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Travelogue:
California and Arizona
March 2006
By
Roger W. Reini
By
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Prologue - March 9
When I made my last visit to California in September 2004,
I caught a cold on the way home and had a miserable return trip on the
train. In two days, I will be taking the train again to the
Golden State, and once again, I’ll be suffering from a
cold. I caught this one Monday/Tuesday overnight, so I’ll
have had five days to recover. The trip may still be a bit
uncomfortable, but it should be less so than if I’d caught the
cold the day of the trip.
On this trip, I’m planning to go to Los Angeles and then
Arizona. My first days there will be in Orange County –
Anaheim, to be precise. I have tickets to two games of the World
Baseball Classic (Monday night and Tuesday afternoon), and I am
considering visiting Disneyland then. Might I want to postpone my
Disney activities until the following week? I won’t really
know that for a few days. Now it’s time to continue packing.
Top
Saturday March 11
I woke up slightly after 6 this morning, giving me plenty of time to
check e-mail and do my final packing. Unfortunately, I
didn’t give myself enough time to put the season finale of Battlestar Galactica
onto DVD (I had recorded it with my TiVo Friday night), meaning I
wouldn’t be able to watch it until my return. Actually, I
could buy the episode through iTunes, but it would be sized for viewing
on an iPod – in other words, a small image.
By 7 AM, I was in my car pulling out of the driveway. It was a
bit chilly outside, which one would expect for March in Michigan.
There was a hint of fog as I drove down Ford Road to Mercury Drive in
Dearborn to reach the train station. The access roads to the
train station had changed somewhat since my last trip there, but
nothing major. I found a parking spot, parked, and went inside
the station wheeling my bags. I stood in the ticket line thinking
that I had to check in, but I didn’t. The line was only for
those buying or picking up tickets. After buying a Pepsi, I went
out to the boarding area and stood around with everyone else for quite
some time. The train was half an hour late pulling into the
station. I wasn’t too concerned by this, for I had a
three-hour layover in Chicago planned.
The cold that had started Monday was definitely on the decline.
Although it kept me home from work for two days, it seemed to be
subsiding more rapidly than usual. That was perfectly fine with
me. I recalled another time (September 1997) when I caught a cold
on vacation, only to have it progress rapidly and go away when I took a
trip to San Francisco. It wasn’t gone yet, but I was
feeling much better than I had been a few days ago.
Today’s trip was one that I had taken many times before, but not
like this. On every previous trip out of Dearborn, I rode Coach
class. Today, I took Business Class for the first time. And
what did I get with my $10 premium? A complimentary drink (I
chose root beer), a complimentary newspaper (New York Times), a bit
more comfortable seat, and very close access to the café.
In fact, I had to pass through the café to go anyplace else on
the train. I sat on the south side of the train throughout the
trip, so as I left, I got to see the TPC golf course, Greenfield
Village, the POEE building at work, etc.
The fog deepened as we passed through Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. It
was cloudy in Jackson, Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. I passed the
time by reading the paper, then by reading the latest issue of QST
magazine (for amateur radio; I recently became a licensed amateur,
KD8CSE) and the book Beyond Band of Brothers
by Dick Winters. I had to blow my nose a few times due to my
cold, but not as much as I had feared. Still, I had carried
several packs of travel Kleenex with me, just in case.
We were traveling at a pretty good clip between Kalamazoo and New
Buffalo, reaching over 90 miles an hour. Amtrak owns this section
of the track, so it’s not hindered by freight train
traffic. By the time we got to New Buffalo and northern Indiana,
it was noticeably warmer on the train. I was wishing I had worn a
lighter shirt; but if I had, I would have been complaining earlier that
I was cold. As we rolled through Michigan City, Indiana, I
noticed a large group of motorcyclists preparing to hit the road.
I don’t think they would have been doing that if it were cold and
snowy!
The train arrived at Union Station 12:20 PM Chicago time. As soon
as I got off the train, I was thinking about lunch. I ended up
going to McDonald’s for a double Filet-O-Fish sandwich.
Interestingly enough, when I made this same trip six years ago, I had a
Filet-O-Fish there as well, though it was a single rather than a
double. However, that time, it made me somewhat ill; I did not
have a repeat performance today. Next, I visited the newsstands,
debating what to buy. I didn’t get anything, not right
away, because of the baggage I was hauling. It would have been
another bag to carry when I was already overloaded. Then it was
off to the Metropolitan Lounge for sleeping car passengers, where I
checked my bags and checked my e-mail. On my last visit here
(September 2004), I couldn’t do this, for I couldn’t
connect my cell phone to my Powerbook. At the time, I wondered if
I should get a new cell phone. Two months later, I did, one with
Bluetooth capability, allowing me to connect wirelessly to the
Powerbook. I sent a short note to my sister and to my aunt and
uncle describing the trip so far, telling them I was feeling fine,
etc. I then called another aunt and uncle and let them know that
I was going on vacation – that I was already ON vacation, in fact!
While in the lounge, I worked on the first part of this entry. I
would frequently get up and go for a drink (note to any
Bahá’ís reading this: I was recovering from a cold
and thus eligible for exemption from the Fast). At one point, I
left the lounge, Powerbook in hand, and revisited the newsstands, a
task more easily performed while not wheeling heavy luggage. I
got an advance copy of the Chicago Tribune and the Saturday Wall Street
Journal. Were I not on vacation, I would have received the
Journal at home, but I’d stopped delivery for the duration of the
vacation. At one point, an Amtrak employee (the conductor,
perhaps) came around and collected our tickets in an attempt to speed
up the process.
Around 2:45, those of us traveling on the Southwest Chief were called
for boarding. I recovered my bags from the storage area, repacked
my Powerbook in one of them, then stood around waiting to go to the
train. We were led out to our train; I was on the lower level of
car 0330 – room 14. This was just like the last trip on the
Chief, where I’d also had a lower-level berth. I put my
rolling bag in the luggage area and brought my carry-on bag with me to
the room and settled in. At 3:14, we were under way. The
sleeping car attendant introduced himself: Fred Rogers. He sure
didn’t look like Mister Rogers!
Having made several long-distance trips by train over the years, I was
very familiar with the standard bedroom on the Superliner. Two
seats that combined to form the lower bed, an upper bed that folded
down, a small closet, and toilet and shower down the hall. I took
a picture or two of downtown Chicago shortly after we pulled out.
We passed through familiar railyard regions, then went through the
western and southwestern suburbs. I noticed a Trader Joe’s
and a Borders in La Grange; I made note of them for use on a future
Chicago visit. I noticed an Edward Hines Lumber yard in Downers
Grove; I found this somewhat amusing because of Edward Hines Drive in
western Wayne County (no other relation between them, to my
knowledge). This made my observation of the nearby intersection
of Woodward and Warren even more amusing; it’s a major
intersection in Detroit, but not in Downers Grove. The skies had
been mostly clear, but by the time we reached Aurora, the skies had
clouded up again.
For dinner, I ate early at the 5 o’clock seating.
Unfortunately, I didn’t care that much for the turkey medallions;
they seemed a bit dry to me, although I ate all of one and a third of
the second. My dinner companions tonight were a woman returning
to Omaha by way of Kansas City and a couple from Chicago. He was
a White Sox fan (his World Champions 2005 t-shirt made that very
clear), and that irked me slightly, remembering that the Sox had beat
the Astros in the Series. He did suffer a mishap with his sour
cream packet (not that there was any relation between the two): when he
opened it, it squirted out in two paths. One glop flew onto his
forehead, and the second went way up and fell on the seat cushion of
the table behind him. As we traveled westward, we could see
storms in the distance. I applied my Skywarn training when
observing the sky; fortunately, I saw no signs of an approaching
tornado.
Back in my berth, I considered taking a picture of the setting sun, but
before I could get set up, the sun had fully set. I then pulled
out my iPod and listened to the first parts of a radio serial, Batman’s Great Mystery from The Adventures of Superman.
Even after nearly 60 years, it was still entertaining. The train
stopped at Fort Madison in Iowa, and it was a designated smoke
stop. Any smoker chomping at the bit for a cigarette but unable
to indulge due to the train’s no-smoking policy could get off and
light one up on the platform. I got off, but not to smoke.
No, I just got off for a stretch and for some fresh air. Once we
were under way again, I had my bed prepared, then lay down and read for
a bit before finally calling it a night.
Top
Sunday March 12
Although I had to get up a few times during the night to use the
restroom (a side effect of some medications I take), I felt that my
sleep was better and sounder than on other trips. Perhaps it had
to do with being on the lower level, where the rocking of the train car
would be less noticeable. It still rocked and clacked a bit; that
couldn’t be helped.
I woke up for good around 7 AM Central time; the train was west of
Garden City, Kansas. For breakfast, I had an egg/sausage/potato
combination along with pancakes; it was all right, though I’ve
had better. I certainly have had better fruit, for the meal came
with a fruit bowl, but the only things I cared for in it were the
grapes.
The train continued westbound, entering Colorado, passing through the
small towns of Holly and Granada. I continued reading the Dick
Winters book. Just like on my previous trip, we made a lengthy
stop in La Junta. This time, it was long enough for me to leave
the immediate area of the train station and take some pictures across
the street in the town. I did pop inside the train station long
enough to use the restroom, to get a bottle of Pepsi from the vending
machine, and to pick up some tourist literature that might be useful on
a future visit – Pike’s Peak, anybody? We sleeping
car passengers were given the Sunday newspaper from Pueblo for our
reading enjoyment. While we were there, an ambulance arrived at
the station, and the paramedic went to my car. Seems an elderly
passenger was having some sort of difficulty and had to be taken to the
hospital. Our train was 15 minutes late leaving as a result.
As we traveled westward and southwestward, I saw a prominent
snow-capped mountain in the distance. Could that have been
Pike’s Peak? It was in the right direction, and it did
resemble the mountain in the literature I’d picked up. I
didn’t have access to a good map to know for sure. I tried
to take a picture of it but had difficulty doing so; it wasn’t
easy to see in the viewfinder, and the bouncing of the train
didn’t help. Around 10:30, we went through Raton Pass (a
tunnel) and into New Mexico. We stopped in Raton long enough for
me to get off, get another Pepsi, and take some pictures. As we
chugged southward and westward, I was listening to my iPod while
enjoying the scenery. I finished listening to that Superman
serial, then put on some of my favorite music while awaiting the call
to lunch. I didn’t head to the dining car right away when
lunch was called, for I wasn’t hungry enough. When I did
go, I had an Angus burger and a chocolate bundt cake that was topped
with ice cream for dessert. That sure filled me up! Back in
my berth, I decided to listen to the Quandary Phase (part 4) of the
Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy.
We reached Albuquerque ahead of schedule, so we had a lengthy stop
there. One could get off the train and walk around. Like
last time, there were some Indian vendors selling their wares on the
platform. Unlike last time, it was possible to leave the platform
and go into town, which I did. I stopped at a Cold Stone Creamery
for a banana milkshake, and then I walked a couple of blocks around
downtown Albuquerque. Some of the streets near the station
happened to be Route 66, and they were marked as such. I saw an
interesting sign for the NYPD restaurant – in this case, New York
Pizza Department. There was also a Tucano Brazilian Grill near
the station, but there was no time to go there. I went back to
the train with plenty of time to spare, checked e-mail and called aunt
Marie and uncle Bill.
