<– Day 18 – Apr. 6th: Wurlitzer to Wigwam | OVERVIEW | Day 20 – Apr. 8th: California Adventure w/ Mrs. Soggy Bottom –>

On the pier @ Huntington Beach, California

On Monday we and my ‘squaw’ awoke in our ‘teepee’ to a beautiful morning. The $70 we paid for a night at the Wigwam was a splurge for us, but we slept well and enjoyed the uniqueness of the experience.

The grounds are nicely kept and the area was clean.

Today we drove from San Bernardino to Fullerton, then on to Huntington Beach, before returning to Huntington.

Our first task of the day was to visit San Bernardino’s contribution to the world: The very first McDonalds in 1948. It turns out the ‘birth’ story of McDonald’s are actually two stories, the official McDonald corp stance and the actual truth. Thankfully, the founder of the Pollo Loco restaurants in Southern California has saved this original history (despite McDonald corp efforts to tell a different story). Even better, he’s made the museum free. Now, I wouldn’t drive hours out of my way to visit this, but if you are near San Bernardino, it is worth a short detour in my opinion.

Though not the original build, that is part of the original sign and this is the original location of the very first McDonalds.

Part of the mural on the side of the building commemorates the launch of the first McDonalds.

According to the McDonald corp, the first McDonald’s was started by Ray Kroc in Des Plaines, IL. It turns out that, yes, the Des Plaines location was the first McDonald’s Kroc started. But he launched that one as a franchisee of the McDonald brothers. It wasn’t until 1955 that Kroc bought out the McDonald Brothers and gained control of the business. Here’s some fast-food info:

History of the Hambuger

Birth of McDonalds

I wish this were clearer.

After the McDonalds history lesson (and after wasting about an hour trying to chase down a Rancho Cucamonga magnet — I won’t even go into that issue) we drove to Fullerton, California, where we will be spending the next few days. Once settled, we drove to the Huntington Beach so Ann could walk in the Pacific Ocean.

Ann playing in the water. We holding cameras, phones, keys, wallets . . .

Once we were done with the water, we walked the length of the pier to grab a chocolate shake at Ruby’s Diner. The weather had warmed to 90 degrees, but the light breeze kept us cool.

A pelican(?) minding his own business.

At the end of several piers in southern California are Ruby’s restaurants. They make some good food. Or, it tastes good because of the location. We split a very tasty chocolate shake.

Tomorrow (thanks to a donation from a reader) I am taking Ann to Disneyland 🙂

<– Day 18 – Apr. 6th: Wurlitzer to Wigwam | OVERVIEW | Day 20 – Apr. 8th: California Adventure w/ Mrs. Soggy Bottom –>