The Return Home - An Unexpected Journey

This post recounts the fifth and final chapter in our recent out west trip. As I closed my previous post Disney to Carmel, my Bride and I were completing our 14th day on the road. We had spent a little better than a week seeing the sites - natural as well as man made - in the Golden State, and were ready to begin the trek home. So on the morning of February 20th we loaded up the new van and headed back south on I-5. Things started out according to plan, but after only two days on the road, life intervened as I will explain shortly.

Our plan was to return on what I would call the middle route, south around the mountains out of California then steadily east and northeast back to Detroit. This route was selected out of respect for the vagaries of winter weather which can drop feet of snow on the northern route with very little notice. We had also had our fill of polar vortices.

Our first day was smooth, cruising down I-5 in the morning, then east to Nevada and Las Vegas. Not surprisingly, southbound I-5 looked a lot like northbound I-5. Remember these guys?

And of course, there were many more of these. Kind of looks like this hill is ready for lift off.

 

 

And after the turn east on our way out of California, more big rocks. 

And even more of these guys (the Joshua trees we spent time with on the way into California the week before).

As we turned north toward Las Vegas, things got flatter and pretty wide open (despite the mountains in the background; one thing I've learned in my travels out west is just because you can see mountains doesn't mean you can get there anytime soon).

 

Finally, we reached the Nevada border.

 Eight seconds later we hit our first casino.

And shortly after that, this interesting ad. 

Unfortunately, despite the fact that we have all the time there is (or so says Franklin guru Hyrum Smith), we didn't take time to explore this obvious American classic during our Nevada visit. I only wanted a souvenir shot glass, but thought better of pressing the point.

Finally we came to Vegas. Sadly, we were too caught up in gawking at the spectacle to snap any arrival pictures. But being high rollers, we did manage to deftly cruise past the 11 lane motor entrance at the main lobby of the Bellagio and pull into self parking. Judging by the large volume of cars in the ramp, we weren't the only high rollers there.

After checking in at the front desk in a lobby roughly the size of a football field, we headed to our free room (22,000 Hyatt points). It was fab. Here are a few shots.

And because it was so fab, here are a couple of bonus shots of the bathroom - excuse me - toilette. Tub and a shower. We were definitely uptown.

After checking out all the cool stuff in the room, we headed out for our first personal look at the Vegas strip. Here is a typical shot from within the casino at the Bellagio. This is a sea of blackjack tables, jammed with clientele despite it being a Thursday night.

This of course, as you experienced casino goers know, is abutted by several other seas - one of craps tables, another of roulette tables, a third full of poker tables, all surrounded by an ocean of electronic one-armed bandits sorted by your favorite betting denomination, each contributing to the steady, seductive, other-worldly drone that permeates the casino floor. And there is more. There's the large (arena-like) sports betting room where all of the many pew-like sitting areas face a multi-story wall of jumbo-tron size hi-def TVs displaying (I'm sure) every sporting event in progress everywhere that anyone might want to bet on. And distributed within and throughout this galaxy of garish gaming gadgetry are numerous high end restaurants and shops all punctuated by a wide variety of direct and indirect light sources reminiscent of the alien spaceship flyover sequence from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. And I'm pretty sure I'm understating all this.

Escaping the maze that is the gaming area, we headed out to see the strip. This shot is of the front of our hotel taken from the elevated, Roman-column accented walkway that takes one out to the street.

As we reached the main drag we continued on the skywalk, which ducked into the lobby of the adjacent casino for 100 feet or so before it exited to a crossover of Las Vegas Boulevard. I couldn't resist this shot which captures the feel one gets in Vegas that, no matter what direction you look in (left, right, up, down, in, out) the view is the same. Sort of like being inside the 20 mile cube of the Krell from the science fiction classic Forbidden Planet.