The sun was bright as we pulled out, so I had to close my curtains for
a while. Once we started traveling westward again, I was no
longer looking directly at the sun. I heard reports that the
eastbound train was delayed several hours due to snow in Flagstaff;
would we experience the same problems? I didn’t know and
didn’t particularly care, for my time pressures were
minimal. While I waited for the 7:30 seating for dinner, I took
more pictures and finished listening to the fourth part of the
Hitchhiker’s Guide. At the 7:30 seating, I shared a table
with a mother and daughter from Whitmore Lake (the daughter’s in
Wixom now). They had steak for dinner, while I had the chicken
fried steak. It came as two patties, although one was sufficient
for me. Then I had the cheesecake for dessert; like all of the
other desserts, it was good. While we were eating, we stopped at
Gallup. It turned out we were an hour late. We could see
several hotels and several trading post stores along the main
road. It looked like an interesting place to visit in the future.
We were still running an hour late as we pulled into Winslow; the train
didn’t even stay for a minute, and then we were under way
again. I called for the attendant to prepare my bed, and then I
went to sleep.
Top
Monday March 13
Once again, I had to get up a couple of times to go to the restroom
down the hall. When I woke up for good, it was around 5:30, and
we were arriving at Barstow. Now we were two hours late. I
knew this because I had a copy of the timetable for the train in my
room. But all of the bad weather was behind us as we tooled into
Victorville and San Bernardino. I had pancakes and sausage this
morning, and then I visited the café car for a can of Pepsi and
a can of root beer for drinking later on. Once we got into
cellphone range, I tried checking e-mail. This was not that easy
to do, for the train would go into and out of cellphone range.
Naturally, I would lose the connection whenever we went out of range.
At 8:45, we stopped at Fullerton, the final stop before Union Station
in L.A. We arrived there around 9:30 or so, only an hour and a
half late, so we made up some time crossing town. I left the
train, visited the restroom, then proceeded to the Budget rental
counter. I would be driving a blue Pontiac Grand Prix for the
next week and a half. The car was in an underground garage, and
after spending several minutes connecting my XM radio and my GPS
device, I left and headed onto Sunset Blvd., then onto Alameda and the
southbound 101. My general destination was Anaheim, where I would
be staying; however, with the assistance of the GPS device, my first
destination was the Fry’s in Anaheim. With my interests,
Fry’s is always a good bet for killing time, even if I’m
not looking for anything. I was in the market for power supplies,
specifically one suitable for powering an amateur radio transceiver
and/or amplifier. Now it took me quite some time to find the
power supplies at Fry’s, and when I did, I found none of them
suitable. Insufficient current, mainly. Nor did I find
anything else among the books, CD’s, software, computer or
audio-visual equipment that I desperately wanted, so I left without
getting anything.
Next, I navigated to the Ham Radio Outlet in Anaheim via the GPS.
It wasn’t too far from Fry’s. For a newly licensed
ham such as myself, it was a mother lode of gear and books. I had
received one of their catalogs in the mail, and now I could see and
play with all the radios I had seen. I didn’t get any
radios today, though I did pick up some magazines. Now it was
time for lunch, and I had a specific place in mind: Souplantation (also
known as Sweet Tomatoes in some places, including Chicago).
I didn’t know where the closest one was, but the GPS did, and it
plotted my route to the Souplantation in Fullerton. I’ve
been to them on numerous occasions, so I knew what to expect from the
salad bar, bread, pasta/soup and dessert bars. I knew to expect
something good, and I was not disappointed. I thought the tomato
soup was very good. Afterwards, I spent a few minutes in the
nearby Barnes & Noble bookstore and in the slightly-less-nearby
Target. Now I was considering a new swimsuit, for I’d
lost weight and my current one was too loose for comfort (and possibly
the law). Target had some, but I couldn’t be sure what they
meant by sizes L and XL, so I passed on them.
The cold that had started a week ago was now almost a memory.
Back in 1997, I caught a cold while in Texas, but as soon as I went to
California, it went away. The same thing appears to have happened
this time: go to California, and your cold goes away. A rather
expensive cold remedy, to be sure, but one that’s more fun than
taking Nyquil.
Now it was time to check into the hotel. Once again, GPS to the
rescue! It guided me down the 5 to the Holiday Inn Express on
Katella Avenue. I would be staying on the fourth floor, room
422. It faced east and west. To the west, I could see a
little portion of the California Adventure park; to the east, the 5
freeway (Santa Ana Freeway) and Angels Stadium (more on that
later). I unpacked, rested for a bit, checked e-mail, and then
took a shower. Feeling refreshed, I took a short walk to review
the surrounding neighborhood, as well as check out the location of the
Denny’s on Harbor Blvd., for I’d received a card good for a
meal discount there. I never saw the Denny’s, but I did see
several TV crews on the corner of Harbor and Katella. They were
in the process of packing up. I wondered why they were
there. Later, I would learn that across the street from that
location was the site of a vicious gang rape a few days earlier.
The victim’s boyfriend had done something to offend the gang
members, and this was their revenge. Disgusting!
My main activity tonight was at Angels Stadium: the World Baseball
Classic. This was one of the games of the second round; tonight,
the US team would be playing Korea. The stadium wasn’t far
away; I could see it off in the distance from my hotel room. It
was too far to comfortably walk, though, so I got in the car and drove
there. I had been there once before, in June 1998. I
don’t recall if the two large caps were there at the time.
Walking in, I saw someone draped in the US flag being interviewed by
Fox 11. The gift shop was jammed with people waiting to buy WBC
souvenirs; I had to wait in line to get in there. Once I did, I
looked for Team USA stuff, but I didn’t see any. I saw
plenty of Korean caps, white ones with a big K on them. They seem
like ideal strikeout caps to me…. I ended up leaving
empty-handed. Then I found my seat in the lower deck behind home
plate, close to the action. I’d have to be alert for foul
balls, for I was not behind the protective netting. I was sitting
right on the aisle, making it easy to scoot out for concessions or a
bathroom break. Four cute young women were sitting a few rows
down. Oh yes, it was also chilly; game-time temperatures were in
the 40’s. Was I glad for my Red Wing jacket!
The game was a good one, even though Korea took an early lead.
Later in the game, that lead had widened. As I walked out of the
seating area during a break in the play, someone noticed my jacket and
called out to me. I gave them a wave. Even later, I heard
the occasional cheer “Let’s Go Red Wings!”, no doubt
offered a little sarcastically, more because of frustration with Team
USA’s play than any true support of the Detroit Red Wings (I was
in Anaheim Mighty Duck country, remember). Ken Griffey Jr. did
hit a blast to right field that kept the US in the game, but it was
ultimately not enough. Team Korea would win. I didn’t
stick around for the end; I was getting quite chilled, and since I was
still recovering from my cold, I thought it best to keep warm and not
suffer any relapse. Because I left early, I had no problems
leaving the parking lot, unlike my 1998 trip, where I was unable to
move for at least 30 minutes. Back in the hotel room, I turned on
the TV and saw the game. It wasn’t live, though; this was
tape delay, and I saw the Korean team jump to its early lead all over
again.
Top
Tuesday March 14
I got up around 7:15 this morning and made an e-mail check. Then
it was time to go downstairs for the complimentary breakfast. It
was rather popular, as one might expect. Good Morning America was
on the TV, and featured today were Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman
promoting the DVD release of the first season of I Dream Of
Jeannie. The set for this segment had been dressed like the
inside of Jeannie’s bottle.
Later on, I decided to walk over to Downtown Disney. I
wasn’t actually going to visit the parks today; that would wait
until tomorrow. But I wanted to know how to get there from my
room. I walked down Katella Avenue to Disneyland Way, then turned
north, passing by Disney’s Paradise Pier and Grand Californian
resorts. Before long, I saw the monorail and the signs for
Downtown Disney. This western entrance was about a mile away from
the hotel, I figured. My first view, not counting the House of
Blues seen from a distance, was of the World Of Disney, most likely the
world’s largest store devoted to Disney memorabilia. Well,
I think the one at Disney World is larger. I believe Downtown
Disney in Florida is larger overall than the one here, although this
one is no slouch. Plenty of shops, plenty of restaurants. I
walked its full length from the entry plaza to the parks to the
Disneyland Hotel. Now I was looking for a hat, having forgotten
to bring one along from home. The World of Disney had several to
choose from; I ended up getting two, one of those being a 50th
anniversary hat. As I overheard someone say in the store, the
50th anniversary merchandise won’t be around forever. I
also found a DVD of highlights of Disneyland, then found a Hawaiian
shirt with Mickey, Goofy, Donald and Pluto. And lastly, I bought
some candy and snack crackers to send to my sister’s family in
Turkey. They wouldn’t be able to find these over there,
that’s for sure! Nor would I be able to find them anywhere
else.
By this time, I was hungry and looking for lunch. I had several
choices, but I chose the ESPN Zone. I got a burger there, and it
was a good one, but it was quite large and I couldn’t finish
it. Then I returned to the hotel, taking the same path I had
earlier in the morning. It wasn’t as comfortable a walk,
for my feet were getting sore, and the jacket that was necessary in the
morning was a burden at noon. Back at the hotel, I dropped off my
packages and rested for a bit. I noticed that the room
hadn’t been cleaned yet, or had only partially been
cleaned. My dirty towels had been taken but no clean ones left to
replace them. This irritated me, so I complained at the front
desk. They promised to take care of it.
Now what to do? I decided to drive down to South Coast Plaza in
Costa Mesa. Just before arriving there, I stopped at a Vons
grocery store to get some pop for my room so that I wouldn’t have
to pay vending machine prices all of the time. Besides, I
don’t ever remember seeing a vending machine that dispensed Diet
Rite Cola. Unfortunately, I had to cancel my plans, for I had a
sudden urge to use the restroom, and I didn’t see any public
restrooms in the store. I knew I could find one at South Coast
Plaza, and I found one in the basement of Sears. It took me a
little while to find it, and that was not a comfortable time.
After I had taken care of that unfortunate but quite necessary
business, I could wander around in peace and comfort. Now this
was one of the first places I had visited in Orange County back in 1998
(meaning the mall, not the restroom), and I’d been there in 2000
as well. Much was unchanged (the McDonalds and newsstand by Sears
on the upper level, the carousel in the center court, the Back Bay
Rowing Company restaurant I’d eaten at in 2000). Some
things were different: Birraporetti’s restaurant was now a
Claim Jumper restaurant, and the Robinsons-May store was closed as a
result of merging with Macy’s. There was also a new bridge
that went across to the secondary building, where Borders was
located. I walked that bridge and visited the Borders store,
where I picked up the new DVD of Good Night and Good Luck, which
dramatized the Ed Murrow and Joe McCarthy conflict, as well as a Thomas
Brothers California atlas. Although the GPS device was very
useful and didn’t take up much space, I still wanted something on
paper I could refer to. If I didn’t have the GPS device, I
might have gotten the latest versions of the LA area guides.
Next, I visited the Apple Store, which was a large one compared to the
Detroit-area ones. I checked my e-mail there but didn’t buy
anything.
On my way back to the hotel, I thought I would stop at Target for some
things, but I was in the wrong lane and couldn’t easily turn
around. I ended up stopping at Albertson’s for that Diet
Rite pop and a few snack items, along with some bottled water for later
in the trip. I drove up Bristol for several miles and ended up
taking the surface streets to the hotel. I got to see more of
Santa Ana and other communities as a result. For supper, I walked
to the nearest IHOP and had a shrimp Caesar salad that wasn’t bad.
What did I not do today? I did not go back to Anaheim Stadium for
the World Baseball Classic. To be honest, I didn’t really
feel like it. I was most interested in seeing the US play, and
I’d done so last night.
Top
Wednesday March 15
The bulb in the lamp next to my bed had burned out, or so I
thought. In the middle of the night, I learned that I had not
burned out at all, for it suddenly came on and woke me up. I
turned it off and went back to bed. When I got up for real and
made my e-mail check, I had a note from my cousin Carl. We, along
with his girlfriend, were to meet this afternoon at Disneyland, and
this note confirmed our arrangements. Be near the La Brea Bakery
at 2:30, the note said. I carried my phone with me as I set out
on my morning adventure: to drive Mulholland Drive, a famous roadway in
the Hollywood Hills. First, though, I had to get there.
