The day started out rainy. It was if California was crying to see us go. And it wasn't just a mist, for a while it was really coming down. My mom didn't want us to leave until it slowed down, but we eventually left at 7:30, about a half-hour earlier than planned, just because we figured the rain would slow down the freeways. Which it did.
We stopped-and-goed (I know, not a real word) all the way to Corona, where I decided to fill up before the road. With a quick wave goodbye to Corona, we were off!
The reason I don't like road trips is that, after a while, my body protests all over. You name it, that body part has complained. My back has the luxury of the car-plug massager, but my wrists, my knees & ankles and my neck & shoulders don't.
It was a good thing I'd planned stops. And the unplanned ones (rest stop potty breaks) were nice if only to stretch my legs. Though my kids learned of the rest stop's "charms" (tee-hee).
A weird site greeted us on the 10 just outside of Joshua Tree. Hundreds of windmills on a windmill farms sprawling the hills. Some of the blades on them were huge! Makes me wonder if they are really all that effective at producing electricity.
Our last California stop was in Blythe for lunch. I had planned on Carl's Jr. because Jonathan had a gift card and some coupons for it. But I couldn't find where I put them - at least, not until after lunch! I was kicking myself all the way to the Arizona border.
When we crossed the bridge over the river into Arizona, we looked back and gave a final goodbye to California. My kids have never known any other home; I was born and mainly raised there. We were now in terra incognita.
The desert began to change. Palm trees gave way to scrub and saguaro. Towers of rocks rose up around us and, while I prefer cool, lush green, the rocks, striations and formations were fascinating.
We ended up going 40 miles past Phoenix because Jonathan had wanted to see a ghost town we had found out about on the internet. I was glad for the chance to get up and walk around.
It wasn't all that exciting, though they had some old mine cars and equipment. Mainly a tourist trap. Still, after walking, stretching and seeing what we could (I did take pictures, they just have to wait), we bundled up again to go get gas and get to the motel for the night, where it was just eat, relax and sleep.
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