Finally reaching  the strip itself we were swept up in the throng of diversely-clad humanity undulating its way down and around the walkways. I felt like I was in an over crowded roller rink - on Halloween. We walked what seemed like a very long time, agog at the sights and doing our best not to be noticed (not a pursuit shared by many others in the crowd; I bumped into Elvis on several different street corners). As I noted in a Facebook post at the time, I felt like I was working my way out of the Magic Kingdom at closing time, but something was very, very wrong. For the record, here are a couple of the many shots we snapped on our walk, all of which look pretty much the same. Can you say neon?

The shot above is another of the front of our hotel, the Bellagio, but with the fountain show in progress that's performed about every 20 minutes in the enormous pool between the motor lobby and the street. It was pretty cool.

This last shot is offered in proof that Vegas truly has morphed from Sin City to one of the larger family fun centers in America. Note the family in the foreground, with double stroller, out shortly before midnight seeking just a little more fun.

Well perhaps the city hasn't fully morphed (street vendors pushing contact information for field workers from "The Love Store" were omnipresent). Maybe it has just developed an advanced case of bipolar disorder, and refuses to take its meds.

I will admit that Nancy and I are glad we went and were impressed with the sights, the uniqueness (at least within our narrow range of experiences) of the city, and its efficiency as it seems to pack all of its excess into a relatively small geographic area. But, we probably won't be back. We know many people (including all our kids) who love the place and have had great times there. And I'm happy for them. But it's just not our style. During our short visit I had a creepy sensation of reverse polarity (like when matter and anti-matter collide, for you Trekkers) and felt that every cell in my body would explode if I spent any serious time there. We felt so out of place that we didn't even stop to play the slot machines. The extent of our gambling was me putting down a $10 bet (at 10-1) that State will win the NCAA. But the next time anyone asks if we've ever been to Vegas, we can say, "Sure!"

The next morning, we loaded up our stuff and headed out for the centerpiece of our site seeing, Hoover Dam. And it was spectacular. But before the cool pictures of Hoover, here's a shot of the new van pack as we departed, just to prove we've still got it. I realize the degree of difficulty in packing for trips these days can't compare to the three-kid, full-sized van, golf-clubs-on-the-roof days. But keep in mind that there are several cubic feet of wedding presents (fine china mostly, heading for long-term storage) buried in there among the clothes, the toys and the theme-park/happy hour equipment and supplies. I know. You expected no less.

But on to Hoover Dam. What a phenomenal structure. We took a ton of pictures as every angle is an interesting marriage of natural (the gorge) and man-made (the dam and the bridge) wonders. Here are just a few shots you might enjoy. This first one is of the lake behind the dam. It looks pretty normal until you realize that the white band around the shore of the lake is rock that is usually underwater. This is a pretty convincing indicator of the drought the west has been fighting for years.

Then there is the face of the dam, behind which is the hydroelectric plant. Across the top is a roadway, a walkway, observation stations and a number of secure elevators that take those willing into the bowels of the plant.

This is a panoramic shot taken from the top of the dam showing the gorge, the river and the memorial bridge which is part of the interstate.

But the really cool view is of the lake, dam and gorge that can be seen from the bridge, which has a walkway running along the highway.

 

Here's a panoramic view of the dam and the surrounding landscape.

This last picture should impress you, as I had to actually walk out to the middle of the memorial bridge to get this selfie. Me. The acrophobic wuss. Nancy kept a close eye on me as I kept a death grip on the rail. The smile is really just a good looking grimace.

After basking in the majesty of the dam, we headed out for the south rim of the Grand Canyon, where our plan was to spend the next day hiking a bit along the rim before starting out for home. We did have a little trouble escaping the dam area as we were confused by the following signs, which we encountered in sequence.

Granted, Hoover Dam is right on the border between Nevada and Arizona. But our navigation is usually better. Then we saw this sign and realized that we needed to just bite the bullet and do what Naggo (the name we have given to our GPS voice) says to do.

The rest of the day went a little more smoothly, through the desert and around yet another steady stream of awesome rock formations, such as this little gem.

