So we made The Turn. We put San Francisco and the West Coast in our rear view mirror as we hopped on Interstate 80 — a highway we were about to have a long relationship with — and headed to Sacramento. At the time, we recognized it for what it was: we were going back … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: July 2014
Escape From San Francisco
The Golden Gate Bridge is just…one of those things. I mean, there are other bridges. Longer bridges, older bridges, more architecturally daring bridges. It could be only that whoever decided to paint the damn thing International Orange was a marketing genius, but San Francisco’s defining landmark is absolutely arresting, even in the fog that cloaked … Continue reading
The Voyage Out of Darkness
Monterey, California is a fairly short drive up the coast from Big Sur, which was good news. We were in no mood for a long drive. We were in no mood for really anything. We were dirty, hadn’t slept well at all, and were vexed by our inability to enjoy camping. We had bought camping … Continue reading
Drought Relief
So it is at this point that we had decided to dramatically scale back our grandiose scheme to travel all the way up the coast to Seattle. The trip to Los Angeles had taken more out of us than we realized, and we were going to be able to spend so little time in some … Continue reading
The Endless City
After driving for so long through such desolation, it was a shocking change to arrive on the outskirts of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area and drive (very slowly) through an urban landscape so vast. Los Angeles’s size is almost as intimidating as its traffic, which is NOT exaggerated. Traffic in LA is awful even when … Continue reading
Rain and Ravens
So I am sitting in a comfortable apartment overlooking the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, but today’s post is all about Arizona. Arizona is a state loosely affiliated with the United States of America. I say “loosely,” because they have done their best over the last few years to exempt themselves from every … Continue reading
Gusty Winds May Exist
I report now from a much nicer Baymont Inn near the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It has a roof and everything! It is also right next to I-40, which brings to mind that old Blues Brothers quote about the train going by so often you won’t even notice it. Day Two of the road … Continue reading