We reached the end of Route 10 in California

We started our journey west on Route 10 in Jacksonville, Florida and reached the "end of 10" when we arrived in Los Angeles.

What we are finding in our travels is that the National Parks are national treasures and they always exceed our expectations. It has become a goal for us to visit as many as we can.

Our first stop in California was Joshua Tree National Park. The Joshua Tree is a giant member of the lily family. It is a yucca plant and it is a good indicator that you are in the Mojave Desert.

Legend has it that the Morman pioneers named the tree after the biblical figure, Joshua, seeing the limbs as outstretched in supplication, guiding the travelers westward.

In the park were some very interesting rock formations, do you see them? We had a great time letting our imaginations go wild interpreting shapes.

Here is an Indian head --

We found an alligator, or to be geographically correct, a gila monster. If you double click on the picture, it should enlarge.

Here is a frog!

From here we headed to Palm Springs, which is a beautiful city surrounded by mountains and 'windmill farms'.

Next stop was San Diego. Went whale watching, but after 3 1/2 hours on the water we only witnessed some sea lions. (So Barb is still in quest of a great whale adventure - she didn't see them close enough in New England.)

While there we were able to take a tour of the Carrier USS Midway. Brought back the great Navy days where Bill spent three years on another carrier, the USS Essex. Seeing how Bill lived for four years was so interesting for Barb so it was a treat for both of us.

LA was the next California city we visited and decided a tour bus was the way to go. (California drivers are crazy.) (We watched two separate car/police chases within thirty minutes on TV.)It turned out to be an eight hour tour but the tour guide was so entertaining and knowledgeable it was well worth the time.

This is Venice Beach where we saw skate boarders, roller skaters, "muscle beach" and of course lots of surfers.



Above the Hollywood Bowl, we saw the Hollywood sign in the distance. ........ and the city at a different angle.



And then there were the Oscars. We were fortunate enough to be there the day before the big event. After checking out the crowded area in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater, we went next door to the Kodak Theater and searched for a way to get closer to the red carpet and the hoopla. We ended up walking on the red carpet up the grand staircase to the theater.

Next highlight was Rodeo Drive - we had thirty minutes to "shop" which was easily enough time to max out your credit card. We just walked and only recognized a few of the designer names. I guess I'm just a Kohl's and Target girl!!!! (The yellow store below is Phillipe Dijon's salon - you can't even go in without an appointment and to get an appointment you have to pay $900, non-refundable) (We did see him arrive in his yellow Ferrari and got a picture of him - only famous person we saw and we didn't have a clue who he was!!!!)

We did take a few pics of some stars' homes - in order are the homes of Richard Gere, Bill Cosby and Adam Sandler - then the former homes of Clark Gable and Frank Sinatra

A couple other interesting places we saw were Mel's Diner (seen in Grease and American Graffitti) and Santa Monica Pier (round building is where the carousel is - seen in "The Sting"

On Sunday we drove to Garden Grove to attend church at the Crystal Cathedral. Rev. Robert Schuller gave the sermon and Dr. Schuller interviewed John Tesh who did the music (finally a celebrity I recognized). The church service was excellent and the building quite spectacular but it was raining so we didn't have any sunlight shining through the glass. After the service we were able to have John Tesh sign his book and CD and take pictures.



It has been a very busy week and we hope you endured this long chapter in our journey. We're off to Las Vegas! Stay tuned!!!

PHOENIX and SEDONA

We had a great visit with Penny (Bill's sister) in Phoenix. She has a beautiful home and has decorated the walls with her awesome oil paintings (they all should be in a gallery). She certainly has a wonderful gift. We met several of her neighbors and are pleased that she has such caring and special people around her. We got some "animal time" too with her dog, Zack, an adorable Maltese/Poodle (he looks like a little black lamb). He loves company and slept with us every night.

We spent one day at the Desert Botanical Garden and guess what - we learned more about cacti!!!! The one below is called octopus cactus - wonder why? We also saw green trunk trees called palo verdes (since the leaves are so small, photosynthesis takes place in the trunk). It was truly a beautiful and interesting place to visit.

