Road to California Day 3

I'm Here

Have to say I really like the Sleep Inn where I stayed both in Flagstaff and Amarillo.  Nice hotel rooms with a great shower and really really good pillows.  I think pillows can make a huge difference in the way we sleep.  The rooms were exactly the same and both had a hot breakfast although I left too early to take advantage of in Flagstaff.

Flagstaff is such a pretty place with all the gorgeous pine trees and when I left at 6:00 a.m. it was only 61 degrees.  I love cool mornings.    However by the time I got to Kingman it was 97 degrees which was pretty miserable.  Thank goodness for air conditioning in mom's van.  However, my daughter doesn't have air conditioning at her house or her car and it was in the low 90s this afternoon.  We bought the stuff to make a poor man's air conditioner with a cooler, a fan and some pvc pipe.  Keep your fingers crossed that this will work.  

I really don't like the drive between Kingman and San Bernardino.  The towns are few and far between and so bathroom breaks and gas stops have to be planned well in advance.  I think I'll go through Phoenix on my way home so I can avoid the long expanse of nothingness.  Although I did get off I-40 and go through Laughlin NV which was surprisingly pretty considering how brown everything is.  But I didn't stop.  I was in a hurry to get to Long Beach and avoid L.A. traffic.  No quilt shop stops today.  But I'm guessing the few towns on my route weren't big enough to support a quilt shop.

Mom called in a panic while I was in Arizona because my Volt that I left for her to drive wouldn't start.  Not sure what I could do from 1400 miles away but it turns out I solved her problem.  The car was on, it is just so quiet she couldn't tell it had started.  I just told her to put it in gear and she would be good to go.  Don't get the wrong idea, my mom is a great driver, but since the Volt is electric it has a few quirks that normal cars don't.

I got to my daughter's house at about 2.  YEEHAW!!!!!  Got some great hugs from the kidlet, then headed to one of my favorite Mexican places in Long Beach, Coco Reno's.  Oh gosh the blackened mushroom tacos really hit the spot.  It is so easy to be vegetarian in California unlike Missouri where grilled cheese is often my only choice. 

I'm so happy to be out of the car.  Still have about 5 more discs of the Harry Potter book to listen to on the trip home which is something to look forward to.  The Kimberling Area Library was nice enough to let me check out the audio book until the end of August.  Gotta love small town perks.  We are so lucky to have this library in our little town.

I love spending time with my daughter.  She is so entertaining and fun. When we were at Target buying supplies she struck up a conversation with a chatty clerk.  Turns out she was from Missouri and had retired from AT&T after 33 years.  Such a small world!!!!!   It is going to be a great trip.  Tomorrow night the Orange County Fair and my girl's birthday!!!!!!!