About 9:00 Mountain Time we pulled into the South Rim Grand Canyon Lodge and settled into some very non-Bellagio like digs. We have stayed in a number of national park lodges over the years and have noticed a very common theme. They are all sort of hiking-boots rustic. Meaning that most people who have actually stayed there carried their luggage in wearing hiking boots (I was still wearing my on-the-road Bass loafers, comfy and easily removed when sitting in the passenger side of the car). Unfortunately, we have no pictures of our entrance into the park as it was very dark. But we could see about every star there is in the sky. 

This is the point at which our well-laid plan was abandoned. About an hour after we "nestled" into the pretty stiff, straight back chairs in our room for a pre-bed Manhattan, my cell phone rang. It was a little after 10:00 where we were, so it was after midnight in the Eastern Time Zone, where the bulk of possible callers would be. It didn't feel good.

And it wasn't. It was my mother. My father, who is battling a serious illness, had taken a turn for the worse and our presence in Florida was needed. I told my mother where we were and that we would get there as soon as we could. After doing the math, we calculated the distance from the Grand Canyon to Zephyrhills at 2300 miles, about 36 hours of driving time for the Burks. After a brief discussion, we agreed to hit the hay, arise at 5:00 am, and head to Florida, stopping for a short night's sleep when we couldn't take the road anymore. Here's the route we took.

 

Summarizing, we went south and east out of Arizona on I-40, across New Mexico and the Texas panhandle to Oklahoma City, south down I-35 to Dallas, east out of Texas (again) to Shreveport Louisiana, south on I-49 (new road for us) to I-10, east on I-10 out of Louisiana, across Mississippi and Alabama into Florida, then south on I-75 (a very old friend) to Zephyrhills.

As some of you know, Nancy and I as seasoned, long distance road veterans eventually decided not to stop. We were feeling good, resting in the car between shifts, and moving with a sense of urgency. We covered the 2300 miles in the predicted 36 hours (actually 35 hours and 30 minutes real time), covering three time zones in one drive for the first time. We were tired, but not spent, able to dig into family affairs and contribute shortly after arrival.

After three days, needing to attend to affairs back home Nancy flew back to Grosse Pointe. A week later things had settled a bit in Florida so I headed home in the new van, taking a day and half to drive back to Michigan with a brief layover for sleep in Corbin Kentucky, an old favorite stop.

So, thus ended our grand out west trip, stretched to 21 days for Nancy, 28 for me, and over 8000 miles. We saw and did a lot. More than we thought we would. This trip will surely go down in the family archives as one of the most notable. For me, except for college and the army, it was the longest consecutive stretch away from home since I went to Europe in 1964 as an exchange student.

Grosse Pointe Charles

Our California Adventure - Disney to Carmel

After three days and two nights on the road (captured in my previous post New Road), we rolled into Disneyland on the 7th day of our trip. This experience was somewhat different from our journey through the desert. I felt like Brigham Young must have felt after months on the trail as he crested the rim of Salt Lake Valley - hallelujah, we're here! Not that I minded the desert. I mean rocks, scruffy ground cover, lizards, motels Butch Cassidy stayed in - it's all great. But we were ready for a little pampering which we certainly got at Disney's Grand California Resort. Here's some shots of our digs. First the day planner area, where the grand plan is reviewed, documented, and as needed refreshed.

And the rehab area, where we rest, tidy up and administer our meds.

And of course, the post-trauma cocktail area, where we kill off as many brain cells as needed to make doing the same thing again tomorrow fresh and interesting.

Then there's the pool.

Actually, I should say one of the pool areas. In typical Disney form, there were multiple pools and hot tubs to choose from. Unfortunately, all we did was look as the temps were cool and our bones were creaky.

The first night's entertainment was a cruise around the Disney Marketplace.

The crowds were animated and enjoying themselves (like the tribe shown above), and there were three or four live music groups performing on the promenade, all very talented and entertaining. After stretching our legs and taking in the music for a bit, we had a light supper in the open air and hit the hay. We knew we had a big day coming up.

