Easter on the road home.

We had a great nights sleep at the Red Lion in Redding. The room was huge, clean, and comfortable. We looked outside to find it was pouring rain. Oh well... At least the Easter Bunny managed to find us all the way in Redding.

The hotel breakfast buffet was great, and we packed up and checked out. Next stop was gas, the cheapest we could find was $3.69. We found our friend I-5 and headed north. Ruben has discovered he gets radio on his phone and has been rocking the back seat while Freddie and I have been listening to mambo all stars up front.

We got to Shasta about 10am but the mountain was covered with clouds and fog. Now we are cruising down the other side of the mountains on our way to Easter dinner with Mom and Jeff.

San Clemente to Redding

Yep. It's a long drive on the 5.
We got into Redding around 6pm. Our room at the red lion is fantastic! We got a free upgrade. Pillow top mattresses... Zzzzzz

For most of the trip today we watched movies and Simpsons on my laptop. I think we are all getting tired of traveling. The main scenery difference today was green rounded hills (yes green!) and lots of agriculture.

San Clemente Beach

This morning the day started off  was foggy and 60 degrees.  We took our time getting up, showered and dressed because it didn't seem to be a hurry kind of day.  We had breakfast in the room, cold cereal and a few pastries from the "continental" breakfast in the lobby.  Fred tried twice to make the hotel coffee palatable but gave up in frustration.

We left the hotel at around 11 to find coffee and decided to also buy a picnic lunch to eat on the beach.  The sun was trying to break through and we wanted to make the most of it.  The grocery store we stopped at was your typical upscale store like "Market of Choice" in Eugene or "Roths" in Salem.  We bought some water, sandwiches, two bags of chips (bbq and french onion) a lemonade and a big coffee for Freddie.

I took a look at the map and suggested we go north to the beach.  We tried a few parking lots but none were near a good walking/play beach until we were a bit farther north. I paid the parking fee and we found a picnic spot far enough away from the other beach dwellers to be comfortable making fart jokes.  We had just started eating when a Mexican family consisting of 5 young children, their parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents set up their chairs about 10 feet behind us.  Their kids ran to the water and they were continually yelling at the kids from behind us...

Warmed by the sun and feeling it was time to move on we changed to water play clothes and went for a stroll down the beach.  It was easily two miles to the next lifeguard station and we slowly ambled along.  Fred and I holding hands and walking slowly, while Ru darted about trying to get wet/not get too wet from the waves.  We let the water run over our feet and unlike Oregon, we didn't get cold!

 The beach was rocky in spots with egg sized or smaller rocks. Agates were interspersed with rocks of all colors.  It was fantastically beautiful.  Above us a flock of brown pelicans would cruise down the beach every so often. Small birds landed and poked long beaks into the sand to find bugs.  A family from Las Vegas was standing by the water and Ru began up an instant friendship with a boy about his age. They played the run into/out of the water game until the other boy was soaked and cold, and they left.  Ru then buried himself then Fred in the sand. 

Around 3pm the cloud cover started to thicken and the warm sand turned cool and we knew it was time to go.  We strolled a little faster back to the car.  On the way Ruben was caught by a sneaker wave and went down.  He quickly caught himself, and was getting himself upright again when Fred lunged for him and lost his sandal.  It was quite the comedy.  Well I found it amusing.

In the car we helped Ru into dry clothes and came back to our room which had been neatly made up. We all took showers and Fred napped while Ru played video games and I typed this.  I think for dinner we are going to go to a restaurant next to a laundromat and take care of two things at once, and tomorrow very early we leave for Redding California, and our last night in a hotel. 

Picnicing

I took a picture of this beautiful flower for my mom, and Ru and Fred photobombed it.

Ru was using his feet to bury Fred

Pretty rocks, and a saltwater sandal

Fred being eaten by his sand sculpture

Solana Beach to San Clemente

We showered off a chilly Ruben and got him into dry clothes, then started north around 6pm.Traffic had cleared out so we took the i-5. Ru found us a good radio station and we rocked on up to San Clemente. We found our hotel easily as it was right next to the freeway. And I mean RIGHT NEXT TO the freeway.