Busy traffic on the 5 Santa Ana Freeway didn’t help. I
eventually got onto the 5 Golden State Freeway, one I’d never
been on before, then made my way to the Ventura Freeway. Here, I
passed by the KABC studios and ABC’s studios, and I could see the
water tower of the Disney Studios in the distance. I stopped at a
shopping center in Sherman Oaks for a bathroom visit because the drive
had been so long, then it was back onto the freeway, then down the 405
(traffic jammed there) to the exit for Mulholland Drive. It was
indeed a twisty, winding road, but it has some magnificent views of the
San Fernando Valley. I pulled off the road several times to take
pictures, but the views were not as clear as they could have been due
to haze. I was listening to XM’s Old Time Radio channel,
and the programs at this time of day were comedies – Jack Benny,
Phil Harris and Alice Faye, Burns and Allen, Arthur Godfrey Time and
Vic and Sade. The last stop on Mulholland had a great view of
Hollywood and downtown LA, again tempered by the haze.
By this time, I thought it best to head back to the hotel, for I knew
that would be a long drive. It was. Once there, I dropped
off some things, then walked over to downtown Disney to meet Carl and
his girlfriend Sandra. It turned out I beat them there, so I
waited around to hear from them. A couple of cell phone calls
later, there we were, all ready to enter one of the parks. We
could visit one of them today – now which would it be. Both
Carla and Sandra had been to both parks frequently, thanks to their
annual passes. I, on the other hand, had been to Disneyland once,
and that was before the California Adventure park had opened. So
to California Adventure we would go!
You entered either park from a central plaza; the California Adventure
park had fewer waiting to enter than did Disneyland. Once inside,
you passed under a model of the Golden Gate Bridge, and you were in the
center of the park. We first went into the Hollywood Pictures
lot, a smaller version of the Disney-MGM Studios in Florida.
Plenty of visual opportunities there. Now none of us were into
the thrill rides that Carl called “pukers”, so we
concentrated on shows and taking in the whole experience. We saw
the Muppet-Vision show, which was in 3D; you can never go wrong with
the Muppets, in my opinion. In the animation section, there was a
photo opportunity with Chicken Little. I took advantage of that
opportunity, and why not? I was on vacation, after all.
Walking around towards Paradise Pier, we realized that none of us
had had lunch, so what would we do? We would eat at the pizza
parlor there. It was a rather expensive pizza per slice, but you
had to know that going in. Carl and I had the pizza, while Sandra
went with a grilled chicken Caesar salad. The pizza slices were
good, but I don’t think the grilled chicken was that great.
The atmosphere was pure California surf, and that naturally included
the music: Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, the occasional Ventures
tune, etc. Good stuff, but it was getting a bit much by the
end. We walked through Paradise Pier and noted the lack of
crowds; this was unusual, according to Carl and Sandra. We
observed the section of the park that looked like Cannery Row and/or
Fisherman’s Wharf. I noted that Disney needed to put in
some animatronic sea lions for the full Pier 39 effect, referring
to the sea lions hanging out at the docks in San Francisco. We
tried to get into Soarin’ Over California, but the Fastpasses
were all gone for the day, and it was a 75-minute wait to get in.
So we went to see “It’s Tough To Be A Bug” instead,
another 3D spectacular that had some interesting effects –
including the seats!
Shortly after the bug film ended, I noticed my phone ringing. It
was in my pocket, so I didn’t hear it ring; rather, I felt it
ring. It turned out to be a friend of mine from Illinois, calling
for one of our approximately bi-weekly chats. By this point, I
was ready to call it a day at California Adventure, so as we walked to
the exit, I said my goodbyes to Carl and Sandra, then walked back to my
hotel while talking with my friend. By leaving the entry plaza to
the east, I cut down my walking time significantly and saw parts of the
area I hadn’t seen before. After our conversation, I went
back out and visited the 7-11, where I got a Slurpee. It gave me
the occasional brain freeze and gut freeze, as Slurpees and Icees tend
to do. Back at the room, I started packing up for
tomorrow’s departure. I turned on the TV and saw that
Michigan and UCLA were playing in women’s softball at UCLA.
It was a bit chilly, the announcers said, and being 30-odd miles away,
I agreed with their assessment! Around 9:30, I could hear the
daily fireworks from Disneyland (this was true Monday and Tuesday, too).
Top
Thursday March 16
Today, I left Anaheim for Flagstaff, some 500 miles away. I got
up early (around 6), finished packing, checked out, and was under way
by 7. There was no need for me to go into LA proper; that would
have taken me out of my way, in fact! I took Katella Avenue over
to the 57 and up to the 60, and I took that eastbound for a
while. In Covina, I stopped for gas at a 76 station and had
breakfast at the Jack In The Box next door. There was a Mattel
Toy Store across the street; it seemed to be an official factory
store. I got back on the 60 and took that over to the 15, where I
headed northward. I got through Cajon Pass and was now in the
high desert. I stopped at Victorville for a drink and Barstow for
a bathroom break. In Barstow, I would turn east onto I-40 (do
they call it “the 40” in Barstow?) and head towards Arizona.
Naturally, XM Radio was keeping me company, although I was also
monitoring some of the amateur radio repeaters on the work.
Things were quiet there, for the most part. I stayed on I-40 for
most of its length, although I did exit at Essex and follow the Goffs
Road section of Route 66. I had taken a small portion of it in
1994 but had almost immediately turned around and got back onto US
95. Since my ultimate destination that time was Lake Havasu City,
Arizona, and not any place westward, it was the right decision
then. Today’s trip put me back onto that portion of US 95
and I-40. I stopped for lunch in Needles at the Taco Bell, where
I had a Southwest Steak Bowl. Then it was back onto I-40 for the
trip into Arizona.
Things seemed little changed from when I last was in the area, some 11
years earlier. I did notice gas stations at the Highway 95 exit
for Lake Havasu City; back in 1994, there weren’t any. I
continued eastward on I-40. This stretch had been part of Route
66 in the 1950’s. Halfway to Kingman, I noticed the
geodesic dome house in Yucca, which I remembered from previous
trips. I saw the entrance to Ford’s Arizona Proving
Grounds. I saw Kingman; from the freeway, it looked little
different. I stopped for gas on the other side of Kingman, then
continued eastward.
When I saw the sign for Business I-40 in Flagstaff, I exited the
freeway. This was part of Route 66, and I knew it would take me
to my hotel in town. It turned out that I should have turned
right instead of left at a key intersection. If I’d turned
right, my hotel was immediately on my left. By turning left,
though, and then attempting to go around the block, I ended up driving
through most of the Northern Arizona University campus and found myself
at the intersection of I-40 and I-17, or just north of there,
actually. After I got onto northbound Milton and endured the
traffic from a construction project, I found myself at the front doors
of the Embassy Suites hotel in Flagstaff. I checked in but had to
have my keys reprogrammed because they didn’t work. My room
was 102, a corner unit on the first floor. Since this was a suite
hotel, my room was in fact a one-bedroom suite. There was a small
refrigerator and microwave; the refrigerator was soon stocked with my
pop and water from LA. I turned on the bedroom TV and watched
(listened to was more accurate, for I was unpacking) Mexico defeat the
US in the World Baseball Classic, thus eliminating the US from the
tournament.
For supper, I walked next door to the Mandarin Buffet restaurant, which
specialized in Chinese food, as one might expect from the name.
When I went inside and reviewed the buffet lines, I noticed that they
had a Mongolian barbecue option, and I decided to try that along with
some of the other buffet dishes. Their Mongolian options were
similar to those of BD’s, but there were fewer options
here. Still, it was tasty, though BD’s was better.
Afterwards, I walked to the Barnes and Noble store across the
street. It seemed to be as big as a B&N in larger
cities. I didn’t get anything from there. Then it was
back to the hotel for the night.
Top
Friday March 17
Today was the day I would go up to the Grand Canyon. This was
bound to be one of the highlights of my trip, if not the
highlight. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I got up
fairly early this morning and had breakfast in the lobby. This
was not a full-fledged restaurant operation, but it was on a higher
level than breakfasts at Holiday Inn Express or Hampton Inn.
There was a buffet line with hot items and cold items, but there was
also a made-to-order line. After showing a room key, you could
get eggs and omelets, pancakes, etc., prepared however you wanted
them. However, I stayed away from that, and I only had a few
things from the buffet. I didn’t want to be too burdened
this morning with frequent visits to the restroom.
Right around 7, I set off for the Grand Canyon. I took US 180 out
of town – a scenic route, I was told. As I left Flagstaff
and headed northwest, I was reminded of Michigan’s Upper
Peninsula. It must have been all the trees and the snow
cover. That, and Flagstaff’s being a fairly small town,
though certainly much larger than Hancock and Houghton. However,
the occasional glimpse of the San Francisco peaks and other mountains
in the distance told me in no uncertain terms that this was not the
UP. Before long, the climate and terrain changed, and the
resemblance to the UP faded. At the intersection of US 180 and
Highway 64, there was the little town of Valle, and across the street
from the Flintstones RV park was a gas station and convenience
store. It was time for a bathroom break, so I stopped.
Inside, there was a machine where one could buy Grand Canyon park
passes and save some time at the gate. I bought a 7-day pass for
$20, the going rate. Then I waited for the men’s room to
reopen after cleaning. Only thing was, it didn’t
reopen. I waited outside for some time, and then the man cleaning
it (the store owner, perhaps) noticed me and directed me to use the
ladies’ room. No one else was in the store at the time, and
the ladies’ room was unoccupied, so I followed his
direction. I could continue onward in comfort.
Just south of the park, there were a few hotels, restaurants, and an
IMAX theater showing a film on the Grand Canyon. I didn’t
stop at any of them, for my goal lay dead ahead: Grand Canyon National
Park. I stopped at the gate, showed my pass, and received the
visitor’s guide. It wasn’t easy getting the guide,
for the traffic lane had me pass the guard shack on the passenger
side. There was no way to reach across, but the guard/ranger
aimed the guide expertly into the passenger window. Now I knew
where to go and what would be available for me to do. I looked
for a parking place, and the first one that appeared was for Mather
Point. One could only park there for an hour, though. There
were a few cars already there (8:30 AM or shortly thereafter), but I
had no problem finding a spot to park.
As I got out of my car, I caught a few glimpses of the canyon, but not
until I reached one of the observation ledges at Mather Point did I
fully experience the Grand Canyon. One may have seen it in photos
and films many times over the years, but there is nothing like seeing
it in person. Words cannot do the grandeur of the canyon
justice. To gaze out on the wide expanses of colored rock –
to look downward and know that the ground below is nearly a mile below
you – to marvel at the intricate rock formations carved out the
forces of nature or the hand of the Lord, depending on your viewpoint
(same thing, really, when you think about it) – one cannot help
but feel awed and humbled by the magnificence of the canyon.
There were some humorous touches, notably the close-by rocks that had
coins tossed on them, close by yet quite out of reach. One dare
not reach for those coins without secure safety harnesses! I
suspect that the coins are collected periodically and donated to
charity, probably the Grand Canyon Association.
There was evidence of recent snow at the canyon; there were icy patches
on the observation ledge at Mather Point, making for some awkward
navigation at times. I had to watch my footing as I moved to a
point along the rail, where I had my picture taken by the head of a
Japanese family, returning the favor I’d done by taking his
family’s picture at the same spot. The view was not crystal
clear; there was a bit of haze in the air, but not enough to seriously
compromise the view. I was busy taking pictures and video, as was
everyone else out there.