The next morning we explored the California Adventure, the last Disney theme park on our dance card. Here's a selfie of me admiring my outfit for the day.

Now when I say explore, that's what I mean. Over the years as we made repeated visits to Disney World theme parks, we began to look past the rides and shows (which are consistently interesting on their own) to the overall design, structure and support systems that make the parks work. Pretty nerdy, but as career managers, Nancy and I have always been interested in how things get done. And Disney is a Mecca of process integration. So we cruised the park thoroughly, which was not difficult as compared to Disney World, the Disneyland parks are quite compact (owing no doubt to the difference in price between choice real estate in the Golden State and Florida swamp land). 

The California Adventure was fun and typically well organized, but sort of built on top of itself to conserve space. We also noted that the percentage of space dedicated to young children (the 5-10 year old crowd) was larger than we were used to. There were a few attractions similar to items at Disney World, but for the most part we found the park unique which makes up in part for its relatively small size. Here are a few highlights. 

The busiest attraction is the roller coaster called California Screamin'. It's sort of a cross between Hollywood Studios' Rockin' Roller Coaster (with its accelerated, flat-rail start) and Space Mountain without the dome.

Not being a roller coaster fan (retired from that in my 20s), I can't really give it a personal rating. But it looked like the riders were having a great time.

This next ride, called the Golden Zephyr, is more my speed. Actually, it's my top speed. 

 

The large silver cars swing out a few degrees as the ride rotates, giving one the sense of fright about the same as aggressive porch swinging. Just my style.

However, in my defense, I do like the fast rides that don't involve much altitude (and therefore don't offend my acrophobia). Here are my Bride and I zooming around the Radiator Springs racetrack from the movie Cars, a California version of EPCOT's Test Track. Notice, as instructed, I have all body parts tucked firmly inside the vehicle. 

But mainly, our day was an extended stroll through the unique fantasy that is a Disney theme park, taking in the sights, appreciating the sense of charm and creativity engineered into every corner, and observing the wide diversity (in all ways) of our fellow theme park goers. Disney parks are always great people-watching venues. Here's a final shot of one of the 10 year olds (at least at heart) with his trading-pin adorned backpack and water bottle clip, just  letting the fun of the moment flow over him. I realize that this isn't everyone's cup of tea. But it should be.

On Friday, the 9th day of the trip, we loaded up and headed for Cathy and Matt's place in Fremont. L.A. traffic being what it is, this was about a six hour trip, plus stops. Once we cleared the city, it was mostly wide open farm land accented by periodic, overpriced gas and food establishments. Here are a few of the sites from the drive.

This first one we believe is of an almond tree orchard (or some kind of nut). These trees went on for 100 miles.

We also saw a lot of this - bees set out in portable hives at frequent intervals, to make the nut trees, well, nutty.

These orchards were quite striking in full blossom with white to light pink blooms.  And were often interspersed with new orchards in the making. 

 In contrast, we saw quite a few of these as well.

Not only was the site of these cattle herded together so closely to restrict movement a little unsettling, their aroma was overwhelming. I'd like to add beefsteak to sausage and laws as items one shouldn't observe being made.

There were quite a few of these signs along the way which we believe were held over from the drought of 2009-10. However, they seem to still be appropriate with the recent dry spell California has been experiencing.

 

Of course, over the last couple of weeks going from one extreme to another, California has been hammered by rain storms threatening flooding and mud slides. A nice even keel just isn't their way, I'm guessing.

Toward the end of the drive the northern California landscape shifted from fairly flat farm land to rolling hills, somewhat reminiscent of western Texas.

Just about happy hour, we pulled into Cathy and Matt's apartment complex in Fremont and settled in for a few days stay.

They have a comfortable two-bedroom place with a lot of storage and a generous balcony, with this view overlooking the pool area.

