Most triumphant place visited:
Ben: Zion National Park, Utah. The only place in the trip that elicited loud profanities from me while riding my motorcycle!
Fran: Yosemite National park. the waterfalls were like something out of a fairy tale, dramatic and fantastical.
Justin: Zion or the Grand Canyon. Zion was an awesome ride, but the Grand Canyon was breathtaking.
Best Hotel:
Ben: The Santa Maria Inn. Not the most modern, but easily the most lavish and characterful.
Fran: ditto, the most personality and charm all wrapped into one old real hotel, not a motel!
Justin: The historic Santa Maria Inn and the Hotel at Yosemite in El Portal (giant bathtub!)
Best Meal :
Ben: Delicious and abundant sushi dinner at St. George Utah, served by the chattiest waitress ever.
Fran:French toast and syrup. Followed closely by the sushi in Utah.
Justin: The Samurai 21 sushi rolls were great, the 'street tacos' at the Mexican restaurant at the Grand Canyon is a close second.
Most excellent American:
Ben: The old man in the hotel lobby at the Utah best Western who suggested we eat at the "Chuck-o-Rama" because it had "good food for guys on two wheels... I ride a hog! An Electroglide!"
Fran: Waitress in Utah, as she had the ability to talk more and faster than me. Respect.
Justin: All of the many gas station attendants who gave us good directions all over the place, from LA to Utah and Arizona.
Best Route:
Ben: Valley of Fire National park. It was hot, but relaxing and amazing scenery (There have been lots of great routes but a lot of them have not been what I'd call relaxing).
Fran: Route 66 of course, coming into Amboy gas station, with a freight train passing and it's lonely windswept neglect was inexplicably satisfying.
Justin: Route 66 at Amboy was cool, and riding across the Golden Gate Bridge was great, even if the weather wasn't!
Most memorable moment:
Fran: riding out of death valley towards lone pine as a lightning storm raged behind us.
Justin: Riding through the Snow and ice at the Grand Canyon was pretty unforgettable, but the best memory is some of those lonely roads through the desert where there was nothing else in the world but me, my best buddy, his best girl, and our motorcycles....
Ben: Same as Justin's... Unsurprisingly.
Best purchase:
Ben: My hideous brown Yosemite rain jacket. My awesome mesh Icon jacket turned out to be less than ideal for the FREAK RAINSTORMS we encountered.. This humble garment worn on top of it made me water and windproof and therefore comfortable, although looking like a brown Mr Incredible.
Fran: my fannypack (ben loves his too) it's practical on the bike and is still funny every time we say the word "fannypack".
Justin: My Route 66 hoodie. I would have frozen to death without it!
To our friends who have followed our most excellent adventure, remember: "be excellent to each other" and "party on dudes!"
...and who knows, there may be a sequel in the works...
Oh and the final "I love your accent" count was 6.5 - not bad!
*update*: Forgot to mention, when we returned the bikes, the final mileage was just under 2900 miles (@4600 kms)
Location:Los Angeles, CA