When I felt the need to visit the restroom, I walked over to the
visitor’s center. It was a rather new center, which
included a bookstore and links to shuttle bus services. After
visiting the restroom, I visited the bookstore and found a few items of
interest, including postcards and an Arizona Highways book and DVD
combo package. The sales clerk at the checkout asked if I wanted
to join the Grand Canyon Association; I took a flyer and said I would
think about it. Then it was back to my car, for I had been parked
at Mather Point for nearly an hour and would have to move soon. I
put my purchases in the trunk, and I also put the big bag I’d
been carrying back into the truck. My cameras would go into a
small camera bag. One bottle of water could go into my right
front jeans pocket. I wasn’t planning to go deep into the
canyon, nor was I planning to venture far from the developed areas, so
I figured one bottle was all I needed to carry.
I drove around the park for a bit, looking for a suitable parking
area. I believed I’d found it in area C. which also served
as the parking lot for the US Magistrate. It was indeed
reasonably convenient, although one had to cross the railyard and go up
a flight or two of steps to reach the lodges and the rim. I was
near the Bright Angel Lodge, and I walked a short distance through the
grounds to reach the rim. The view here was just as grand as at
Mather Point. The Grand Canyon Village area began to be developed
in the late 1800’s, and most of the buildings on the grounds
today date from the turn of the 20th century.
An aside: one can’t say “the turn of the
century” anymore and automatically assume what time period is
meant. I am writing this travelogue at the turn of the century
– the turn of the 2000’s or the turn of the 21st-century,
that is. Still, it may yet be many years before “the turn
of the century” will automatically mean this time period, the
years from 2000 to 2009. Now let’s return to the canyon.
Running along the south rim of the canyon was a hiking trail called,
naturally enough, the Rim Trail. I was near the western edge of
the paved section, and I started walking that way. I saw the
Lookout Studio and Koch Studio, both built for the benefit of
photographers and artists. I encountered the head of the Bright
Angel Trail, which went down into the canyon. At the shuttle bus
point for Hermit’s Rest, which is where the paving for the Rim
Trail ended, I turned around. Back at the Bright Angel Trail
head, I decided to walk the trail for a little while, just to say I had
been inside the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, the first few feet
of the trail were quite icy, and I lacked a walking staff or anything
to handle ice. If I slipped over the edge, the only way I would
be leaving the canyon would be as an angel, and I didn’t want
that, not yet. So I turned around and went back to the safety of
the Rim Trail. Eastward I went, past the lodges and the El Tovar
hotel, past the Hopi House. My intention was to walk the Rim
Trail all the way back to Mather Point, a distance of 2.5 miles from
the Bright Angel Lodge. And that’s what I did. The
trail went up and down, never veering far from the rim of the
canyon. Some of the trail was icy in spots; I tried to avoid
those where I could. Some parts had wheelchair ramps that were
free of ice, and I used those when convenient.
The Yavapai Observation Station along the trail was closed for
renovation, and the trail detoured into the parking lot in front.
There was a clump of porta-potties for those who needed to use
them. Definitely not scenic, but necessary with the building
under renovation. I continued eastward, taking plenty of pictures
along the way. At one point, a couple passing by while I was at a
particularly scenic spot offered to take my picture, and I
accepted. I offered to return the favor, but they declined.
And soon, I was back at Mather Point, where I had started my canyon
visit. Now I was getting hungry, and although I could have walked
back along the rim, I preferred to take a shuttle bus back to Grand
Canyon Village. I had to walk over to the Visitor Center to catch
the bus, and I didn’t have to wait long for it to arrive.
There weren’t many on the bus when it left the Visitor Center,
but it was nearly full when we arrived at Grand Canyon Village.
The Grand Canyon Railway had just pulled in from Williams; I’d
considered taking that train but decided not to, for when taken as a
day trip, you get very little time at the canyon, less than four hours
in fact. I wanted more time than that, so I didn’t take
that train. Now where would I eat lunch? I had several
places to consider, but I had my mind set on the El Tovar Hotel.
The dining room was constructed of dark timbers, reminding me of the
Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. There were windows with a view of the
canyon, obviously. I decided to have French onion soup for an
appetizer, a Navajo taco as an entrée, and chocolate truffle ice
cream for dessert, with Barq’s root beer to drink. Now what
is a Navajo taco? It’s served on Native American flat bread
and topped with regular taco toppings, an interesting twist on the
Mexican dish. I don’t know if I would eat it all the time
or not.
After lunch, I stayed and walked around near the rim in the vicinity of
the lodges. I went inside the Bright Angel Lodge and into their
history room, filled with exhibits from its glorious past – the
railroad, the Fred Harvey era, etc. There was a school group
there at the time, and I overheard some of the ranger’s
talk. I noticed the fireplace but was not aware of its
significance until later, that it had been built with rocks from the
canyon as they were layered in the canyon – the top-most rocks
were the top-most rocks in the canyon, and so on.
By this time, it was around 2 PM. I had been at the canyon for
nearly 6 hours, and I had seen all that I felt like seeing around the
Grand Canyon Village area. I was not inclined to hike towards
Hermit’s Rest on this trip, but there was a big section that I
hadn’t seen, the 20-plus miles of the eastern part of the South
Rim, or the Desert View Drive. That was best seen by wheeled
vehicle, either tour bus or private vehicle. Since I had my own
car, I drove off and headed east, stopping at all of the scenic
turnouts that I could. And there were plenty of those. The
strong wind and occasional clouds couldn’t diminish the majestic
views of the canyon and occasionally of the river below.
Between stops, I was listening to an episode of the CBS Radio Workshop
on XM’s Old Time Radio channel. It was called “Grief
Drives A Black Sedan”, and it involved a man who hit something or
someone with his car and drove off, and how he reacted to what he had
done. The star of the program, Lee Vines, was also an announcer
on TV. I remember watching the original version of the game show
“Password” when I was 3 or 4, and his was the voice that
would always say “The password is…” Of course,
I didn’t know that it was Vines at the time; I didn’t learn
that until 2000 or thereabouts. But I digress….
I arrived at Desert View, the easternmost developed area of the
national park. The main attraction here was the Watchtower, a
four-story observation tower commemorating the Indian. The top
story was actually the highest observation point on the canyon
rim. To the northeast, the canyon was noticeably narrower and
less deep; clearly, we were near its beginning. The Painted
Desert was visible in the distance, with Cedar Mountain a bit
closer. Finally, it was time to leave the park. I stopped
at the general store and bought a Dr Pepper for the road, then set off
on my trip. Not far outside the park’s boundaries, I found
myself back in desert conditions, a dramatic difference from the Grand
Canyon Village area. This was more like the Arizona I was
familiar with. At one point, I saw an animal run across the road;
it was probably a coyote. But I’m not positive about that,
for I didn’t see a roadrunner. Off to my left, I could see
hints of the Little Colorado River Gorge. On the radio, more XM,
this time 60’s on 6’s tribute to Indianapolis station WIFE.
Back at the hotel, I planned to take a shower. Dinner plans were
uncertain, though there was a good chance I’d be dining with a
former classmate of mine, Kathy Machette Douglas, and her husband
Eric. They were driving up from the Tucson area to meet me.
Just as I was preparing to enter the shower, my cell phone rang.
It was Kathy, calling to say they were just heading out and would not
arrive in Flagstaff until late in the evening. Dinner was out;
breakfast tomorrow was a possibility. I decided to go to
Coco’s, a chain similar to Baker’s Square, where I ended up
having shrimp scampi over vermicelli (pretty good) and a chocolate
sundae for dessert (also pretty good). Then I stopped at
Basha’s grocery store (a major chain in Arizona) for some Diet
Rite Cola. By the time I got back to the hotel, I was pretty
tired. It had been a long and eventful day. Never again
would I see the Grand Canyon for the very first time.
Top
Saturday March 18
I woke up around 6 this morning. When checking the news,
I learned of a shooting at a Denny’s restaurant in Anaheim.
The restaurant was very close to where I had stayed earlier in the
week, and this shooting was the third at a Denny’s within the
last week. Slightly unnerving, I must admit. But I put it
aside and went on to other business, such as the downloading of
pictures from my camera to my Powerbook. Since the start of the
trip, I had taken 276 pictures, and now they were in iPhoto, where I
could begin to identify them.
Not knowing what my plans would be today, I had breakfast in the
lobby. Once again, I didn’t have that much to eat, but what
I did eat was good. Back in the room, the phone rang. It
was Kathy, and we discussed our plans. When I mentioned that I
planned to go to Meteor Crater today, she said that was one place she
and her husband had not yet visited. Perhaps we all could go, she
suggested, and I agreed. An hour later, they pulled up at the
hotel, and we set off in their vehicle. Their daughter attended
Northern Arizona University, so they were more familiar with Flagstaff
and surroundings than I was.
The weather forecast had mentioned snow, and there were a few flurries,
but there was nothing significant as we drove eastward some thirty
miles. I had not purged my camera of the downloaded pictures, so
Kathy was able to review them. She finished just before we came
to the exit for Meteor Crater. There was a slight elevation and
jaggedness in terrain to the south of the freeway, which Eric thought
was due to the crater; he was right. The crater was about six
miles south of the freeway, surrounded by ranchland. When we got
out of the car, it was very windy. I had to make sure my
Disneyland cap didn’t fly off my head, and I had to watch that
the car door didn’t get thrust into the car next to us.
Admission to the crater was $15. Today, that would not include
the opportunity to take a guided tour around a portion of the rim, for
those tours were cancelled due to the high winds. We went inside
the visitor center and were greeted by the gift shop on the left,
stairs ahead, and a wall exhibit recalling the training visits made by
astronauts. The gift shop was actually two gift shops in one; one
focused on rocks and fossils, and the other focused on general
merchandise and souvenirs. I got lucky and found a new winter cap
to replace the one I’d lost a few days earlier, the good one
I’d bought in November in Windsor, Ontario. With the strong
winds, I was very concerned that the Disneyland cap I was wearing would
be torn from my head, no matter how snugly I’d seated it.
Next, we climbed up the steps to rim level. We waited for the 11
o’clock talk on the history of Meteor Crater, being given by one
of the guides in lieu of the cancelled rim tours. For ten
minutes, a small crowd gathered around the largest surviving fragment
of the meteor and listened to the guide speak of the meteor impact, its
discovery, attempts at mining, and serving as a training ground for the
Apollo astronauts. In the theater, we saw a short film on meteor
impacts. The impact of the meteor that created the crater
released the same amount of energy as a 20-megaton nuclear bomb.
Now it was time to go and see the crater for ourselves. I had my
still camera out and around my neck, while my video camera was in the
bag on my shoulder. Eric had his camera on a tripod. We
went through the doors to the observation decks on the rim, and there
before us was Meteor Crater. Two words describe the
experience: big and windy. From the top of the rim, the
crater filled most of your field of vision. It was difficult to
fully grasp how large it was, though a cutout of an astronaut in a
space suit in the middle of the crater floor helped. This and
other key points of interest, such as a house-sized rock on the rim,
were visible through several labeled telescopes on an observation
platform that was on a lower level. We went out there, and the
wind was persistent, strong and chilling. It blew my lens cap
around strongly enough that it would hurt when it hit my hand. I
had to brace myself at times to get good pictures. Sometimes the
winds were too strong for Eric’s tripod.
I got quite winded climbing up from the lower observation level and had
to sit down for a bit. The high altitude of Meteor Crater
aggravated that, I’m sure. After a few minutes, we decided
to climb up to the highest observation point on the rim. The view
wasn’t that much different, but the wind was stronger and less
obstructed. I made sure I was braced against the railings when
taking pictures. On one occasion, I saw Kathy blown by a gust
into one of the railings. After a few minutes of what we were
sure were hurricane-force winds, we went back down and inside. We
toured a small exhibit hall while we warmed up, and one of the exhibits
was a mockup of the crater floor. Visitors were not permitted to
enter the crater itself, so this mockup allowed them to take a picture
from the “floor”. I didn’t take advantage of
this.
