1/30

Returned to Las Cruces yesterday after shipping some pictachios to Mich, and driving through White Sands. Very nice, and the sparkling white sand reminded us of driving through snow. Fortunately, temp was 57.

We were going to stay here another night, but weather in Albuquerque is turning cold - high temp for Tues is 29, with snow showers. Even El Paso is predicting crummy weather. Will check out Old Town and the Plaza here before we head north. Billy the Kid was tried and convicted here, but escaped before he was hung.

1/28

Greetings from Alamogordo. We left Tucson yesterday around noon. J really wanted to see the memorial for Giffords at the hospital on the way out. It was huge and moving. Stayed last night at the Drury in Las Cruces, but they were booked for tonight, so we came here - 65 miles +/-. We may visit the White Sands Monument tomorrow on the way back to Las Cruces. But first we will visit the store that sells local wine and local pistachios. Probably spend the weekend in LC before we head north to Albuquerque.

I have lost count of the # of border patrol check points we have encountered. They always just wave us through, but I would love to know what they see or hear that results in a search. However, I have no desire to find out the hard way.

Many women we have seen on this trip have long, straggly, unkempt hair and spike heals more commonly known among us perverts as f...me pumps. Not really a good look. Or maybe I am just getting older.

1/26

We certainly hated to leave San Diego: great weather, fantastic food, and terrific views of the harbor from our room. Check-out time on Mon was 12pm, so we stayed in the room until 11:45, admiring the view one last time. Mon night in Yuma, and Tues night in Tucson. Our route to the Holiday Inn (after SD, we are back to Holiday Inns and McDonalds) took us past Ina and Oracle, so we pulled into the parking lot. The impromptu memorial is still there in front of the Safeway and there were people milling around, talking, and taking pictures. So J hopped out and did the same. She said it was moving to be there.

We were planning on leaving this AM for Las Cruces, but J came down with a bad cold. Since she has a history of bronchitis, we decided to give her a day of rest, although we spent most of it at an urgent care facility, getting scrip for the good drugs. We passed Gifford's office, which has many balloons, candles, flowers, and personal messages in front of it. Off to Las Cruces tomorrow.

1/23 part 2

J really wishes she could call her father. In 32 years in Navy reserves, he visited SD several times. Said he wanted to buy land here, but it was not in the cards with 5 kids.

When we checked in, there was a large international convention of Rotary clubs. A bellman told us that over 800 of them checked out on Sat. The lobby looked and sounded like the UN

1/23

Easy to figure out why San Diego is so popular: lots of sun, balmy temps, and light breezes. Fri we took a 2-hour boat tour of the harbor. Lots of military ships and helicopters - mostly Navy and some Coast Guard. Also some cruise ships, including the one that caught fire and was dead in the water a few months back. Tugs towed her into this port, and Fri she was being towed back out, on the way to San Francisco. We were told that it was a 10-minute walk from our hotel to the tour boat. Sat, someone confirmed what I thought: distance is over a mile. Do you know how long it has been since I have done a 10-minute mile? We took a bike taxi back to the hotel. That kid earned his money! Sat we took the trolley tour around the city. Hi-lite was a trip across the bridge to Coronado, with a stop at the Hotel Del Coronado, where parts of "Some Like It Hot" were filmed. Nice lunch on the veranda overlooking the ocean. Today J wants to visit (you guessed it!!) more museums. I have done enough walking for a while and will rest my aching knees. Tomorrow (Monday) we leave and head back east. Will visit Las Cruces and Albuquerque, then on to Austin before stopping over in Houston for Emily's birthday (Mar 3).

1/20 continued

Arrived in San Diego early PM and checked into the Hyatt on the water. Very civilized. Hated the last part of I-15: road and drivers both. Dinner at the seafood restaurant in the hotel: terrific - tuna sashimi, lobster pot pie, albacore cervice, crab cakes that were as good as Baltimore.

1/20

It is a sad state of affairs that we need to pass through a security check point before we get anywhere near the Hoover Dam, and another before we enter the building that contains the power plants.

We got a late start leaving Henderson because J wanted to drive down the strip and then stop at the Bellagio, because they had an art museum that she had not seen in the western hemisphere, including Dale Chehuly (not spelled correctly, I am sure) glass on the ceiling of the main lobby that (just like his other work) was spectacular. And the saving grace was Petrossian, just off the lobby. Looked for a motel at Barstow, but there was a Marine base nearby, and something was going on (deployment?), so no rooms anywhere in town. On to Victyoryville. Dinner at Barstow was Peggy Sue's 50's Dinner. Lot of fun. Photos of Annette F brought back old memories.

Arrived in San Diego early PM and checked into the Hyatt on the waterfront. Very civilized. Haated I-15 the closer we got to SD - both the road and the drivers. Had a great dinner tonight: tuna sashimi, albocore, lobster pot pie, and crab cakes that rival Baltimore. Next table was Richard B, who plays a police officer in Law and Order SVU (with Mariska - one of my favorites).