Esotouric to present Route 66 bus tour

Staycation, Route 66 Style: Bus tour reveals the retro jewels in L.A.'s own backyard

WHAT: Esotouric presents Route 66, a San Gabriel Valley bus tour in the "Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles" architecture and urbanism series

WHEN: Saturday August 2, 11am-4pm

COST: $58, or save $25 on four tours with a Season Pass

WHERE: Tours departs from Philippe the Original, opposite Union Station

With gas prices hitting stratospheric heights, it's getting tough to muster much enthusiasm for the classic American summer pasttime of hitting the open road and exploring historic highways. But if you think the best of Route 66 is hundreds of miles from L.A., think again. When Esotouric's Route 66 bus tour departs from Philippe's French Dip in downtown on August 2, passengers are in for a five-hour tour packed with stunning retro jewels plucked from L.A.'s own backyard.

On the ROUTE 66 tour, hosted by Esotouric's Richard Schave, several dozen intrepid urban explorers will board a luxury coach class bus and head due East along the old Mother Road (an affectionate nickname for historic Route 66) to explore how Southern California welcomed newcomers for much of the 20th Century. Route 66 only exists today in small fragments, but many of the unique attractions that dotted its length survive and flourish today.

The ROUTE 66 tour explores California's original mass transit corridor and the building of its dream, from climate to citrus industry, TB hospitals to candyflake car culture. Highlights in the August 2008 edition (the tourf eatures different stops each time it's offered) include a tour of E. Wald Ward Farm (the oldest surviving commercial citrus facility in LA, where passengers can buy scrumptious preserves and almond-filled olives to take home), a stroll through the halls and private rooms of Robert Stacy Judd's 1924 masterpiece The Aztec Motel (and yes, it's haunted), a visit to the astonishing Egypto-manic Covina Bowl bowling alley (once the 24-hour hub of community entertainment and still a popular destination), and a tour of the evocative bungalows of old Monrovia accompanied by host Richard Schave's lively rendition of a vintage bungalow booster tune.

The Reyner Banham Loves LA series of Esotouric bus adventures provides fresh ways of seeing the Southland and mingling with fascinating fellow travelers, and are a must for urban explorers, architecture buffs, San Gabriel Valley residents and anyone who enjoys turning over rocks to reveal the secrets beneath. Come ride and see for yourself.

Upcoming Esotouric event schedule (new tours starred):
Sat July 26 - Pasadena Confidential with Crimebo the Clown
Sat Aug.2 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: Route 66
Sat Aug 9- Vroman's Bookstore ­ Haunts of A Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowki's LA
Thurs Aug 14 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Aug 16 - The Real Black Dahlia
Sat Aug 23 ­ Skylight Books: John Fante's Dreams from Bunker Hill
*Sat Aug 30 - Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' LA
Sun Sept 7 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: South LA
Thurs Sept 11 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Sept 13 - Blood & Dumplings
Sat Sept 20 ­ Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: The Many Downtowns
Sat Oct 4 - Bodhi Tree: Visionary Hollywood with Erik Davis
Thurs Oct 9 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Oct 11- Vroman's Bookstore - Raymond Chandler's LA
Sat Oct 18- Raymond Chandler's Bay City
Sat Oct 25 ­ Halloween Horrors with Crimebo the Clown

For more info on Esotouric, please visit http://www.esotouric.com
For more on Reyner Banham, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reyner_Banham
And the BBC documentary "Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles" http://reyner.notlong.com