Now our visit to Meteor Crater was complete, and lunchtime was upon
us. Did we want to eat at the Subway restaurant at the visitor
center? Not really, so we went back to Flagstaff and ate at a
Mexican restaurant and bar called San Felipe’s. It looked
to be a popular and jumping nightspot, though it was fairly sedate this
afternoon. Several TV’s had various sporting events on
– one had a men’s NCAA basketball game on, one had a
women’s tournament on (originating from Tucson, in fact).
We each got a combination plate and enjoyed our food immensely.
In fact, we made a return visit shortly after we left, but it
wasn’t for more food and drink; Kathy had left her cap there and
was retrieving it.
Our sightseeing wasn’t done, for we now took the scenic Highway
89A out of Flagstaff and towards Sedona. We passed through the
scenic Oak Creek Canyon (several picture opportunities there) before
continuing onward to even more scenic opportunities north of
Sedona. Once in Sedona, we walked around in the tourist
section for a bit, taking a few pictures and taking care of necessary
business. Then it was up to the airport for a scenic view
overlooking the main part of town before we headed back to
Flagstaff. Yes, we’d seen quite a bit today, and we’d
thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
After I’d said my thank-yous and goodbyes to Kathy and Eric, I
rested up back at the hotel for a bit. I had a task to perform,
and in order to perform it, I had to visit Target. My sister had
asked me to send Easter candy, and I normally went to Target for
it. There was no reason I had to wait until I got home before I
got it. Besides, I’d already gotten some candy and crackers
for them at Disneyland, and I didn’t want to haul that to
Michigan. So off to Target I went, filling up my cart with
various products that I knew they’d like. I also got two
mailing boxes and some tape. From there, I went to the nearby
Hasting’s store but didn’t find anything there. By
now, I was hungry for dinner, and I drove to the Galaxy Diner on Route
66 not far from the hotel. Someone was giving swing-dancing
lessons tonight, which perked up the atmosphere a bit. I sat at
the bar and had a French dip sandwich, read the local entertainment
weekly, and occasionally contemplated the charms of one of the dancers
and one of the waitresses. Then it was back to the hotel to start
packing.
Top
Sunday March 19
Today, I would leave Flagstaff and begin my return to
California. I would not actually cross into California today; no,
I had made reservations for the Hampton Inn in Lake Havasu City.
That allowed me to concentrate on the Route 66 experience.
I woke up around 7 this morning, checking my e-mail, wrapping up the
packing, and loading up the car. Today was the last day I could
take advantage of the made-to-order breakfast at the Embassy Suites, so
I did so, ordering pancakes, hash browns and bacon. It was all
right – maybe not top-notch, but it was good enough. Then
it was time for a last minute room check, followed by the checkout.
It was a clear and chilly morning in Flagstaff as I left around
9. There was some evidence of overnight snow showers on the cars,
though not enough to require brushing or scraping. Since I did
not have either a brush or a scraper, I was quite happy with
that. My first destination was the gas station, where I filled up
on $2.47 gas; most other stations nearby were at $2.59. Then it
was down to I-40, where I went eastward for a few exits until exit
204. Here, I could pick up Historic Route 66 and follow it
completely through Flagstaff. The San Francisco Peaks were in the
distance, making for a good photo opportunity. I drove past a
Ralston Purina facility (hard to miss the Checkerboard Square on the
tower) and passed behind the Flagstaff Mall. Further on down,
there were plenty of motels, both old and new. Then came downtown
Flagstaff and the train station, the turnoffs for the Grand Canyon and
Lowell Observatory, and then the Barnes and Noble near the Embassy
Suites. I’d made a big loop, in effect.
I stopped at the B&N to use the restroom, and then I continued
onward. This stretch of 66 merged into I-40. The weather
was still good; the threatened snow held off. I turned on
XM’s MLB Home Plate channel and learned that Japan and Cuba would
play on Monday for the World Baseball Classic championship. I
attempted to follow Route 66 near Bellemont, and I think I did for a
while. However, I reached a point where two alternatives lay
before me, a dead-end paved road and a dirt road over private
land. Neither seemed like a proper alternative, so I backtracked
to I-40 and continued westward to Williams. Here, 66 was quite
easy to follow through the downtown area. Most of the historic
businesses were on the eastbound road, so I made a short loop to review
those, take a picture or two, then proceed westward.
I passed through Ash Fork again, noticing a car on top of
DeSoto’s. Was it in fact a DeSoto? Yes, it was. There
wasn’t much else to see there except for the extensive flagstone
packing operations. After a pit stop at the Chevron on the west
side of town, it was back onto I-40 until exit 139 and Crookton
Road. Ahead lay the longest extant continuous stretch of Route
66; I wouldn’t see I-40 again until Kingman. For much of
the time, I seemed to be the only driver on the road. The
exhibition game between the Tigers and Astros kept me company. In
Seligman, I stopped at the Snow Cap and ordered a vanilla milkshake for
the road.
Between Seligman and Peach Springs, I finally encountered the expected
snow. It was never hard enough to lead to whiteout conditions,
but there was enough in one stretch to cover the road. Naturally,
I slowed down, not wanting to chance a wipeout. In Peach Springs,
there was an Indian-run lodge, and I considered stopping there for
lunch. By the time I’d arrived, though, the snow had
slacked off, so I continued westward through Hackberry, Valentine, and
finally into Kingman. Here was where I wanted to eat.
Nothing on the east side of town impressed me (getting to it with the
road construction would have been tough), so I went through town and
saw a place called Mr. D’s. It had a ‘50s theme with
Route 66 touches, so it would have seemed an ideal place to eat.
When I went inside and took a seat, though, it took me several minutes
to be waited on, and it wasn’t very busy at all. Once I was
served, I reviewed the menu, only to find that I didn’t care for
anything on it, so I left. Where to now? There were some
opportunities on US 93 north of I-40; I chose the Country Pride
restaurant at the TA Travel Center (truck stop). I didn’t
have any problem with service there, but it took me a while to decide
what to eat there, as well. That shake from Seligman must have
satisfied any hunger I had. But that subsided enough to allow me
to order a Philly beef sandwich, which was actually pretty good.
It was hot, and I had to be careful in holding it lest my hand be
burned by any juices, but it was good. Then I backtracked into
town and back onto 66 and visited the Powerhouse visitor’s center
and Route 66 Museum. It was a good exhibit of the road from
Indian trail days and the early settlers’ trails to the creation
of Route 66, the Okie migrations of the ‘30s, the traveling
spirit of the ‘50s and the road’s preservation and
rebirth. It was a nice way to spend $4 and 45 minutes.
Now I had a choice to make. Should I take the historic route of
66 through Oatman, or should I follow the later path, the one that
became I-40? The Oatman route went through the Black Mountains
via a twisty and curvy road, one that would be very treacherous if
icy. But I didn’t see any precipitation in the distance,
and I didn’t know when I would have the opportunity again, so I
set off for Oatman. The first part was long, straight, mostly
flat and fast. However, the second part was narrow and
winding. It climbed up into those Black Mountains, and there was
hardly a guardrail to be found. The westbound lane happened to be
the one closest to the edge. Frankly, that was unnerving. I
would frequently straddle the center line, trying to stay as far away
from that edge as possible. I was also hoping and praying that
nobody would approach from the opposite direction and that if they did,
they’d be going slowly and be in full control of their
vehicle.
At one point, there was a sign to be on the lookout for wild
burros. Just after I saw that sign, I saw two burros grazing on
either side of the road. The lack of traffic enabled me to come
to a halt and take two pictures, one far away and one closeup.
When I revved up to get going again after the second picture, I think I
startled one of the burros. Good thing he was in no mood to act
like a donkey and give a good kick to the car! Eventually, I made
my way to the top of Sitgreaves Pass. There was a turnout there,
so I pulled over and admired what I could not admire while I was
driving. After taking a few pictures, I got back into the car for
the downhill trip. Now this was just as twisty and winding of a
road, but there were a few more guardrails in place here. They
weren’t 21st-century standard guardrails, but they were better
than nothing.
Eventually I found myself in the old mining town of Oatman.
Today, it’s more of a tourist trap, and it was full of them
today. There were plenty of shops to choose from, but I chose
none of them. I wasn’t in the mood to stop, and I
didn’t. I wanted to finish the drive of 66, and I
did. It had been a long day. There was only one burro in
Oatman as I drove through.
It had been over 11 years since I’d last visited Lake Havasu
City. I didn’t remember any gas stations at the
intersection of Highway 95 with I-40 back then, but there were two
today. I gassed up at the Chevron station, which was also a
Terrible Herbst operation (a legendary brand in Las Vegas and the
West). The drive to LHC was little changed, although there was
some additional development in the north part of the city. There
was now a Home Depot in town, and a nearby sign announced the pending
arrival of Lowe’s. I used the GPS device to navigate to the
Hampton Inn, which was on London Bridge Drive, a road that
doesn’t actually include London Bridge (it’s part of
McCullough Boulevard). This Hampton Inn had a small convenience
store section, something I’d not seen at a Hampton Inn
before. Otherwise, it was very similar to other Hampton Inns
I’ve visited. I had room 310, which overlooked the pool and
looked out over Lake Havasu. On the opposite shore was California
and an Indian reservation.
I called my aunt Marie and uncle Bill and spoke to them for a while,
and then I set off in search of supper. First, I drove across
London Bridge, where there was some construction, and drove past the
Island Inn hotel. I had stayed there four times previously, and I
had considered staying there this time for old times’ sake, but I
wanted the Hilton HHonors points that came with a Hampton Inn
stay. The hotel looked unchanged on the outside. Then I
drove up to the new Hasting’s store. I remembered the old
location on McCullough Boulevard, but this was a larger location closer
to Highway 95. Its market is the smaller town that probably
can’t support a Borders or a Barnes and Noble. However, the
book and magazine selection was pretty good. I was looking for
things to read on my return journey that would begin on Thursday.
They had the latest Texas Monthly, so I got that, and they had a
magazine on Sedona, so I picked that up. Earlier today, the Route
66 Museum had an exhibit that included a chapter from The Grapes Of
Wrath by John Steinbeck – a chapter describing Route 66,
naturally. I had never read The Grapes Of Wrath before, and I was
very impressed by the imagery in that chapter. So here I was in
the bookstore, and I found myself wandering to the literature section,
from which I had several editions I could choose. No matter what
edition I selected, the cost would be $15.
Now it was time for supper. In the phone book, I had seen a
listing for the Red Tomato restaurant, which was an all-you-can-eat
pizza and pasta buffet. That appealed to me tonight, so I drove
there. The salad and soup were OK, and the pizza was all right as
well. My main selection was spaghetti with some marinara sauce
and a few meatballs. I may have taken a little too much there,
but it was all right. I washed it down with some root beer, and I
made sure to leave some room for dessert. Then it was back to the
hotel, where I noticed that there were some swimmers in the pool.
It was only in the high 50’s outside – must have been a
heated pool.
Top
Monday March 20
I had a hard time getting to sleep tonight for some
reason. I went down to the vending machines for a bottle of root
beer. It soothed my thirst, but it didn’t put me to
sleep. So I scanned the radio dial for a bit, then read from the
guidebooks on Route 66. I even worked on this travelogue for a
while. Eventually, I went to sleep and awoke around 7. The
sun was already up by then.
