe... He really is a good mate to ride with, we get on well together.

Pulling into The Custom Hotel was like coming home and felt comfortable and good. The girls behind the counter are great, friendly and greeted us like long lost friends and explorers!

They put us on the 10th floor this time and we had a great view of LAX. The familiar tails of Qantas and Air New Zealand easily recognisable. There something that makes you feel proud of New Zealand when you see the Koru standing out, (well to Kiwis anyway!), among the rest.

We unloaded the horses and freshened up. We caught our by now familiar $1 Big Blue Bus down to Route 66 to retrieve our suitcases and Nev's cardboard box. He correctly guessed that his original cardboards box had mysteriously disappeared and they had to find him another one. There was a bit of discussion about his poor bike and what the steps would be to sorting that particular issue out. They would do a ball park figure of the damage but wouldn't be able to do it properly until Bartels HD could look at it.

Returning we starting moving our stuff back into the receptacles that would transport our stuff safely back to NZ.

We went down to Deck 33 for a supper and a beer or two.

It was great to be back but not great to be back.

We had our last beer with dinner and just chilled for a while, reminiscing about the trip with all the highs and a couple of lows.

The view from our 10th floor window - of LAX

Upstairs and more packing – tired – bed – nighty nite!

Last sleep in the USA