MILE 11831

Day 44. An uneventful drive across the Colorado River and, after ninety miles, into Palm Desert, where we join Alison and Jim in their condo. Our stay has been earned by their appearance at a ninety minute sales presen- tation. Tennis courts, drinks by the pool, all very surreal in a very moneyed sort of way.


The food and drink were outstanding, the bbq'ed steaks, in particular.















Day 45. Patty and Alison ride the tram to the top of the mountain above Palm Springs, while Jim and I get our manly computer fixes.














Day 46. Off to Las Vegas. We arrive at Bert and Janice's in the early afternoon and immediately hit the off-strip casinos. Home for dinner, then back to the Palace Station casino for a comedy show....Bruce Mickelson, with Buffet Jackson. The smoke just about kills us. But, hey, it's Vegas...

Day 47. More gambling, of course. Patty's success story of the day involves spending one hour at the same machine and walking away with the same two dollars she started with! The economy has taken it's toll on Las Vegas. I have never seen so many people playing penny machines. It is heartwarming. Weather never gets much above the low 70's. The air is clear, (outside, anyway.) The day ends with another great dinner at an italian/greek restaurant. Life is good.

Day 48. Leaving Las Vegas. We say goodbye to Bert, Mac and Marie. The cats are already busy doing their cat things and Janice and Sarah have left hours earlier to cleverly avoid the camera. We meander out of town. Cold is coming so we decide to avoid the Sierras and the Siskiyous. This involves a little backtracking and spending an hour or two on the ugliest drive we have experienced yet. Road is fine, but scenery is unbearable to look at. Empty. Deserted....oh, yeah. Without desert beauty to uplift...oh well, rambling done.
Then we head up 101. Winds are blowing hard, chill is in the air. We must be close to home.

Day 49.
Just another day in the glorious Salinas Valley. The farm workers are out harvesting the lettuce and tomatoes for my next salad, but we don't linger to watch. We are up thru San Jose and San Francisco, then over the Golden Gate Bridge before you can say "cable snap," which apparently happens on the Bay Bridge over to Oakland on this very same day and snarls all traffic forever in this part of the state. Another bullet narrowly dodged! But we proceed north merrily unaware of our near plight.

The redwoods are enchanting as ever. We stop for one last night in Eureka, dining in on bounty from the local natural foods store.