Endless LA and wasteland with surprise General George Patton Museum & gas station

By Friday morning, I was desperate for my beloved Barq's Root Beer.  California has let me down on the root beer front on several occasions and, so far, I have only found it at the odd Subway restaurant and at Denny's.

So, we started today at Denny's and, oddly enough ended it at a Denny's farther down the road.  There is undoubtedly symmetry there.  In between, we passed through the California where the old cowboy movies were filmed - golden grass with a few trees here and there, madronas and many that we couldn't name - interesting rock formations and groupings of vegetation, horse and cattle country co-existing with vineyards and orchards.  We started to see many of the LA area names that appear in films: Pasadena, Cucamonga, San Bernadino.  [I found a great online map of all the sites where The Big Lewbowski was filmed for those who would love a Big Lebowski tour.  Just know that some of these places are private residences now.]  And, I found my birthplace on a map, finally.  Huntington Park is right next door to Inglewood.  I just didn't know where to look before, assuming it was over near Huntington Beach - what a maroon?.

My parents lived in LA proper; next door to a well-known old cowboy actor (his name was Uncle Bill, but Mom could never remember his last name), one of the character actors who seemed to be in the background of every cowboy movie in the 40s and 50s  He and Mom would have coffee and play pinocle almost every day before I was born.  When the time came, though, the nearest hospital was over the municipal line into Huntington Park.  Fact - I am a California girl and appear to have been born with a craving for caffeine.  Coincidence? I wonder.

If you haven't visited this part of the world, you would be surprised how many oil pumps you see in some areas.  Miles and miles of them; some not working, some rusty and worn, some very close together.  I was so slack-jawed that I did not get one photograph, but I will on the way back.

The end of our day took us through the Southern California Mars-like terrain - rocks, piles, and hills - an endless looking wasteland.  Now and then, there were dead or dying scrubby little trees and plants that made me think of the Zombie apocalypse for some reason.  There were surprises, though: the huge wind farms with white windmills for miles and the sudden appearance of a very large palm tree farm, and the biggest surprise - the General George Patton Museum sitting out in the middle of nowhere next to a gas station, with a dirt yard full of tanks and military equipment surrounded by steel fencing and nothing else for miles and miles.

These windmills went on for miles.

Palm tree starts for as far as you can see.

General George Patton, one of Steve's idols.

Tonight is spent in a much nicer motel, very close to Denny's where we sat in air conditioning (outside it was 108 F) and savored an ice cold soft drink before coming back to see if our room was less like an oven after turning on the AC.  Dinner, however, was at the appropriately named Sizzler Restaurant where the AC had broken down and they were trying to compensate with 4 big, free-standing room air conditioners, which really didn't do the job.  I inquired: the AC had been down for a whole month and the kitchen staff, slaving over the steak grill, had NO AC in 113 degree weather.  Criminal!

Sunset in Blythe, CA.  It hit 113 that day.

Tomorrow, Phoenix at last, where it's a cool 104 degrees.  We are arriving early by a couple of days and will be staying with my parents for that short period until we can move to our reserved BnB rooms on Monday, July 17.  It will be SO nice to stay in one place for a few weeks and explore the area without having to lug all our stuff around or wonder where we will sleep tonight.  I'm SO ready.

The California wasteland punctuated by Los Gatos and Santa Cruz

After meandering along the Pacific Coast Highway from Newport down to San Francisco, the sheen has definitely dulled for the "road trip", although it is proving to be an invaluable learning experience.  It has been frustrating to deal with a broken and slashed toe because how long can one be satisfied with watching the beach, the waves, and watching other people walking on the beach and playing in the water?  I believe that I have proven that period is not long.  I want to frolic in the waves, damn it! But, this stupid bandage will get wet and sandy.

Steve and I have agreed to cut to the chase.  He has enjoyed his share of beaches for this leg of the trip and we agreed to cut over to the direct route to Phoenix, AZ.  So, today...  we left Walnut Creek after our early morning breakfast with the cousins and we struck out for I-5.