We checked in with the very friendly Indian clerk who gave us the rundown on the fine local eating establishments. Fred drove us around back to find parking and we settled into room 103 The best I can say about it is that it appeared clean, and there were locks on the door. It is a rather worn, musty smelling room (really stinky) with plenty of freeway noise from the 12 lanes of traffic out front. We do have a lovely balcony, I'll post pictures of the view :-P.

Anyway we were hungry so I overrided Fred's suggestion of Mexican in favor of Seafood on the pier. We had to wait for a table (at 8pm the place was still packed) so we strolled down the pier. After we were seated and I got over the shock of the menu prices we had a delicious dinner.

Back at the hotel I got the rest of the sand off Ruben and him into bed, and a few minutes later we were all asleep.

Tucson to Solana Beach

I can't say I'm getting over the beauty of the desert but today's drive from the bottom of Arizona to the Bottom of California was mostly sand with shrubs. At times we looked up from our devices, and looked right back down.

We woke and finished breakfast at the usual times then hit the highway west. Freddie took the first turn and got us well away from Tucson. I drove a couple hundred miles to Yuma where we drifted into the gas station on fumes. The cheapest gas so far on our trip at $3.44 per gallon.

After some Mc Junk we drove past the stockyards and farms interspersed with sand. We saw a huge wind farm which was fascinating. The 90 degree heat started to fall as we climbed from below sea level to 4000ft, and back to sea level in about 100 miles. When we reached San Diego it was 66 degrees and partly sunny.

Traffic was just stacking up as we drove into the city so we escaped the main roads and took 101 from its southern beginning. We saw a lot of beach but not a lot of of parking until Fred guided us into Solana Beach.

Tucson day 3 Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

This morning we were heading to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.  It was about a half hour drive from our hotel and we thought the museum might get crowded so we left as early as we could, 8:30. I was up at 6 as usual, but Ru and Fred still had some sleeping to do so I played on my phone until they were friendly enough to wake up. After another great breakfast buffet we grabbed some snacks, some water, and headed off into the desert.

The drive there was fun, one of the roads had little dips and hills much like that last part of a roller coaster.  We drove through hills covered by a huge array of cactus until we arrived at the museum.  In retrospect its really not much of a museum.  Its more like a zoo, botanical garden, and wildlife park. We started with the zoo part and saw lots of animals in very nice display pens (I always cry) including big cats, big horned sheep, brown bears, and javelina.  

We hurried to the bird exibit to watch the birds of prey presentation at 10am.  The trainers had trained the birds to swoop over the audience while the guide gave descriptions of the birds and their characteristics.  We finished the ravens and the owl and they let out a hawk for us to see, but it flew away.  The presenter said that the hawk had a radio transmitter and they would get her back.  I didn't know whether to be happy or sad about that.

Next we walked into the enclosure with the hummingbirds, and saw many nesting females and lots of showy males.  Ruben started to complain about being hot so we went to the snack shack for an icee.  We walked around some more and saw a butterfly garden, a bee garden, exhibits on various cactus,  turtles, well we didn't see the turtle, just its exibit.

We were getting hot again so we went to catch the show about venomous repiles. We learned a lot about rattlesnakes and gila monsters. Freddie stayed after and took some great pictures of them.  We got an ice cream and walked through the exhibit on underground animals then we saw the aquarium.  Ruben and I were fascinated by the garden eels.  They have shovel shaped tails that hold onto the sand and they burrow down so only their long heads poke out.  When another fish swims by they all sink down and hide.

We left at about 2:30 and had a tough decision to make.  Should we have a nice lunch in a restaurant and then have a light dinner back at the hotel, or should we have a light lunch and go out for dinner.  We decided since we were already on the move to go have a nice lunch.  We went to a Mexican restaurant across the street from our hotel called Rigo's.  Freddie got shrimp wrapped in bacon and dipped in butter, Ruben had a bean and cheese burrito, and I had tomales and a taco.  It was all very good.  Freddie napped it off while Ru and I went to the pool.  Ru had a good time diving for his pool toy missiles, and I had a good time reading a book on meditation while laying in the sun. 

