One Last Post

After a good nights sleep in our own bed, Sandy and I are still glad we made the trip and even talking about our next big road trip in a year of so – the great circle around the US.  We are debating about structuring the trip like this time, where I make hotel reservations before we even leave, or winging it and just stop where we stop.  The decision hinges on if we want to see any shows (David Letterman & Live with Regis & Kelly) while in New York.  We’d have to get the show tickets well in advance and for specific dates which means we’d have to plan the stops at least up to New York, which would be about a 1/3 of the way.

We had a great time on the road, got to meet a lot of nice people and really see some of the country that we either flew over or drove straight across while in the military.  I know gas prices have gone up, but this trip worked out to about $250 a day, which is up only about $30 from what it cost us five years ago when we went to Canada and Mount Rushmore.  That wasn’t all gas as hotel prices had jumped as well.

Thanks to all of you who posted comments or just read my daily scribbles.

 

Souvenirs

After unpacking discovered we had a lot more room in the car than I thought, here is a picture of the souvenirs we bought along the way and crammed in around our suit cases and bags of cloths. 

For the most part we got post-cards and magnets, but also got some coffee and beverage mugs.  We also picked up fliers and pamphlets from the various places we stopped along the way.  Sandy got some jewelry and a few pins and I got five Rt 66 logo Hawaiianprint shirts and a Rt 66 belt buckle (now I just have to buy a belt to go with it.  One of the shirts has a stand up collar which will allow me to convert it into a clergy shirt, so the folks at St George’s will see me in that shirt from time to time.

Home!

We arrive at home, a bit road weary, but happy about the trip.

We noticed the air was a lot browner coming home than when we left three weeks ago.

For those keeping score, the trip was 5481 miles.  Ended up with 32.4 miles per gallon and just over $700 for gas along the way.  Meals cost us well over $1000, so we spent more fueling us than the car.

In case you’ve been wondering how I’m able to get both Sandy and I in some of the photos, my camera has a timer function so I have about 15 seconds from the time I push the shutter until it takes the picture.  I mentioned being road weary, here is the photo I took trying to set up the one above.  Sandy thinks this shot is a better visual of how we are after 20 days on the road.

A good caption would be – Why isn’t this thing working?

We drove probably the last 30 miles today with the top down, just couldn’t see finishing the trip any other way.

Our dog Iggy was excited to see us, but then he’s excited to see us when we get home from the grocery store.  It will be nice to sleep in our own bed. 

The long last day

Had we not gone back through Victorville and Barstow, today would have still been one of our longer days, but what is an extra 150 miles when you’ve driven 19 miles short of 5500 in the last three weeks.  Actually we made good time, I forget that no one drives the speed limit in California, even with concerns for gas mileage.  We left LA at 9:10, visited the two museums and had lunch, then hit the road for home from Barstow at 1:15 p.m.  made it to our drive way by 7:55 p.m. with a short stop and McDonald’s in Merced.

Cutting across from Barstow to Bakersfield to get to Highway 99 we went past Boran (20 Mule Team country for those old enough to remember Ronald Reagan’s TV Western Show).  The Mojave Desert is pretty desolate, but they had a nice rest stop so took a picture, in the back ground is a borax plant.

We drove up Highway 99 because it is more interesting than I-5, also wanted to take a photo of the Giant Orange hamburger stand along the way.  It was north of Madera CA but we didn’t see it and from the road construction going on in that area it looks like it got bulldozed so the road can we widened.  The last time Sandy and I had been down in LA we had come back up 99 and stopped for fresh orange juice there.  I know the road needs additional lanes, but it is sad that the last of the giant orange stands on 99 is gone.

Addendum:  After we got home learned that the “Giant Orange” had been moved from the highway to Chowchilla.  As I had guessed the highway improvement was going to run right over the original site of the Giant Orange, next time we are down that way I’ll have to swing into Chowchilla and find the new location of the Gaint Orange.

We head for home with a little detour

Today we headed for home.

Sandy and I decided that it wasn’t that much out of our way, only an extra 150 miles, to swing through Victorville and Barstow on our way home so we could visit the two Route 66 Museums that were closed when we went through there last Tuesday. 

Both museums were small, but nicely done with with the history of there stretches of Route 66 and the towns and surrounding area.  And of course they had gift shops so we did our final shopping.