There was a blur of heavy traffic, wrong turns, and mistakes that we have mental blocked and never intend to mention again.  We drove around the little town of Los Gatos, where I lived for one year, and found that the old saying is true "you can't go home again", in fact, you may never figure out where that home was.  We drove and drove and nothing looked familiar in any way.  I even stopped to use one of my "life lines" and called my father to find out what street we used to live on, or even what the name was of my elementary school that one year we lived in Los Gatos.  Neither of my parents could remember and I realized - the universe is telling me to "Let it Go, Donnie, Los Gatos no longer exists for you".

So... we ventured down to Santa Cruz, the site of some happy memories - the boardwalk, the amusement park, and the Concrete ship.  The boardwalk and amusement park are still there, better than ever!  My toe didn't want to walk around and check out the rides and games, but it was there.  (We, of course, forgot to take any pictures.  We were enjoying the moment.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)  The huge Concrete Ship, a merchant freighter, was no longer docked (sunk) at the Santa Cruz pier, though.  It was fascinating to that little 5th grade girl that something that large, made of concrete, could actually float.  I think it was my first real musing in the physics arena and my Dad came through with the explanation - air.  A ship made of just about anything will float because it has air inside the hull, cabins, rooms, holds, etc.

Central California, we agreed, looked an awful lot like the terrain of the Moon - all one color and sort of sculptured.  After an untold number of miles of that, we rolled into a little town called Buttonwillow, CA after dark to find a motel.  It was literally a truck stop town and the Super 8 was the best available.  [No photos.  It was a very long, rather trying day.]

Plans for Southern California

Tomorrow, we leave after breakfast with the cousins and head for San Jose and Los Gatos.  Hopefully, we will be able to make it to Santa Barbara by the end of the day.  But, I really want to mouse around in Los Gatos and take a look at Monterey, Morro Bay and maybe a little bit closer to the "no fly zone" where the Pacific Coast Highway has been closed by avalanches.

More to come...

Walnut Creek reunion

We arrived in Walnut Creek, CA (not of Little House on the Prairie fame, I think).  It was wonderful to share a home cooked meal in these lovely surroundings with Steve's cousins and just chat about family and whatever came into our heads.  Steve got to catch up on all the family news and I learned a lot about traveling, since both of them are much more experienced world travelers than we.  They have a lovely apartment and gave us a bed for the night, for which we are very grateful.

Tomorrow, we head for nearby San Jose and Los Gatos where Donnie spent an interesting year during 5th grade.  My father was given a temporary job in San Jose at General Electric and he took the whole family with him.  This was the eventful trip on which we (me and two younger brothers) traveled across the U.S. by car from Lynchburg, Virginia with our parents, a tranquilized Siamese cat, a very sick female Dachshund dog, and her litter of 2 week old puppies.  Poor Pixie couldn't nurse her babies, so my brothers and I took it in turns feeding all six puppies, whose  eyes were barely open, with tiny doll baby bottles and trying to keep the pups cool with the breeze from the open windows all the way across this great land.   We were driving the Southern route in late July with extremely high temperatures, especially in the Mojave Desert.  [Children, this was before cars had air conditioners and it was not pretty.]

I would like to see Los Gatos again, especially because this was the scene of my pre-teen suffering.  So much happened that year in that rented house.  It was hard to be wrenched from my friends and the culture that I had adopted in Lynchburg to live in this place where I knew no one, had a sick Mom, sick dog, and two little brothers to watch.  I chewed my fingers (yes, fingers), had my two adult eye teeth grow in on top of the baby eye teeth (yes, a trip to the dentist), and suffered mind numbing boredom (thank goodness for the bookmobile and horse riding lessons).  It's possible that I was not very good company during much of that year, though. :)

After the San Jose area, we will continue toward Los Angeles on the Pacific Coast Highway and see if we can sneak some peeks of the beaches on either side of the closed road between Monterey and San Luis Obispo.

