Some locals came here with their own scuba gear for diving. It is said that if you are lucky, you can see whales. To the west are rocky beaches with white waves beating rhythmically.
Yunluo felt that she had worked hard! Afterwards, they drove past Big Sur, a large forest park with many people fishing in the creeks in the forest. Many American tourists also chose to spend their weekends here. Yunluo and Yan Chenyu just passed by in a hurry.
We originally planned to go to Hertz Castle, but the ticket price per person was a bit expensive, and Yunluo and Yan Chenyu didn't have enough time, so we didn't go in. The town in front of Hertz Castle is quite nice, with large farms by the sea. A house full of Mexican style welcomes the few tourists who come here for lunch.
The horses on the farm were lying lazily, with no moral integrity at all. Along the way, we also saw the depression of the coastline, and there was a thin layer of fog on the mountainside, like a piece of Hada presented by the ocean to the earth. It was very magical, and I don’t know what the principle is.
In fact, the biggest surprise on Highway 1 today was that before reaching Hertz Castle, we suddenly saw a large open space on the seashore. A large parking lot popped up, and there were countless cars and tourists. Yunluo and Yan Chenyu also turned in to see what was going on. It turned out to be a seal beach, a stretch of sand no more than 30 meters wide and about 1 kilometer long.
There are hundreds of seals lazily lying around. Visitors can only watch them from the pier, but the distance is close enough. The expressions of the seals are absolutely adorable.
The feeling of seeing animals in the animal world on TV is far inferior to seeing the real animals in the zoo. This may be the meaning of the existence of zoos; and seeing animals in the zoo is far inferior to the encounter and close contact with animals in real life. This may also be the meaning of travel.
We arrived in Santa Barbara in the evening, a small town where Danes gather. It was already dark when we arrived here. We went to the seaside pier to look at the night view, and then hurried on our way. We were still more than 100 miles away from Los Angeles. Because of time constraints, we could only say that we passed by California Highway 1.
There are many places worth stopping to see but I didn't have time. But I didn't regret it. The best scenery is on the road. For example, I met a homeless man walking his cat on a rope at a gas station. Just like when we passed a railway by the sea at sunset, the rails, sleepers, reeds and the sea were quiet and beautiful.
I have no feelings about Los Angeles and I haven't decided where to go. The only thing I'm sure of is that I promised to go skydiving with Brother Shang Chao. Sabrina wants to go shopping at the outlets. The outlets in Palm Springs and the skydiving location in Perris are both in the east of Los Angeles, so Yunluo and Yan Chenyu plan to go to the outlets for an hour first.
After buying things, they went skydiving together. It turned out that Yunluo and Yan Chenyu were too naive.
It would take nearly two hours to drive to the outlet mall. I planned to spend an hour but actually spent two and a half hours. Women are really crazy once they enter the mall! Just kidding, Sabrina actually shopped very fast, and Yunluo and Shangchao also bought some things. It is indeed cheap here.
Yunluo also had to buy some autumn and winter clothes. She bought a winter coat and jeans at guess, which came in handy for the subsequent trip on Route 66. Flying from Los Angeles to Chicago was like flying from summer to winter.
When we left the outlet and went to Perris' sky dive base, it was already around 4 o'clock. The skydiving reservations for that day had ended, so we could only jump tomorrow. Yunluo and Shangchao made an appointment for tomorrow's noon without hesitation. Sabrina hesitated for a while and finally decided to visit Universal Studios as planned tomorrow.
Although the female manager of the skydiving club repeatedly convinced her that skydiving would definitely be more memorable than Universal Studios, Yunluo and Shangchao then signed various waivers, life and death statements, and also needed a video recording of them reading the document: the gist of the document was that Yunluo was well aware that this was a dangerous sport.
If an accident occurs, it has nothing to do with the skydiving club. In fact, other activities, such as paragliding, bungee jumping, diving, etc., will sign similar waivers, but this is the first time I have seen video evidence, so I was a little nervous.