First came breakfast in the lobby. Hampton Inn’s breakfasts
have a mixture of hot and cold items, and the result is
satisfying. Then I worked on the Quad-County
Bahá’í Newsletter for a bit, for the deadline had
arrived. Fortunately, I didn’t have many additions to make,
and I was able to send a rough draft to my co-editors before I hit the
road. Next, I looked up the hours for the post office in town,
for I had a package of candy to mail to Turkey. It opened at 8,
which meant it was already open. I could go straight there as
soon as I checked out of the hotel, and I did just that. The post
office was on McCullough, and I had no problem finding it. I went
inside, filled out the customs form, then took a number for
service. None of the post offices in Michigan I frequent have you
take a number. Eventually, my number was called, and I presented
the package and form. Being somewhat heavy, it was rather
expensive, over $30 to mail. But this was Easter candy, so it had
to go. And at this point, so did I. I stopped at the
Terrible Herbst gas station for a chance to use the restroom and for
one of their frozen drinks akin to an Icee or Slurpee.
I had considered returning to LA via I-10 for a change of
scenery. But when I looked at the map last night, I saw that it
was a much longer route that way, so I stayed with I-40. I went
back up Highway 95, past the airport and Home Depot and onto westbound
I-40. Not long after crossing into California, there was an
agricultural inspection station where all traffic had to stop.
Today, though, passenger cars were not being inspected, so I continued
onward and took the next exit, which happened to be for Route 66
heading into Needles. I passed a street called Spike’s
Road, or something like that. Could this have been named for
Spike, the Peanuts character who lives in Needles, I wondered. I
may never know. But I did know that gas prices in Needles were
outrageous. Right off of I-40, gas was $3.29 a gallon. It
wasn’t much better in town, either. I drove past the
historic El Garces hotel and restaurant, now in the process of being
restored to its original glory. I continued through town,
eventually passing by the Taco Bell where I’d had lunch last
Thursday, and then hopping on to the freeway again.
Now I had a decision to make. Would I follow old Route 66, or
would I stick with the freeway? While I might have preferred to
travel the old highway, I thought it best to stick close to the
services near the freeway, especially the restrooms. I did travel
the old roadway for a stretch between Newberry Springs and Daggett, but
I stuck with I-40 for most of the cross-desert run. By lunchtime,
I was in Barstow, and I had a French Dip sandwich at Carrow’s in
town. That sandwich was not particularly easy to eat, for it had
been cut in such a way that the meat tended to fall out whenever you
dipped it in the au jus container. Nonetheless, it was good, and
so was the key lime pie I had for dessert. Then I backtracked a
little ways and got onto I-15 for the Cajon Pass run into San
Bernardino. Skies looked and weather forecasts sounded
unpromising, so I stopped at a Target store to look for an umbrella,
but I didn’t see any there. So I continued onward to my
destination, my home for the next three nights, the Hampton Inn in
Arcadia. It happened to be just off of Route 66 (Huntington
Drive) and near the 210 freeway. It was also right behind the
Souplantation restaurant where I’d eaten in March 2000.
That was a natural place to have supper tonight, and that’s what
I did. It was actually pretty crowded there by the time I left,
but I knew the food was good, and so did everyone else.
After supper, I drove a short distance to the Santa Anita Mall, which
was next door to the Santa Anita racetrack. Interestingly enough,
I’d recently heard an episode of the Jack Benny Show on XM that
involved the cast going to Santa Anita. Now getting there was
interesting, for Arcadia had a well-developed downtown area along old
Route 66. There were several restaurants and shops that would be
worth a visit were there time. At the racetrack, what had been 66
turned to the right along Colorado Boulevard. Huntington
Boulevard turned to the left, and after passing a hospital, turned
right. And there was the Santa Anita Mall. There was a
clump of new restaurants, and among that clump was a Borders
Books/Music/Café. I parked over by that clump of
restaurants and walked in. I couldn’t help notice the
closed Robinsons-May store, another victim of the merger with
Macy’s. How would the developer fill that space? That
wasn’t my concern as I went inside and walked around. Now
the weather was threatening, and I was still looking for an
umbrella. My first thought was a store like Brookstone or The
Sharper Image, but before I reached either of those places, I saw The
Walking Company and noticed they had umbrellas. They also had
walking sticks. I sure could have used one at the Grand Canyon,
and I was reviewing them for future use. One problem:
transportation home. I didn’t think the collapsible models
would collapse enough to go into my suitcase or bag. Knowing that
there were stores back in Detroit, I held off on the stick but did get
the umbrella. The clerk who helped me was familiar with the Novi
store, or at least familiar with “Novi”. Later, at
Borders, I saw a new book by Geoff Emerick, recording engineer for the
Beatles. Very interesting, I thought. But I resisted the
temptation to buy it, for I was concerned about overloading my luggage.
When I left the shopping center, I found my newly acquired umbrella
very handy, for it was now raining. It wasn’t a
particularly heavy rain, but it was enough. And I didn’t
really want to get my Red Wings suede leather jacket wet, so up went
the umbrella. I turned on XM and listened to the championship
game of the World Baseball Classic, Cuba versus Japan, playing some one
hundred miles away at San Diego. Back at the hotel, I put the
game on the TV. While checking my e-mail and doing some Web
surfing, I learned that the movie What The Bleep: Down The Rabbit Hole
was playing locally. It was in fact playing at two somewhat local
theaters, one in Encinitas (down by San Diego) and the other at the
Beverly Center. Now I had seen the original What The Bleep Do We
Know? on my last visit to San Francisco in September 2004, so I thought
it an interesting coincidence that this sequel of sorts (a cross
between a re-edit of the original movie and a sequel) was playing while
I was in California again. Naturally, I planned to see it.
The best bets were either tomorrow or Thursday; Wednesday was out
because I was planning to visit Disneyland then.
Top
Tuesday March 21
I got up around 6 this morning, took a shower, and had
breakfast downstairs in the lobby. It was a good breakfast, with
the same selection available as in Lake Havasu City – or in any
other place with a Hampton Inn, for that matter. Not that one is
looking for variety from one Hampton to the next.
Around 9, I set off for my day’s travels and adventures.
One of my first tasks was to gas up the car, and I found a Union 76
station fairly close by. It was close to an entrance to the 210
freeway, so I got on there and headed west toward Burbank. I was
relying on the GPS to guide me to the Fry’s Electronics in
Burbank, and it did. I found myself on the 5 heading north.
I missed the turnoff the GPS specified because the street it specified
for an exit wasn’t what was on the freeway signs. However,
I backtracked and used the GPS’s recalculations to get me back on
track. I wasn’t too far from the Burbank airport, also
known as Bob Hope Airport, for I noticed several signs for airport
parking. Soon, I was at Fry’s. This store had as its
theme or motif alien invasions, 1950’s movie style. Inside,
half of the ceiling was occupied by what appeared to be the underside
of a flying saucer. The floor, of course, was occupied by the
general assortment of electronic parts, DVD’s and CD’s,
computer hardware and software, audio and video gear, and whatever else
you find at Fry’s. This appeared to be an older store, for
the floor layout didn’t correspond to that of the newer
locations. I didn’t find anything here today, not even any
new videos; perhaps they just hadn’t been put out yet.
My next stop of the day was the nearby Ham Radio Outlet; the GPS guided
me there, as well. What would I have done without that
thing? Carry around big, heavy map books, I bet. Anyway, I
made it there, and I started looking. Frankly, I was in the mood
to buy some gear, and that’s what I did. I’d been
impressed by a new receiver from Alinco, the DR-635T, which had just
been reviewed in the leading amateur radio magazine QST. I also
owned a Alinco HT (handy-talky, or hand transceiver) that I’d
brought with me on this trip (the DJ-596T) and was thus inclined to
stick with the brand, at least for me. I left the story carrying
a receipt for that receiver, a compatible power supply, and a copper
J-pole antenna. Why just the receipt? There was no way I
could carry it all back with me on the train, so I asked for it to be
shipped to me. I’d be home before it arrived.
My next stop was a Best Buy that I’d seen alongside the 5 freeway
while driving to Fry’s. It wasn’t listed in the GPS
device; perhaps it was too new. I worked my way there and went
inside. My main purpose was to check if there was a fullscreen
version of the new Chicken Little DVD – not for myself, but for
my sister, or really for my nephew. He must have a small TV where
widescreen movies would be too small to view. It turned out that
there was only one version, the widescreen edition. Good for the
integrity of the film, but bad for viewing on small traditional screens.
The first showing of What The Bleep at the Beverly Center was 1
PM. It was already noon or slightly after, so I thought I should
start heading there. I programmed it into the GPS, and it
calculated a route. I had a little difficulty getting onto the
freeway due to some tricky intersections. Once on the freeway,
the GPS guided me to the exit for Los Feliz Boulevard, which took me on
an interesting drive through Hollywood. I drove past one of the
entrances for Griffith Park. I drove past an Orchard Supply
Hardware store, also known as OSH, which made me think of
Oshman’s, the old Houston sporting goods store. Then I
crept along Santa Monica Boulevard for several miles, making me
concerned that I’d be late for the movie. I got to the
Beverly Center right around 1, so I would indeed be late for the movie.
The Beverly Center was across the street from the famous Cedars Sinai
Hospital, which I learned when I drove around looking for the parking
garage entrance. It took me around 10 minutes to park, go up to
store level, find a restroom, then find the theater, get my ticket, and
find my seat. The film was under way, but I don’t think
I’d missed too much.
Because I arrived late, I didn’t stop at the concession stand,
and thus I missed lunch. But when you consider that
“lunch” would have been popcorn and a soft drink, I
didn’t miss that much and may have been better off for doing
so. After the movie ended, I did visit the food court, and I
briefly considered the Mongolian barbecue of The Great Khan, but I
didn’t eat there. I did go out on the terrace next to the
food court and was greeted with a view to the east, encompassing the
Hollywood Hills (the Hollywood sign and the Griffith Park Observatory
were visible) and downtown LA. And straight ahead was CBS
Television City. I wished I had my camera right then. Back
to the meal hunt: I almost ate at the Hard Rock Café, but I
didn’t. I didn’t really feel like a burger (yes, I
know that the Hard Rock Café has more than burgers). To
tell the truth, I was beginning to be in the mood for Baja Fresh, a
chain specializing in fresh Mexican food. It seemed like I saw
one of their restaurants on every other corner. And there was one
quite close by. But I knew that rush hour was coming up, that I
faced a long drive across town to return to my hotel. Under those
circumstances, I felt I should neither eat nor drink a lot. So I
decided to set off for my hotel room.
I had great difficulty getting onto southbound La Cienega; in fact,
after going around various blocks a few times, I never did get
there. Instead, I was on southeastbound San Vicente, driving
through parts of LA I’d never been through. It was an
interesting drive through a mainly residential area. Then I took
Fairfax Avenue down to the 10, the Santa Monica Freeway. That was
a frustrating drive, for it was jammed heading eastward. So was
the Harbor Freeway heading northward. The GPS tried to guide me
onto certain routes, but there was no way I could take them. And
I wasn’t sure I wanted to take them, for I knew how I could get
to the hotel from where I was. I ended up staying on the Harbor
Freeway until it became the Pasadena Freeway, and because the traffic
cleared up once I got past the 5, I stayed on that until its end.
Then I could go eastbound on Colorado Boulevard until I got to the
hotel. But I didn’t stop at the hotel, for I wanted to eat
supper at Baja Fresh, and that was only a few blocks away. Back
in Michigan, I go to the Baja Fresh in Northville, and this one was
just as good. Burrito Mexicana and a shrimp taco – yum, yum!