Ah well it wasn't entirely sunny, it was mostly overcast but very warm and bright.  Kind of like late August in Oregon.  When we were getting ready to head for the pool again around 7:30 we heard some thunder but no rain or lightning. Our evening swim was lovely with the full moon shining through the light clouds.  I sat in the spa for half an our while Ru and Fred played various diving games.

When we got back to our room we called Jeff to wish him a happy birthday.  We tried skype but it just wasn't working.  Mom and Jeff are enjoying a trip to the redwoods this spring break! They had a lovely dinner in Crescent City while watching the seals play on the docks.

After a bedtime cup of tea Ru crashed out, and I'm about there myself.

Ru in his hotel bed with the sun trying to wake him up.  He was able to ignore it for a while.

Peeking at the rattlesnake

Ru's favorite cactus

Turtle Ru

Good boys get ice cream

Tucson day 2

The celebratory beverage

Find Freddie

That's all we did today, nap in the hotel and play in the pool. After the breakfast buffet we went straight for the pool. Ru loved his new water toys. We met a nice couple from Minnesota escaping the snow. Somehow I managed to get a sunburn through my spf 50 and my swimsuit. After a siesta we went back to the pool until hunger drove us back to the room to change for dinner. It was great to do not much today.  Our plan for tomorrow is to visit the

We went out for dinner at Red Robin at the Tucson Mall.  It was about a mile from the Hotel.  Freddie and I had burgers and Ru had the Spaghetti with a side of broccoli. He disliked the fake lemonade but everything else was terrific, well he disliked the broccoli too.  After we ate we walked through the immense Tucson mall from one end to the other, for exercise.  Ruben was feeling the need for some sweets so we had to make a tough decision, Cinnabon or Cold Stone.
We went for the cold stone and got a "cake batter love it with an oreo mix in".  If you haven't tried it we highly recommend it.  It was easily the better choice.

Fred had an enormous fruity drink to celebrate getting a "B" in his math class.  He was expecting a "C" so this was a great surprise.  He also aced astronomy and is expecting another "B" in speech. 

Ruben wanted to add that "today was a great day except for mom had a headache". I've had a headache off and on for the whole trip so far. Lets hope that ends soon. Like now would be good.

Ruben waving

Tucson

Fred drove us into Tucson, I've been fighting headaches through this whole trip and one finally got the best of me. So I navigated and Ruben and I played a game of hangman, and tic tac toe, and checkers, and did some mad libs. It was nice to have a rather short drive today. We got into Tucson and checked into our hotel.  Out of the 3 hotels we've stayed at so far this one is the fanciest on the outside by far, but the room is the least fancy inside. We didn't dwell on this because it was sunny and 80 degrees.

We brought our stuff in from the car, and as soon as we could put on swimsuits we were out the door and at the pool.  Ruben was happy that I'd brought his trunks, but wished he had some goggles.  He played in the water for over an hour, and he and Fred enjoyed the hot tub off and on.  The pool is heated so that it wasn't much of a shock to go from one to the other.  I of course assumed my usual position in the sun on a lounge chair.  Not so much to work on my tan, but to try to cure my vitamin D deficiency.  And work on my tan.

We came back to the room when shade covered the patio and made some decisions about practical matters such as things we needed from the store, and dinner.  We found a super Target store nearby where we could buy an inverter to replace the one that died (we are too geeky to get by without a charger for the laptop/phone) and laundry soap.  Of course we found some other things like my favorite body spray I can't find in Oregon, and goggles, a snorkel, some pool torpedoes, and garbage bags.  We decided since it was getting late to grab some groceries for dinner and microwave something at the hotel, which is exactly what we did.

Ruben showing us the foot trick.  Its something like a backward somersault, but not really.

I like how you can see the light rays headed right for me.

As soon as we came back from the pool the TV went on. We don't get wrestling at home...

Balcony view with palm tree and moon.

So fed and in bed at 9:49 the spring break party continues. Tomorrow the plan is to get up early and go hike... no scratch that.  Tomorrow the plan is to get up when we get up, go for a swim, and see if we want to do anything at all.  Its supposed to be in the low 80's. That's good enough right there.