Giant Redwood Forest and Pacific Coast Highway (and lots of elk)

We just drove through the Giant Redwood Forest in Northern California.  It's indescribable, of course, but I'll try.  Photos seem an impossibility right now, not that I didn't take quite a few.  Eventually, these photos of the Redwoods start looking the same, like the views of the beach.  I have a few photos that include Steve or myself, just to give a perspective.  But, many have seen photos of the Redwoods.  Being there is so much different.  What struck me was how MANY there are of the giant trees and the realization of how very old they are.  These trees can be up to 2000 years old, according to the U.S. National Parks.  How does a person wrap their mind around that idea?  Some of the trees I saw today could have existed during the Roman Empire, when there were still pharaohs in Egypt, during the Dark Age of Europe and the Renaissance.  Some will still be here when I and my children's children's children are long dead.  They are up to 375 feet tall, wider than the average human is tall, so silent, and so many.

Here Steve is asking if this tree makes his butt look too big.

There were two places to turn off of the Pacific Coast Highway in order to drive through these forests.  The State Parks person in Eureka at the State and National Park information center gave a lovely map and directions for the two scenic tours.  They are both well marked on the highway.  I particularly like the Avenue of the Giants, which includes large segments of the Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

The inside of a giant redwood.

The elk came out to send us off in search of a bed for the night.  This is where we learned that elk love to eat our roses just as much as deer.  The herd must have been at least 20 or so and they were definitely having their evening meal outside a small company house.

Those are definitely delicious roses next to the back steps.

Looks like the females and young grazed here and the adult males watched protectively from  across the street.

We were unable to find a campsite in the forests, so we ended up in Benbow, California in a lovely KOA beside a river.  We have another clean, tiny cabin (this time with air conditioner, private bathroom with shower!) at about 7pm, just in time before we both hit critical mass.  This was a very long day that started at 7am, on the road at 8:30am.

Tomorrow... we head for San Francisco and a short visit with Steve's cousins Kerry and Nancy, who live in the Orinda area.  

Oregon beaches, Siuslaw National Forest and Brookings, OR on the Calif. border

Florence, Oregon is a quiet little town on the Pacific Coast Highway.  My parents lived in several places in Oregon including Florence after they retired and quit the jewelry show circuit business.  [We are a gypsy family at heart.]  The beaches along the way after Florence were gorgeous.

We camped for the night in the Siuslaw National Forest (50% for Seniors with the National Park Card, friends) at the Sutton Campground.  Camping was not bad at all.  We set up at a site directly across from the bathrooms (running water, but no showers).

The cell service appears to be iffy for those with ATT and Tmobile on the Oregon Coast.  I'm told you need Verizon out here.  So, we have been off the radar for a few days.  Since I have Tmobile and ATT is the provider for the "bars" that I am finally getting right now, my service is very slow and uploading photos is not happening.  The scenery is outstanding and I will do a photo dump when I can manage it.

I'm sitting in the car (resting my healing, but broken toe) and looking at the beautiful beach at Harris State Park right now.  Those beautiful Oregon rocks are strewn just off the coast.  Steve is walking the beach and taking photos.  I am walking the sidewalk and doing the same.  (Sand and toe lacerations do not mix, not yet.)

Steve driving.

Steve in front of Harris beach.

Beach without Steve.

We spent the night in a great little RV resort near Brookings called At River's Edge.  They rent RV parking, little cabins, and tent space.  For two nights, we are renting one of their cute little cabins.  Ours could sleep 4 people, but it looks like a "tiny house".  They are clean, have a front porch and electricity, and best of all they are a short walk from bathroom and shower facilities.  They even have washer/dryers.  Heaven!

Indeed a "little house" and it's close to shower/toilets, too!

With the scent of dead sardines in our nostrils we ate our dinner in Brookings, OR and watched pelicans feed.  If you look really hard you can see pelicans all over the second jetty.

Tomorrow morning early, we make a run for the border.  As long has we don't have any produce we should be fine.  We've already crossed once because, oddly enough, you can't seem to buy a California road map outside of California.  (Believe me, I've been trying for 100 miles.  We are only a couple miles from the California border here, but Fred Meyer and two other places do not have California maps.)

False alarm.  We stayed one more day in Brookings (the sun belt of the Oregon coast) to explore its potential.  Steve definitely didn't want to leave.

As I finished packing, Steve gazed off into the misty banks of the river.