Once we had cleared the road dust from our palates, we began the process of unloading the cargo we had trucked across the country - one cello in carrying case and about 25 cubic feet of wedding presents. The process actually continued on for several days before all the goods were unpacked, inspected and placed in their new storage areas (occasionally resulting in some lesser-valued, temporary appliance, dish or linen being displaced and queued up for relocation to Goodwill).

On Saturday, we had a fun outing to help Cathy buy her first set of golf clubs. Then on Sunday, she tried them out at the range. First here's the old man demonstrating proper form (lifted directly out of my double-bogey plus game these days).

 
Then Cathy, following suit.

Then over to the putting green for a few pointers on lag putts.

And finally, the most important pointer - how to retrieve your ball from the cup without throwing your back out.

After golf, we stopped by a local watering hole named The Vine that Cathy refers to as "Dominick's West", in reference to the similar, mostly outdoor, legendary gathering place on the south side of U of M's main campus. Here's Matt modeling a Mason jar of a favorite brew.

And a wider shot of the charming setting.

Here's the three U of M grad's sufficiently mellowed out from their apres golf.

 

On Monday, we took our big outing to see redwoods and some of San Francisco. Here are a few shots from Muir Woods National Park. I mean, these trees are big.

Here's an exhibit of the cross section of one of these behemoths about the same size as the living trees we saw that day. The date on the innermost ring is in the 900s AD. Wow.

After marveling at these natural wonders, we drove back to the city. Here's a shot of the happy riders, content to lounge in the back seat of Cathy's G6 while Matt does the driving.

We stopped at Fisherman's Wharf for lunch and a stroll around the pier.

Here's a shot of the tourists. Yes, that's "The Rock" in the background.

We also stumbled across this community of sea lions barking up a storm for the onlookers and doing their best to push each other into the harbor. Brought back memories of chaperoning birthday parties for certain 10 year old girls.

I also noticed this unusual cable car. Unusual because it reads D.C. Transit.

Turns out San Francisco buys old cable cars from defunct systems and refurbs them for their own use. Must be less expensive than building them from scratch.

These pictures don't really do it justice, but here's a couple shots of our narrow and windy path down the famous Lombard Street.

And most of the residential streets we went through on our way out of the city looked like this. Can you say parking brake?

On Tuesday, the 12th day of the trip, Cathy and Matt returned to work after the three day weekend. Nancy and I took a final side trip down the coast a ways to Carmel, which is a quaint seaside town, home to Pebble Beach Golf Club and Clint Eastwood, who owns a popular restaurant on the main drag. Here's a shot of the Pacific from the downtown Carmel beach.

And a shot on the beach looking north to the golf course.

  I found this bunny exploring the beach. 

And this guy, hunting for errant golf balls. Hey, it never hurts to look.

We met this crowd of fellow beach walkers, but couldn't keep up with their pace so I'm not sure where they're from.

On the way home we stopped off in Monterey, which is just north of Carmel. Here's a shot of the touristy but charming harbor area.

While walking around the pier shops we found these guys, sunning themselves on a floating deck. Feeling a bit steamy myself, I shed my duds and joined in. Can you tell which one is me?

Yes, I'm the one just a cut above. More watching than actually mingling.

On our last day in Fremont, we took it easy, resting up for the return to the road. But we did take a long walk through the city park across the avenue from the apartment. And what a park. Huge, with lots of sports facilities, a variety of wildlife and a lake. Here's a couple of shots of some of the locals we ran into.

There were so many of these guys, squirrels as it turns out, popping up from holes all over the park, following us on our walk, and standing on their hind legs staring at us, that at first we thought they were prairie dogs. Cute. We also ran across this flock of as yet unidentified birds hard at work uh....just being birds.

Here's a final shot of the park taken on our walk around the lake. A truly beautiful spot.

We closed out our visit to Fremont with a final happy hour, where I mixed and presented this jug to Cathy. She and Matt are ready to carry on the tradition.

That brings the California portion of our trip to a close. Watch for the fifth and final chapter, The Return Home - An Unexpected Journey. Should be posted in a week or so.