Flagstaff to Black Rock City

We were all asleep by 10pm, and didn't wake until 7am. I took a long bath then we packed up to go. Before we headed out we stopped at the hotel restaurant for our complimentary breakfast buffet and stuffed ourselves. Next stop was the gas station and car wash. 

I wanted to see the red rocks of Sedona so we drove south through the hills. The scenery was breathtaking. We stopped to take a picture and saw a hiking trail... So we followed it. It ended at the best swimming hole I've ever seen. Deep clear pools connected by chutes of water from hollowed rock. I see why it's called slide rock state park. The temperature was around 60 but the sun on the rocks made it warmer. Freddie and Ru removed shoes and went wading across the river. After some more exploring and an impromptu swim by Freddie we hiked back to the car and went on to Sedona. 

 

I don't know what I was expecting from Sedona but I found the town both bizarre and pretentious. It was beautiful, but every other shop was some new age nonsense. Palm readers, tarot readers, acupuncture, aura readers, hot rock massage. OK actually a hot rock massage sounds excellent. 

 

We curled through the towns roundabouts and found the chapel built into the side of a mountain, and a giant traffic jam. So we turned and once again headed south.

Our bellies were rumbling, so my copilot Fred searched Google and found us a diner in Black Canyon City. It was an Amish cafe that served us turkey sandwiches on fresh soft white bread, sweet potato fries, and fantastic pie! We watched the birds frolic outside the window and then stuffed to bursting we drove south again. Ru was so excited to see his first cactus. We've of course been seeing cactus for days, but he meant the saguaro.

The first real cactus

The car wash was a necessity

The bird house tree behind the Amish cafe

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The beautiful red rocks of the Sedona area. The trickle of water isn't the main stream. They played in the water for quite a while.

You can find all this in Sedona

Grand Canyon Arizona

The Hotel Aspen Suites in Flagstaff proved restful.  The king bed was comfortable, and Ru had a hide a bed and didn't complain.  We crashed out around 11 and got up around 6am.  None of us noticed the trains chugging by on the tracks across the street, the partying spring break guests, or the dripping faucet.  I wanted to get to the canyon early to catch the sunrise, but it wasn't in the cards.  We are pretty road weary today.

So we ate the buffet breakfast our hotel provided, which was as good as any Denny's, and hit the road. We got to the Grand Canyon around 9am. I read in the tour book that to beat the crowds you can use the east entrance to the park.  Because its spring break I figured it might be a good idea.  We were the only ones on the road for quite a while, and there was no wait at the gate.  We paid our fee and drove to the first stop called the Watchtower. This tower was built in the 1930's and made with native materials.  The view was certainly breathtaking. We walked up a spiral staircase to the top and enjoyed the panorama. Then we went to the observation deck and tried to take in the enormity of the canyon.  You could barely see the muddy trickle of river at the bottom of the canyon.

It was a bright sunny morning, but bitterly cold.  It was only 38 degrees while we were wandering around the Watchtower.  As the morning went on the haze lifted the air warmed, but it never got above 55 degrees the whole time we were there. We drove the south rim road stopping at every pullout. We got out of the car and explored and took pictures, then we would get back in the car and warm up.  The dark blue car was very cozy in the sun, so we were taking coats off, putting coats on...

After many stops we got to the main entrance to the south rim of the park called Mather point. Here we ran into the multitude of tour busses full of Asian tourists. (And they were wearing sensible shoes... go figure) We watched them for a while then got a cup of coffee in the cafe.  It was colder here so we decided to nix our idea of hiking on the rim trail, and frankly the days of driving caught up with us so we decided to return to the jacuzzi tub and a late lunch at the hotel in Flagstaff.  Let the siesta commence.

The car took this picture for us.

The model in the visitor center

I rented this movie to watch on the way!

Ruben and I being silly.  Here's how he builds back seat tents.  He was bummed he couldn't see sparks in the daytime, but found it was fun to stick strings and hair to his blanket using the static. 

The line of traffic going into the park as we were leaving.  Much like Disneyland, it pays to get up early.

Our room

Ruben's favorite part of the trip so far. Who can blame him?