Top
Wednesday March 22
My Disneyland ticket was good for two days, one at each
park. I used the first day last Wednesday at California
Adventure, and now I would use the second day today at Disneyland
proper. It would be a little more difficult getting to the park
this time, since I wasn’t staying a block or so away. But
I’m getting ahead of myself here….
After waking up for the day, I had another decent breakfast downstairs
in the Hampton Inn lobby. Later on, I took some pictures outside
of the hotel, the hills in the distance, and even a few of Huntington
Boulevard and the businesses along it. Remember, it had been
Route 66, and there were Route 66 markers every few hundred yards along
the roadway. I believe they were recently posted, not historic
actual signs.
I made sure I was prepared for my Disneyland trip – cameras,
ticket, hat, sunscreen. Yep, I was set. I grabbed a cookie
to munch along the way, then set off for Anaheim. Now I had set
the cookie in front of the shift lever in the car. But when I
made a sudden stop, the cookie slid in between the bottom of the
instrument panel and the top of the center console. There was no
way I could reach in there from the driver’s seat. I had to
pull into a parking lot, get out, then reach in there for it. I
had to lift up slightly on the instrument panel to get the cookie out,
but get it out I did. When I set off again, the cookie was in the
passenger seat.
I got onto the 210 freeway and took that over to the 605, which I took
to the 5. Things weren’t too bad trafficwise until I got to
the 5, where there was slow going in both directions. Not until
the freeway widened did things start to move quickly again. As I
neared the exit for Euclid Avenue in Anaheim, I got the idea to visit
the Ham Radio Outlet there for copies of the latest magazines.
Two of them, CQ and QST, would most likely be waiting for me when I
arrived home, but I was in need of reading material for the train trip
home. I also felt that a visit to the restroom would be prudent,
not knowing when my first opportunity at Disneyland would be.
Everything worked out fine, and it was with a profound sense of relief
that I drove those few remaining miles to the parking deck for
Disneyland.
When I parked at Disneyland before, it was in the Timon parking lot on
the southeast corner of the park. This time, it was the Mickey
and Friends parking deck on the northwest corner. I must confess
that I tend to be a little nervous in parking garages in California;
the combination of earthquakes and gravity can be bad news. But
there were no earthquakes today as I left my car and walked to the
boarding point for the tram, which took us about a half-mile and
dropped us off at the west entrance, which also served as an entrance
for Downtown Disney. Once inside, I noticed that the emblem of
Mickey below the train station had changed. In celebration of
Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, the emblem had “50”
inside, and a statue of Mickey was perched next to it. I recalled
seeing the 45th-anniversary emblem on my last visit.
Passing underneath the railroad tracks and entering Main Street USA,
the scenes were quite familiar, as well they should be. But there
was something a little different; the theater that on my previous trip
had featured an Animatronic model of Abraham Lincoln was now featuring
a short film highlighting 50 years of history and fun at
Disneyland. It was hosted by Steve Martin, who got his start at
Disneyland with magic routines in the early 1960’s, and co-hosted
by Donald Duck. I found it to be interesting and enjoyable
(“Is that all?” I can hear Donald squawking). Then it
was down Main Street to the center circle, taking in the sights and
taking a few pictures. Next came Fantasyland and Mr. Toad’s
Wild Ride, one of the original rides. Compared to many of the
rides of today, it’s not that wild, but you do spin around a
lot. I tried taking a few pictures inside the ride, but they
turned out poorly. I ended up deleting all but one or two.
Next came the Storybook Gardens ride, a boat cruise passing by
miniature recreations of several scenes from Disney films –
Pinocchio, Snow White, Aladdin, etc. I contemplated riding the
Matterhorn but decided against it, for I have had back problems in the
past.
On to Mickey’s Toontown and a Fastpass for the Roger Rabbit
ride. While I waited for my time to come up, I took a drink from
the fountains but missed the comments that they made the last time I
visited. I took pictures of Pluto and Goofy giving autographs to
children. I enjoyed a cup of frozen yogurt that ended up being my
lunch. I took a picture of Minnie Mouse leaving her house,
presumably for a visit to the little mouse’s room, then visited
Mickey in his house. This was a photo opportunity for me, and I
had one of Mickey’s helpers take a picture with my camera.
Another helper took an official picture, gave me a slip, and directed
me to visit the camera shop in 2 hours if I wanted a copy (the picture
wasn’t that great, as it turned out, so I passed). Then it
was time to board the Roger Rabbit ride, which turned out to be similar
in many ways to the Mr. Toad ride, with lots of weaving and spinning.
Next came Tomorrowland and a visit to Innoventions. The exhibits
here seemed to be less engaging to me compared to Innoventions at Epcot
in Florida, though I was not able to see the humanoid robot being
demonstrated. Then I walked over to see Honey I Shrunk The
Audience, another 3D film spectacular with additional effects
programmed into the audience’s seats. I won’t mention
what they are for the “benefit” of those who haven’t
seen it. Over to New Orleans Square and a visit to the Haunted
Mansion, where the wait wasn’t very long at all. That was
one ride I would definitely visit again. I can’t yet say
that about Pirates of the Caribbean, because I was unable to visit it
today. It was closed for remodeling and wouldn’t open until
summer – not coincidentally, when the second Pirates film
premieres in theaters. I wandered through the streets of New
Orleans Square, wondering how realistic the buildings and street scenes
were. And in some cases, the emphasis would be on
“were”, post-Katrina.
Now I found myself in Critter Country. Splash Mountain was out of
commission, so I contented myself with a ride through The Many
Adventures of Winnie The Pooh. It was rather different from the
Pooh ride at Disney World, but it was still enjoyable. By now, I
was getting a bit weary and in need of a rest – and food, for
that matter. Frozen yogurt only went so far as lunch, and I
needed a bit more. I had a desire to eat somewhere in Downtown
Disney, and that gave me an excuse to ride the monorail. Part of
the route was closed for construction, so the monorail cars went over
and back along the same segment of track, which passed through
California Adventure. There were some nice views of the park
along the way, but we were moving too quickly for me to take any good
pictures. The pictures that I did take were quickly deleted.
Now I was at Downtown Disney. I got my hand stamped in case I
wanted to go back to the park, although I doubted I would. I
didn’t want to eat at the ESPN Zone again, and the Rainforest
Café didn’t appeal to me today. House of
Blues? No – but Tortilla Jo’s? Yes,
that’s where I would have supper. It was sufficiently
different from the Baja Fresh I’d visited last night. I got
a combination plate, which included shrimp tacos. The service was
excellent; my waitress kept my drink glasses (one for water, one for
pop) full, generally without my asking for refills.
After Tortilla Jo’s, I walked around for a bit, ending up at the
bookstore, where I would get a book on The Imagineering Way: Ideas to
Ignite Your Creativity. Perhaps I would read it on the way back
home; perhaps I’d pack it away and send it home by mail.
Then it was back on the tram to the parking deck, to my car, and then
on the road. Yes, I ran into more slowdowns on the 5 and the 605
as I returned to my hotel. Then it was time to begin packing for
the trip home.
Top
Thursday March 23
This morning, I would check out of the hotel. This
evening, I would board the train heading for home. Now, what to
do in the meantime? That was a good question.
After packing up, loading the car and checking out, my first stop of
the day was the Arcadia post office. I had to mail a package to
myself containing many of the items I had either brought with me or had
acquired out here, items that would no longer fit in my luggage.
I sent it Priority Mail, so there was a good chance it might arrive
home just before I did. With that business handled, I was looking
for a place to waste some time. The Border store at Santa Anita
was not yet open, so I ended up visiting a Whole Foods Market on
Foothill Boulevard. After using their facilities, I looked around
for a bit but only got a bottle of water, which tasted rather
good. Then it was back to the Borders store just before it
opened, and I pondered whether to get more reading material for the
trip back. I may have pondered, but I didn’t get any more.
Suddenly, I realized that I hadn’t yet visited a Tower Records on
this trip. There was something I had been looking for for several
months, the new Mobile Fidelity hybrid CD and SACD of the mono version
of the Byrds’ Mr. Tambourine Man. Its release had been
delayed several times, but it was now out, and I was sure that Tower
would carry it. The GPS said the closest Tower was in Pasadena,
so I drove there. Unfortunately, they didn’t have it.
Back to the GPS; it said there was one in Glendale. But when I
drove there, I didn’t see it. Either it had closed, or the
GPS had incorrect information [I would later learn that the Tower
Records Website still had the Glendale store listed, so I guess the GPS
was incorrect]. Not wanting to dink around any more, I had the
GPS direct me to the Tower on Sunset Boulevard, for I knew it was still
there and that it would be most likely to have the CD.
Sunset Boulevard was rather busy, and the poorly timed stoplights
didn’t help. Now I wasn’t in immediate time danger; I
still had several hours to go before I had to turn in the car.
But I did need gas, so I stopped at a Shell station at Sunset and the
Hollywood Freeway, not far from the KTLA studios. With the full
tank, I could do some more driving and still bring the car back with
the proper amount of fuel. I passed by the sights, noting what
had changed and what hadn’t. I passed by the Guitar Center
but didn’t feel like stopping there this time out. I
wasn’t in the market for another guitar. I was now on the
Sunset Strip, and traffic was still heavy. I almost stopped at
Mel’s Drive-In for lunch, but the parking lot was now valet, and
I wasn’t sure I could allow valet parking of the rental
car. I finally made it to the Tower Records, and it appeared to
have changed little from my last visit. When I got inside, I was
in luck; they did indeed have the CD. I was a bit surprised at
the price, but I remembered it was not a regular CD but a hybrid CD and
Super Audio CD. Now I have a reason to get a Super Audio CD
player!
I got back onto Sunset and headed westward. The Strip ended and
Beverly Hills began. The bad traffic also ended, which pleased me
greatly. I wound my way through Beverly Hills and Bel Air, past
the UCLA campus. Soon, I was at the 405. Sunset continued
westward, but I got onto the northbound 405. For a while, there
wasn’t much traffic. That changed once I neared Ventura
Boulevard and the Ventura Freeway interchange. The eastbound
Ventura Freeway wasn’t exactly wide open, either, but I made my
way to the same Sherman Oaks mall I’d visited last week. I
figured I would stop at their food court for lunch, and that’s
what I did, visiting Sbarro for two slices of pizza and a drink.
The food court had two levels of seating, and the lower level was so
full I had to go upstairs. The pizza was OK, for pizza bought at
a fast food court, that is. Then I walked around for a little bit
to settle my stomach down. At the Apple Store, I checked my
e-mail. At the Discovery Channel Store, I saw a new DVD set on
Route 66, one originally shot in high definition video. Now I had
seen several episodes of a Route 66 series on the INHD channel, so I
suspected this was that series. But given the overloaded state of
my baggage, I thought it best to wait until I got home, then go to my
local Discovery Channel Store and pick it up [follow-up: I did that,
and it was indeed the same series from INHD].
For a change, I took Ventura Boulevard eastward for a couple of
miles. This had to have been old US 101 before the freeway was
built. It was worthy of a drive sometime, but not today, so I got
back onto the freeway in Studio City. It was still busy.
Still needing to kill some time, I had the GPS guide me to a Barnes and
Noble store in Burbank, which it did. In getting there, I passed
by the main NBC studios, so I knew I was in “beautiful downtown
Burbank” – not to be confused with today’s Downtown
Burbank, which was where the Barnes and Noble was located. This
was Burbank’s entertainment and shopping district. I saw
the remnants of a sign for a Virgin Megastore (wouldn’t be going
there, obviously) as I looked for a parking spot, which I found in a
garage next to the B&N and a CompUSA. There was an IKEA store
across the street; in a few months, the Detroit store would be
opening. I stopped in the CompUSA store briefly, then went down
one level to the B&N. Now they had some interesting books,
especially on the local area and Route 66, including several
“then and now” type books. But all I got was the
latest issue of New Scientist magazine. My luggage capacity
wouldn’t let me get any more.
