Freelance Announcer Aika Kanda: “The Challenge of My Second Year! The Himura Couple’s Route 66 Journey, Part 3—What I Gained from Completing the Trip”

“Glitches Come Standard”

My husband and I embarked on a journey to fulfill our dream last summer vacation: a cross-country trip along Route 66, covering a total distance of approximately 3,800 km. We started at the eastern end in Chicago and have finally arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We have three days left. Our destination is Santa Monica, the western end of the route, about 1,400 km away.

In Albuquerque, my husband and I enjoyed touring the filming locations of “Breaking Bad,” a TV series we both love. After that, we drove about 520 km, taking breaks along the way, and arrived at our lodging for the night: Flagstaff.

It’s a summer resort town at an elevation of over 2,000 meters, and it reminded me of Karuizawa. This town, which attracts many tourists, even had a shopping mall. Under normal circumstances, no matter how tired I was, I’d be all excited, thinking, “I’ve got to get a souvenir!”

But on this trip, I was different. That’s because I’d bought a Hermès wallet in advance at the duty-free shop at Haneda Airport so I could focus solely on the long-distance drive. Thanks to that, my wallet was completely empty. Just as I’d planned, I walked right past the shopping mall, feeling triumphant inside and thinking, “Take that!”

Day 4. Only 900 km left—two days, including today. As soon as I got in the car, a red light came on on the screen in front of the driver’s seat. I blurted out, “Here we go!” Malfunctions are just par for the course with American rental cars.

Last year, the light came on because the engine oil was low, and we had to swap cars at an airport off Route 66. “What is it this year?!” I snapped, but my husband calmly asked ChatGPT. The answer was, “The tire pressure may be low.” “!!!!” I stared in disbelief.

When I first picked up this car three days ago, I had a vague feeling that the left rear tire looked a bit flatter than the others. When I pressed it with my finger, it gave way just a little. I reported it to my husband right away, but he said, “That can’t be right,” and just kept driving.

The words “I knew it!” were right on the tip of my tongue, but saying that would be the end of it. I settled for saying in a playful voice, “Is it that left rear tire I was worried about?”

We headed straight to a gas station. The attendant who checked the tire pressure pointed to the left rear tire and said, “Oh! Super low!” I screamed inside my head, “See? I told you so!!” But I just gave my husband a surprised look with a faint smile and silently praised myself for being such a pro wife.

We set off again. As we crossed the mountains along the way, we came upon a winding road with sheer cliffs and no guardrails. If we fell, help would never come. We slowed down and drove on, slowly taking in the scenery that looked like some planet from *Star Wars*.After driving about 370 km, we arrived in a town called Needles. We had finally entered California, the last of the eight states traversed by Route 66.

A Different-than-Expected Finish

Day 5. Finally, the last day. We set off toward the “End” sign in Santa Monica, about 530 km away. The road was lined with palm trees, and before we knew it, we were fully immersed in that quintessential California vibe.

Right after stopping at the site of the first McDonald’s, we got caught in a massive traffic jam. At first, I was excited, thinking, “This must mean we’re getting close to Los Angeles,” but the roughly 530 km—which we’d been covering in under four hours up until then—ended up taking over nine hours, and by the time we reached the finish line, I was completely exhausted.

I got out of the car and slowly made my way toward the Route 66 End Sign. The setting sun was illuminating the Santa Monica ocean—the perfect moment to reach the finish line. Ever since last summer, I’d kept driving while imagining the two of us against this backdrop: shouting at the top of our lungs, shedding tears, hugging each other, and jumping for joy as we celebrated achieving our goal.

But in reality, without even raising our voices, we joined the line of people taking photos at the “End of Route 66” sign. When our turn came, we walked up slowly, exchanged quiet words of “Thank you” and “Good job,” and rubbed the sign with the palms of our hands.

I still wonder why that was. It wasn’t just because we were tired. Of course, we felt a sense of accomplishment—we’d pulled off something amazing! But I also feel like the sadness of the challenge coming to an end outweighed that feeling, and above all, it was a moment when we truly realized that we couldn’t have done it without each other.

Spending two years traveling approximately 3,800 km across the American continent gave us time to appreciate each other’s presence. This is what I learned from completing the journey. That’s how I feel.

Aika Kanda / Born in 1980 in Kanagawa Prefecture.After graduating from the Department of Mathematics in the Faculty of Science at Gakushuin University, she joined NHK as an announcer in 2003. She left NHK in 2012 to become a freelance announcer. Since then, she has been active primarily in variety shows and currently appears regularly as the main MC on the daytime series “Pokapoka” (Fuji TV network).

★ Her first book , *Where Does the ‘Royal Road’ Lead? *, a compilation of this series , is now on sale to great acclaim!

From the November 6, 2026, issue of *FRIDAY*