While they were nice, Oklahoma still has the best of the museums of any of the states.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner in LA – The Red Lion Tavern

 

 As we were getting ready to drive to Rob’s for dinner, Sandy noticed that running with the top down had lightened her hair, showing more silver/gray.  I had kind of noticed mine is a bit more silvery than before the trip, but I figured it looked that way because my face and forehead was tanner than when we started the trip.

 

We went to dinner at the Red Lion Tavern, a German Restaurant that we’ve been to before with Rob.  The food is much like that in the restaurant’s in Germany.  Also like the German restaurants the part of the bar/dining room that we were in only had one waitress who kept up with all of the tables without a problem.  Most places would have had two or more waitresses for the number of tables and not provided as good of service.

 

 

The food was good as usual.  Plus they have a good beer selection of tap.  Took this shot without flash, but it gives some idea of the place, dark wood, low lighting, lots of beer steins.

Rob’s Apartment/Studio

Before dinner tonight we went to Rob’s place to see what he is working on.  While he is primarily painting isolated bus stops, traffic lights and gas stations, he is starting to do some traditional still life’s and portraits.

 

 

For more on his work, his website is http://robertolsenart.com/

 

Because of our trip we didn’t plant a garden, but Rob decided he’d do a tomato plant in a container on his little balcony.   He has only had the plant for a couple of weeks and already it’s doing better than the tomatoes I planted last year.

Lunch – Say Cheese

Today is a rest day, nothing really planned other than getting together with Rob and getting ready for the long drive home tomorrow.  As we didn’t have any lunch plans we decided to look up the restaurant that Reggie Southerland has in the Silverlake area of LA.  Reggie was the runner up on “the Next Food Network Star” for season 2.  Reggie was Sandy and my favorite, although we do watch Guy’s shows on the Food Network, but then we watch a lot of Food Network programs.  Anyway his place is called Say Cheese and besides a small cafe it also has a little deli/catering service.  We were pleased that Reggie was there and we got to talk with him, he is just as friendly and personable in person as he seemed on the show.  He seemed genuinely surprised and pleased that we remembered him from the show.  He gave us each a cookie, he said he periodically makes cookies for the staff at the restaurant.  He warned us they were a bit different and would understand if we didn’t like them, they were chocolate chip and bacon.  While that isn’t a normal cookie combination, they were great – I ate all of mine, but Sandy brought part of hers back to the hotel as she was stuffed from lunch.  I keep offering to help her with her carb count by finishing off the cookie, but she decided she just wouldn’t test her blood any more today.  By the way Sandy had a Tuna fish sandwich, which she says is the best Tuna Sandwich she ever had.  In case you aren’t aware Sandy’s standards for cooking are pretty high so it isn’t common for her to say something is the best she’s ever had.  Besides being good the sandwiches were BIG, so she wasn’t able to finish it all, so I got to sample it.  I’m not a huge fan of Tuna sandwiches, but had to agree that was one good tasting sandwich.

Reggie was happy to let me take a photo of him and Sandy, and yes he is a big guy.  If you are ever in LA and want a good lunch, try the Say Cheese at 2800 Hyperion in the Silverlake area of LA.

Addendum, Sandy finished her cookie and decided that the bacon, with it’s saltiness was like adding nuts to a cookie.  She also let me have the last part of her cookie, when she asked if I wanted it, I snatched it and ate it before she could change her mind.

Breakfast with Rob

This morning, rather than having breakfast at the hotel, Rob picked us up and we went to breakfast.  Since Rob has lived in LA (about 10 years now) he avoids chain restaurants and eats at only local places, many ethnic.  Over the years we’ve eaten at Cuban, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Korean, Chinese, etc.  This morning it was a breakfast place called Square One – Food and service were good, but breakfast for the three of us was $60.00.  I’m not sure Rob actually eats at these places that often, waiting for us to come down – the tradition in our family is the oldest male pays regardless of who selects the restaurant.  Had Rob take our morning photo in front of the restaurant, not a real big place or one that would catch your eye if you were driving by, understatement seemed to be their theme.

Visiting Friends

This evening we went to visit friends (Karen & Charles Suri), had dinner at their home in Lakewood, a suburb south of LA.  Checking my map program it was only 29 miles from our hotel to their place and most of that was freeway.  I estimated 1 hour to go a bit under 30 miles – forgetting a) we would be driving between 5 and 6 p.m. and b) this is LA so doubling the time doesn’t cut it during commute or just about any other time.  Actually only took an extra 15 minutes as traffic was moving pretty good the farther we got from downtown LA.  “Pretty good” meaning we occasionally got up to the posted speed limit.

Had a nice dinner and good conversation.  It was nice catching up.