By this time, I felt that I should start heading to Union Station to
make sure I dropped the rental car off on time. So I had the GPS
guide me one last time. Down the 5 I went, passing Elysian Park
and one of the access roads for Dodger Stadium. The GPS directed
me onto the 110, and I took that. The ramp leading to the
Pasadena Freeway was rather narrow and didn’t have a
guardrail. For some reason, though, the GPS was not directing me
to take the exit for Sunset Boulevard, which I knew would take me to
the garage for the train station. I took it anyway, confident in
my knowledge. And sure enough, less than a mile away, there was
Union Station and the rental car return area. I went down into
the garage, wrote down the mileage, collected my things including the
GPS, then found the stairs up to ground level. It was difficult
ascending those stairs with a heavy bag on your shoulder and a slightly
less heavy bag on your arm. I turned in the keys, confirmed my
payment, then went out in the lobby to wait.
The time was between 4 and 4:30. My train didn’t leave
until 6, but the rental car office closed at 5, so I had to arrive
early. I didn’t mind too terribly, for I was in need of a
rest. I also needed to shuck my jacket, for the temperature was
in the 70’s. Fortunately, my suitcase was not so crowded
that I couldn’t stick my suede jacket inside. And so, for
the next couple of hours, I sat in the lobby watching the people
leaving or catching their trains (Union Station served Metrolink and
subway commuters as well as Amtrak customers) and jotting down more
notes for the travelogue. At one point, I checked e-mail by
connecting with my cell phone. It might be slow, but it was
usually effective.
I noticed a line forming for boarding the Southwest Chief.
Actually, there were two lines, one for coach customers and one for
sleeping car passengers. The line I saw was for the coach
passengers, and I ended up being at the head of the line for the
sleeping car passengers. We waited for a longer time than
expected, for boarding was delayed for an unknown reason. I think
we ended up leaving a half-hour late. Once again, I had a lower
level berth, but this time I would be on the south side of the
train. I would have a different view going back than heading
out. Now I recalled from my last trip that the returning view
wasn’t was exciting as the departing view. As we pulled
out, though, I was able to see downtown LA lit up. I tried taking
a picture, but I couldn’t get the camera set up properly for it.
There was a short period for dinner tonight, owing to the relatively
late start of the trip. Even if we hadn’t left a half-hour
late, the dinner period still would have been shorter than
normal. My table companions this evening were an 18-year-old
Northern Arizona University student returning there from a visit to LA
and a couple from Devon in England who were touring the States and
would also be traveling to Flagstaff for the Grand Canyon.
When I returned to my berth, my bed had already been prepared. I
stayed up for a while, reading the magazines I had recently bought
– the ham radio magazines and New Scientist, mainly. I saw
the train pull into San Bernardino, and then I turned in before the
train started its run through Cajon Pass. At one point, I dreamed
that the Earth was under attack from aliens, with their weapon making
the ground violently shake and jump. I woke up, only to discover
that the shaking and jumping were coming from the train going over
rough track.
Top
Friday March 24
When I woke up this morning, I looked out the window
and saw trees and patchy snow cover. We were in northern Arizona
now. The area was rather sparsely populated, so I surmised that
we had stopped at Williams Junction (not to be confused with
Williams). I got up, put on my clothes, made a bathroom visit,
then went upstairs for the walk to the dining car, where I had French
toast for breakfast. We passed through Flagstaff while I was
dining, and I could recognize many of the sites in town. I
recognized the dome at NAU, and I saw the Embassy Suites hotel, where I
had stayed last week. Back in my room, I was reading USA Today
and saw that Duke had been upset in the NCAA Tournament last
night. I was down to my last team in the competition, referring
to a tournament selection contest run by a friend of mine from high
school (no money involved). I had won it one year, but this year,
I was solidly in last place.
Today, I read a lot. I read several chapters of The Grapes Of
Wrath, alternating it with CQ Magazine for amateur radio
operators. Unlike the outbound trip, I took very few pictures
today, and I didn’t take any video. Perhaps I was suffering
from vacation fatigue. Perhaps the scenery on this side of the
train wasn’t as compelling as on the other side.
As we approached Albuquerque, I went to the dining car for lunch.
My dining compansions included a father and son from Knoxville and an
older woman from Prescott, Arizona. Father and son were returning
from a few days at the Grand Canyon, where they had experienced more
snow than I had seen. They even saw clouds that had formed IN the
canyon! That would be weird to see. It might also be
frustrating for someone whose view of the canyon would be
obscured. I had another Angus burger for lunch; it was a good,
safe choice.
Once again, the train stopped in Albuquerque for service, and we could
get off the train for a while. I did step off the train, but I
only went as far as the pop machines in the station lobby, where I got
two cans, paying less that I would for one can from the café
car. Well, perhaps a little more than one can, but definitely
less than two. No, I didn’t venture into downtown this
time. The train got underway again, and we headed north towards
Colorado. Around dinner time, we were near Raton Pass. I
was in the dining car having dinner as the train passed through the
Raton Pass tunnel. Off in the distance before and after the
tunnel, my dining companions and I could see elk congregating and
laying around after what must have been a hard day of grazing.
You could say that was a real-life Elks club!
It was dark when we reached La Junta. Again, I ventured inside
the station for a bottle of pop, but the machines didn’t want to
take my quarters. I was rather ticked off by this.
Eventually, I got my drink and reboarded the train, then proceeded to
get ready for bed.
Top
Saturday March 25
I woke up a few times during the night to use the restroom. The
skies were clear over Kansas, allowing me to see the stars through my
window. At one point, I saw the rising crescent moon low on the
horizon, accompanied by a bright orange-ish “star” that may
have been Mars or Venus. I would have to check sky charts to know
for sure; I first thought it was Mars, but it could have been
Venus. Around home, the horizon is normally too cluttered to
allow such visibility of anything so close to it.
I woke up for good on the west side of Kansas City but didn’t
feel like getting up immediately. I heard frequent announcements
from the dining car steward for Able, party of one, Baker, party of
two, etc. The dining car was quite busy this morning.
Frankly, I wasn’t in the mood for a big breakfast, and when I did
get up, I went to the lounge car for two cans of pop, a Nutri-Grain bar
and a bag of Doritos. Not the healthiest of breakfasts,
I’ll admit, but this was the last day of my vacation, and soon I
would return to my normal habits.
I spent the day alternately reading The Grapes Of Wrath, working on
this travelogue, and identifying the pictures I’d taken on my
trip. I took over 400 pictures with my digital camera, so I had a
lot of identifying to do. At least all of the photos had a date
and time stamp, which would help in identifying them. But neither
the camera nor iPhoto could know that I’d taken a certain picture
at Mather Point at the Grand Canyon. That work fell to me, the
photographer.
As the train reached Galesburg, I noticed that my cell phone was
getting a good signal. That meant I could check e-mail, so I did
that. And once we left Galesburg, the signal stayed strong, even
while we were moving. We continued eastward across the Illinois
farmland, then into the western Chicago suburbs. I saw areas of
Chicagoland that I normally didn’t see while driving, for they
didn’t happen to fall on my normal paths. Perhaps I should
change my normal paths the next time I drive there.
We pulled into Union Station slightly late, if indeed we were late at
all. Since we were a half-hour late out of LA, we’d clearly
made up the time. Once again, my bags were heavy, although my
shoulder bag was slightly less heavy than before, as I’d moved
some items from there into the rolling bag. That helped somewhat,
although I wished I could have moved more. I wasn’t sure
what I was going to do for the next 2 ½ hours while I waited for
the train to Michigan. The Amtrak waiting area was quite busy
– at least the south area was; the north area was wide
open. Then I noticed something I hadn’t seen before:
storage lockers along the wall. $3 per hour or fraction thereof,
and they locked electronically. That would allow me to shuck the
bags for a while. Why, I could even go into town! And
that’s what I did. I selected a lower-level locker, paid
for the first hour, put my bags in, and then set off into town.
There was no way I could have considered doing so while pulling heavy
bags.
Near the start of my walk, I saw Lou Mitchell’s restaurant,
famous as a Route 66 landmark. But it closed early on Saturdays,
so I couldn’t consider it for an early supper. Farther
along, I walked across the bridge for the Dan Ryan Expressway.
Then something started bothering me: where were the tall buildings of
downtown? Surely I should be able to see the Sears Tower from
here?! When I saw the Greek and Middle Eastern restaurants and a
sign for Greektown, I suddenly realized I was walking the wrong way,
away from the Loop. At the next street, I turned, then turned
again and was now going the right way. As I walked eastward, I
looked for restaurants that I felt like visiting, but nothing struck
me. That, or they were closed on the weekend. I saw a long
line extending out the door of people waiting to enter the Sears
Skydeck. I had been up there many years ago (the first time in
1983) but didn’t feel like going there today.
At State Street, I noticed a fairly new Barnes and Noble store, but I
passed it by for now. When I reached Michigan Avenue, I headed
north a block and eventually passed by a Panda Express restaurant, a
Chinese food establishment. That appealed to me, so I stopped
there for dinner. It also gave me an opportunity to cool down,
for I had worked up a little bit of a sweat in my suede jacket and
heavy shirt. From my seat, I could see a sign on the street:
Begin Historic Route 66. Now the real beginning was over on Lake
Shore Drive, but the historic route markings began right there, right
where the sign said.
After I finished my meal, I walked over to the Barnes and Noble, which
served the DePaul University community (the downtown campus was
nearby). I visited briefly, then resumed my walk back to the
train station. I was in plenty of time for the train to
Detroit. I went to the lockers and retrieved my luggage, then
found a seat in the north area, which was still less busy than the
south area. The TV was airing the local news from channel 7; I
could hear it but not see it from where I was sitting. One of the
news items surprised me: Buck Owens had died today. He had
been a favorite of my parents, and I remembered his old pre-Hee Haw
show that used to air on channel 39 in Houston.
There was a long line for boarding the Detroit train. I had to
walk nearly the whole length of the train to reach the business class
section. This second experience convinced me that business class
was the way to go in the future on the train to and from Chicago.
I did have some difficulty lifting my bags onto the train and into the
overhead rack; they were heavy when I left LA, and they were still
heavy. We left on time and made good time through Chicago,
Illinois and Michigan. We business class travelers were able to
get our one free drink from the café before it opened up to
everyone else; I chose to get a second drink and a snack, as
well. Once it opened up to everyone in coach, there was a very
long line. I remembered that from my last trip.
There were a number of people who had laptops with them. Some
were watching DVD’s. One guy had a 12-inch Powerbook just
like mine. At one point, he noticed that I had an Internet
connection (I was using my phone again) and asked me about it. We
talked about that and the move to Intel processors by Apple.
Top
Sunday March 26
The train rolled onward through the western Wayne County suburbs,
pulling into Dearborn a little bit behind schedule. The business
class passengers, including myself, had to go through the café
car in order to leave the train. It is never easy going down
those steps with heavy bags, but I made it. I carried my rolling
suitcase down the steps from the platform rather than take the ramp as
I had last time, and then I walked out to my car. There was no
ice or anything on it. Into the trunk went my bags, and once
inside the car, I hooked up the Sirius radio and turned it on.
The drive home was uneventful – no drive should ever be
eventful. I noticed that gas was $2.45 a gallon, much cheaper
than the California and Arizona rates I’d become accustomed
to. With the summer driving season approaching, that
wouldn’t last. Around 12:45, I pulled into my garage and
took my bags inside. I was home.
THE END
Top
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to Travels page
©2006
R. W. Reini.
All
rights reserved.
Written
by Roger Reini
RevisedApril 20, 2008
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