Another stop was a trip south to Tucson with Penny and her neighbor, Janice to see a rodeo (Penny's first). We got to see 4 and 5 year olds doing "mutton bustin" again (riding sheep). That event is worth the rodeo trip. Riding broncos or riding bulls is completely underrated. A top rider can make a couple hundred thousand $$ a year, however he will need every penny to handle his medical pains later in life. Tough guys!!! ................. and yes this was a 'red vest' day (by accident).

Another day we ventured up to Sedona. Beautiful country that is beyond description. The red rock mountains are breathtaking and everywhere you looked was another picture opportunity. However the pictures are not even close to the magnificence of this place. God was definitely having a great day when he created Sedona!!!!

Another stop was at a small olive oil production plant. We learned and tasted quite a bit.

After some golf , some shopping, good food (terrific root beer floats) and a few "cut-throat" games of Blokus, we said goodbye to Penny and Arizona. We are now hanging out in California where the weather is rainy and chilly.

Our adventures on the west coast will be in the next edition. Stay warm!!!

Once again, thanks Penny for sharing your beautiful home. Was a fun stop!!!

NEW MEXICO AND ARIZONA

We continue to 'try' to follow the sun. Have found the nights in the 20-30's and the days in the 60-70's. Works for us versus what we have seen is going on up north.

One new thing we forgot to add to the last entry from San Antonio was "Cowboy Church". It was advertised as open to the public on the rodeo grounds (started for the cowboys and their families who travel from rodeo to rodeo) so we decided to go and it was very special - very welcoming, warm and inspirational. They gave out small "Cowboy Bibles" encouraging everyone to take them and pass them on to others.

From San Antonio, it took us a couple of days to get out of Texas. Enroute the 'roadrunners' and 'tumblin tumbleweeds' kept us entertained. Stopped in Deming, New Mexico with objective of visiting the Gila cliff dwellings. However, rains had wiped out a bridge to this National Monument, so we will have to see the 'dwellers' in another state. We did see a lot of new pueblo homes and Bill got in an afternoon of golf in Deming.

Benson, Arizona was a great stop with roadrunners visiting us for dinner ...... then they have their 'sunning' ritual . Roadrunners have a downside as there is not much meat on them thar drumsticks.

Visited Tombstone and got a good look at the old West. Was going to challenge a few of the 'rustlers', but my cap gun ran out of caps.

Had to see the 'Gunfight at the OK Corral' which was interesting. Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday were not quite as legendary as in the movie.

Failed to see any boots on 'Boot Hill', although we didn't dig real deep as the rocks were heavy.
The graves in the picture are of the men that died at the original gunfight at OK Corral.

We then took a short drive down to Bisbee, Arizona, which is a copper mining town literally built into the side of a mountain. The roads and houses were straight up, We were too late to go on the copper mine tour underground. Some similarity to the town of Jim Thorpe, PA but the mountains are a little higher.

The highlight of this stop was visiting the foothills of Cochise's stronghold. Beautiful country and perfect weather. Put on over 44 miles on Barb's new hobby. Not quite a Harley Hog but probably as close as she/we will get. Our guide, Jim, was originally from Pittsburgh and a Steeler fan. Also had worked at the Lakeside Marina and lived in Port Clinton, Ohio for awhile.

While in Tucson we visited the Suguaro National Park. The cacti were playing 'king of the mountain'. We didn't stick around to see who won. They do start to take on personalities after looking at them for awhile and we were having fun making up scenarios for some of them. (One was dancing, one was giving a speech, several looked like a small family) We learned that the Indians see them as people and as models of what you should aspire to - standing tall and proud in the desert.

And now for a little educational info about the desert cacti! We don't want your time to be wasted while reading our blog. The first picture (from left to right) is a barrel cactus, pencil cholla, a small saguaro and prickly pear cactus. The second picture is the prickly pear and the teddy bear cholla (they are the ones that look so soft and fuzzy but don't touch!) Now don't you feel smarter.

From here we head to Phoenix to spend a few days with Bill's sister Penny, then on to California.

Make it a great day and we'll see you around the bend!!