Road Trips : US Tour 2005 : Page Three
Sunday 5 June 2005: Fresno to Riverside
Sunday morning brought a quick breakfast and goodbyes in Fresno before moving south on Highway 99. The car was definitely running much cooler and smoother, I must say. Much of my paranoia was gone and I was ready to start enjoying the trip and to stop worrying about the car, San Francisco, etc...
Our drive was a bit convoluted; we went from Fresno to near Riverside to check in to our motel and then back across to the other end of the LA basin for dinner. Long story. Suffice to say, the Motel 6 is Rubidoux is just about the creepiest place we stayed on the trip. Upon check-in, we were required to sign a non-aggression pact promising we wouldn't harass any other guests. There were parking permits, liability waivers, and all these signs reminding us that Riverside County ordinance prohibited us from moving into the motel in a residential capacity. All this, mind you, was for a very suburban, almost rural location. I was a touch nervous, but the place seemed OK otherwise...
Dinner at the Saddle Peak Lodge in Calabassas was wonderful. Mark had elk. I had buffalo. There were large dead animals everywhere. There was also, for no apparent reason, mandatory valet parking despite the fact that the lot was both spacious and immediately adjacent. Standard LA, I guess. I once went to a Sizzler there which had valet parking...
After dinner, we drove around LA and the Valley for a while and I realized once again how much I was going to miss this strangely wonderful and exciting place. We planned a long visit soon...
Monday 6 June 2005: Riverside to Phoenix
The morning brought a quick tour of Riverside and a chance to resolve some last minute banking issues before leaving California. We saw the theatre where "Gone with the Wind" had its sneak preview, and looked around downtown. Riverside is surprisingly pleasant, although I can't swear I'll ever have a craving to return...
Then, it was off into the desert. California is an unusual place; its possible to see snow-capped mountains in the distance even in June, when it's over 90 on the valley floor. We drove through Palm Springs -- a first for me, and I've now done it sufficiently and see no real reason to return -- and Indio and Blythe, where I visited my last California supermarket. Sadly, it was an Albertsons...
Eventually, we arrived in Phoenix, which was a bit of a relief after 125 miles of pretty much nothing. I was excited to see Waffle Houses at most freeway exits. And I spent a good bit of time trying to determine what our really large, formerly fancy (and currently adequate) Red Roof Inn had been in its earlier life. I decided it was probably a Holiday Inn or a Ramada, since it had a restaurant and cocktail lounge...
We had dinner at Whataburger, even though I'd thought we'd have to wait for Texas for that. And we drove around Phoenix a bit, rather instantly liking the place...