For those of you in the Southwest USA

I will be leaving Albuquerque on a 9 day motorcycle ride on May 7th. So far my only agenda is spending my birthday (may 8th) at Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, AZ and drinks at Trader Vics. Then on to San Diego via Highway 8 to hang with a friend for a couple of days. Since it seems that we all seem to have some similar off-beat tastes I figured it might be a good idea to ask you all for suggestions of "Not To Be Missed" stops or places along the way. My return trip may include Las Vegas and Grand Canyon but thats all still up in the air. So I'm looking for interesting places to eat, stay and interesting places to drink that are near the places to stsy (since I will be on 2 wheels). I'll be traveling alone so friendly camaraderie would be welcomed also. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

My first suggestion is to take that left turn that Bugs Bunny always missed...

Check Roadside America for things you like; the site allows you to take your selections and map out a route that'll take you by all the things you want to see.

The Roadfood Boards let you search for places to eat by locale or by search terms (just typing in "Tiki" turned up 300 hits on their message board, and I think a bunch of them were for Tiki Barber, so it pays to be specific in what you like).

Excellent advice...Thanks!

Well, since you're coming in on I-8, a cool place to stop is the Desert View Tower at the In-Ko-Pah Road exit.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9178

Come on folks, I know out of all of you, more people have some treasured places you can suggest for my trip. Think Albuquerque->Phoenix->Yuma->San Diego->LA->Las Vegas and back to Albuquerque. I know someone has memories of a great place to grab a meal, drink or photo. This is for my 40th Bday and I'm trying to make a list of stops that are EPIC. Think....that really greasy spoon with a good jukebox, that motel with a $2.00 museum in the back, that photo opportunity with the Aardvark. I've got a lot of miles to cover and a lot of time to fill. :) Help a brother out!

Just a suggestion: Go from ABQ to Tucson, then up to Phoenix. Go through Hatch and check out several rescued Roadside America style advertising icons (lumberjack, chicken, and others) that the guy who owns Sparky's Cafe has dotted around town (He's a cool bloke, too). You'll pass 'The Thing' on I10 which is an old-school roadside attraction well worth the (I think $2) admission. In Tucson we have several bars with character and also the Kon Tiki which you should most definitely check out (yes, we're biased). Then on up to Phoenix. This won't add much time/distance to your trip. We do the Tucson to ABQ trip several times a year and it's about 6-7 hours.
Hope this helps you on your way, and Happy Birthday!

So I reread your post and I guess you're hitting Phoenix first. If so, swing South to Tucson for a day and check us out before going West :)

[ Edited by: surfalaia 2010-09-27 00:05 ]