Musings of a roaming Esq.: Wagons East

This trip has taken more of my time and energy of the last week than expected. As a result, I

have not been able to journal as I had intended. As the title of this entry suggests, today, I have begun my return toward the eastern time zone. However, it was quite a journey between the last time I posted and now.

I had the chance to go to the Grand Canyon. Grand is certainly the right word, though perhaps it understates the matter slightly. The Grand Canyon is almost incomprehensibly big. I was at the Canyon a few days before the flooding, though it did rain quite a bit on the way back from the canyon. My visit to the Canyon allowed me to cross

off two life goals. The first was to visit the Grand Canyon. The second was to visit and eat at a Harvey House, or rather at a former one (since the Fred Harvey company was bought out in 1968. The El Tovar Hotel, a former Harvey House, is owned and operated by the company who bought it out and maintains the traditions of the Fred Harvey Company, though the waitresses don’t wear the original uniforms anymore. I’d been wanting to eat at a Harvey house ever since seeing the movie “The Harvey Girls” (a great MGM movie Musical). Had I been looking to stay at the Grand Canyon, I would have tried to get a room at the El Tovar, though I would have had to reserve a room 6

months out. After I left the Canyon, I passed through Williams, AZ, the last city to be bypassed by the interstates. It still maintains a strong relationship with the Mother Road.

The Following day I drove the most mountainous part of the entire route on the stretch from Kingman, AZ to Oatman, AZ. It was absolutely beautiful. The high temperatures for this stretch of the Route were somewhere between 105-110 degrees. However, because of the lack of humidity, it was not unpleasant at all. In fact, 110 in AZ felt more pleasant to me than 90-95 degrees in Maryland. Oatman is an interesting town. It has two main claims to fame. First, it is the site where Clark Gable and Carol Lombard came for their honeymoon. Second, and more importantly, it is the town who’s most famous citizens are the wild burros who wander through

town on a daily basis. They are the descendants of mining burros who were released into the wild when the mines no longer needed them.

After leaving Oatman, and then Arizona, I moved on into California. I made it from the border with Arizona to Los Angeles. The drive to LA is a very pretty drive, though there isn’t much to see, once you get past the Colorado river crossing, until you get to the outskirts of San Bernardino. San Bernardino is where the first McDonald’s was located and is the beginning of the Los Angeles Megalopolis.

During my time in Los Angeles, I was able to visit a bunch of places that I had heard of but had never seen. These places include Pasadena, B

everly Hills, Hollywood, Sunset Blvd., Wilshire Blvd., and Malibu among others. I also had a chance to visit Disneyland for the first time. For those who have been to Disney World, I thought that individual rides such as Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad were better at Disneyland, but the whole package was better at Disney World. I also thought that the Disneyland Castle was kind of small.

At the end of my three days in LA, I drove out to Santa Monica where the end of the Route is located. I went by way of Simi Valley, where the Ronald Reagan Pre

sidential Library is located. If you ever go out to Southern California, this is a must see, if for nothing other than getting to go through President Reagan’s Air Force One.
I can’t say enough about the weather in southern California. It was never anything less than beautiful while I was there, clear skies and temperatures in the 70s. The water, however, was a bit colder than I’m used to when swimming in the ocean in August. It took a bit longer than normal to adjust.

I then drove from Santa Monica to San Francisco mainly by way of the Pacific Coast Highway.

This is a must drive route for anyone who loves to drive, though, I have to admit that I was glad that I got to use the inner lane.

Upon getting to San Francisco, I made it a point to visit Ghirardelli Square. I had hoped that I would get to see them actually making chocolate. I did, though not on the scale I was expecting. They had a small amount of Chocolate being made as a sort of demo for people in the café. However, the big factory is out in San Leandro. I still had the chance to have one of the best brownies and biggest and best chocolate chip cookies (on two successive days, I should point out) I’ve had in a long time. I also got to attend a San Francisco Giants game. The ballpark is very well done, especially with the way it makes use of the cove out beyond right field.