It was already past 6 o'clock when we drove back to Los Angeles. A friend of Shang Chao's, Stefanie, a Taiwanese who grew up in the United States, invited Yunluo and Yan Chenyu to eat Sichuan cuisine. She could eat spicy food quite well, but she had never known what Maoxuewang was. This time she ordered one, which opened her eyes and she said it was really delicious.
Yunluo finally had her first taste of maoxuewang in the US, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Afterwards, they went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, including the Oscars theater, the Dolby Theater, formerly known as the Kodak Theater. Yunluo was more interested in finding some actors she knew and liked on the Walk of Fame.
Including Robin Williams, Natalie Portman, Matt Damon, etc., but I couldn't find Audrey Hepburn's star. I didn't do enough research beforehand. Two Russian aunts fell to the ground and took photos with Tom Cruise's star. Tom Cruise's charm is so charming that even the women of the fighting nation are impressed.
It was another red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Chicago, but I was quickly frozen awake as soon as I left the Chicago airport. Chicago was the coldest day of this trip to the United States. The coat I had just bought at the Palm Springs outlet two days ago quickly came in handy. There was no free wifi at the airport, and Yunluo couldn't contact his friends. Fortunately, he asked passers-by how to make a pay phone call.
The gentleman helped Yunluo call his friend on Skype and arranged a time to meet at the airport gate. After shivering in the cold wind for half an hour, he finally saw his companions who were driving on Highway 66 arriving. Xiao Jiang and Brother Yu, who were about the same age as Yunluo, drove in. Yunluo said, "Get in the car first. It's freezing outside."
They had already been to the 0 km starting point of Route 66. Since they were already at the airport and didn't want to go back to the city during the morning rush hour, Yunluo didn't care whether to start from 0 km or not, so he drove straight to Wilmington, the first stop of the day. After leaving Chicago, they entered the rural landscape of the central region.
Although it was cloudy, the soft light made the crops, country roads and cute houses look fresh and bright. Yunluo and Yan Chenyu followed the navigation and tried to take the historic Route 66. If there was no other way, they would take the interstate highway and expressway built later.
I have taken many detours for this purpose. This time, I took a detour into the country roads as soon as I arrived, and I saw a lot of unexpected scenery.
The most iconic element of Route 66 in Wilmington is the Jiminy Giant, which was used for advertising in history but has now fallen into disrepair. Here you can only see this one standing by the road. It is not as tall as you might imagine. The most famous thing in Braidwood is the Drive Inn, which may have arrived earlier.
This drive-in restaurant is not open yet. Through the glass, you can see a row of Route 66 road signs in the restaurant. There are eight signs in total, each with the name of the eight states that the road passes through. There are four life-size statues at the door, including Elvis and Monroe. Across the road not far from the restaurant is a "zoo".
The animals inside are all colorful dolls, and judging by the material, they are probably made of sponge. Very cute.
The weather gradually cleared up as we drove along the way. We accidentally walked into a bar in Lexington. Of course, the bar was empty in the morning, but this was the first time I saw this kind of Mexican-style road bar in the United States. It was exactly the same as in the movies and in my imagination. There was a pool table in the corner. The table was located in the middle of the bar.
There are neatly arranged cups hanging upside down, and some skull-shaped ornaments next to them, and their eyeballs light up. At night, it must be a state of chaos. After talking to the boss for a few words, I know that this Lexington is not the same as that Lexington. The "gunshots in Lexington" in history books are the ones in Massachusetts.
There are quite a few cities with the same name. The next stop, Springfield, also has one in Missouri. Springfield, Illinois, is the capital of the state. It is famous because the great President Lincoln lived here for a long time when he was a lawyer in his youth, so there is Lincoln's former residence and cemetery here.
Lincoln's Tomb is on the outskirts of the city, a bit far away. Since it was not on their way, Yunluo and Yan Chenyu did not go there. They just walked around the city center. The more famous buildings, the Capitol, Union Station and the Lincoln Museum are all around the square. The museum requires a ticket, I think it was $10, I forgot.
Yunluo once thought that all museums in the United States were free. There was also a seated statue of Lincoln in the square. The Lincoln's former residence four blocks away was inconspicuous in itself. The surrounding streets were very quiet and covered with fallen leaves.
We arrived in St. Louis, Missouri in the evening. The city is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. The city's landmark building, the Gateway to the West, can be seen ten kilometers away. However, Yunluo and Yan Chenyu stayed overnight in a motel in the eastern suburbs of the city and planned to visit the famous Arch tomorrow.
I parked my car on the side of the road and walked up the bridge. The steel bridge frame had long been rusted, and there were old gas station booths, broken glass gas lamps, and old tractors. The old cars parked on the bridge seemed to recreate the busyness of the bridge in the past. There were no tourists on the bridge, only a woman running.
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
There was a black couple taking a walk and a Marine on vacation. When Yunluo was walking back after shopping, he saw a car parked in front of Yunluo and Yan Chenyu's car. Brother Yu and Brother Jiang didn't understand English, so they waved to Yunluo for help from a distance. Yunluo thought he was caught by the police for illegal parking, so he sprayed them all the way.
After figuring out the situation, they found out that a black girl's car ran out of gas and broke down next to Yunluo and Yan Chenyu, asking for help. Yunluo and Jiang decided to push the car because the gas station was just 600 meters ahead. A week ago, Yunluo and Mushroom's car almost broke down on the way back to Salt Lake City from Las Vegas.
Yunluo joked at the time that if there was no gas, he could just get out of the car and push it. Unexpectedly, it would be a "perfect success" today.
The last section was actually uphill, and Yunluo and Yan Chenyu were having a hard time pushing the bike. When they saw a pickup truck coming out of a gas station, they immediately waved for help. The two American buddies readily parked their car on the side of the road and ran over to help push the bike. The last 10 meters of the slope were too steep, so one of the buddies came up with an idea.
The pickup truck was used to push the car up through the soft clothes. The job was done, and the strangers sweated together and fist-bumped to celebrate.
There is a free parking lot next to the church. After crossing a small park, you will reach the foot of the gate arch. The large silver-white arch is the tallest monumental building in the world. It is semi-elliptical and its central axis is the long axis. It is hard to imagine how such a peculiar building was built at that time.
My companions bought $10 tickets and took the elevator to the top observation deck, while Yunluo wandered around the museum in the lobby on the first floor. Since it is called the Gateway to the West, this museum tells stories related to the westward movement, such as how Thomas Jefferson facilitated this expansion that had far-reaching significance for the United States.
There are also some very interesting puppets. When you walk up to them, they will actually move and then "speak" to explain how the social classes they represent view the torrent of that era. There are blacksmiths, vendors, Indians, pioneers, women and children, etc. It's quite interesting.
Next is the highlight of today, Cuba town! PS: Before arriving in Cuba, you will pass by a Harley motorcycle shop, where there are many new and second-hand cars, as well as some historical Harley models collected by the owner. It can be regarded as a private Harley museum.
In addition, you will pass by a Swiss-style paradise-like town. The calm and blue lake reflects the exquisite little houses on the grass slopes, which is very beautiful.
The Cuban town is famous for its 12 murals. Yunluo and Yan Chenyu bought some food for lunch at McDonald's and asked the waiter where the murals were. The waiter said that they could be seen by driving along the main street towards the center of the town. They were so conspicuous that it was impossible to miss them.
The parking space was right under a mural of a female pilot. At the time, there were two local middle-aged women standing on a ladder repainting and maintaining the mural. They were very enthusiastic and gave a booklet to Yunluo and Yan Chenyu. The map above marked the locations of 12 murals (the location of one of them was marked incorrectly).
It also tells the stories behind the 12 paintings. The incorrectly marked wall painting tells the story of a popular movie actress who was walking out of a movie theater accompanied by her fiancé. She was caught by paparazzi. After refusing to be interviewed, the reporter still used the flash to force her to take pictures. In order to protect the actress, the fiancé got into a fight with the reporter. (To be continued...)