Dropped Duchess (our pug) off at my folks' in Kingman and then proceeded on to Barstow, CA to stay for the night (Friday). That way we don't suprise Michelle's aunt in the middle of the night. Barstow is basically just another armpit-of-existence stop in the middle of nowhere similar to Needles and Blythe ... places that you only stop in to stay or eat. You honestly wonder how people live there, but, oh well. The stay at the Red Roof Inn was actually pleasant, clean, quiet and inexpensive. And the breakfast Saturday morning at the nearby truck stop was delish.
Brings to mind cross-country vacations of my youth. I don't think there was a truck stop between Iowa and Oregon that we didn't hit at least once. Couldn't help thinking that I might get lynched with my Amnesty International t-shirt and earrings but the people were actually very nice.
Before getting to Manhattan Beach on Saturday, we went to a place that I've been meaning to go to for years and a place that I know Alex would enjoy immensely -- The La Brea Tar Pits and the Page Museum. Like any boy of his age, he's a huge dinosaur nerd. Before all you eggheads start correcting me and telling me that they didn't discover any dinosaurs at the La Brea Tar Pits, let me say that you are correct. It was mammals and birds ranging from 12,000 to 40,000 years old that were discovered there (millions of years after the extinction of dinosaurs). The point is, 5 years olds barely know the difference. They just think it is cool to see old bones and saber-tooth cats. And they'd be correct. From the website: " ... The Page Museum is located at the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits in the heart of Los Angeles. Rancho La Brea is one of the world’s most famous fossil localities, recognized for having the largest and most diverse assemblage of extinct Ice Age plants and animals in the world. Visitors can learn about Los Angeles as it was between 10,000 and 40,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age, when animals such as saber-toothed cats and mammoths roamed the Los Angeles Basin. Through windows at the Page Museum Laboratory, visitors can watch bones being cleaned and repaired. Outside the Museum, in Hancock Park, life-size replicas of several extinct mammals are featured."
Finally we arrive at Manhattan Beach after wading through traffic heading to the USC-Washington football game and the Dodgers-Mets playoff game. Saturday evening we went to dinner at the Broadway Deli on The Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. The food was good. The weather was gorgeous. And the people were pretty entertaining, ranging from breakdancers to flamenco guitarists to evangelists all in the course of a few blocks.
More pics and comments tomorrow. We're hitting the Manhattan Beach Old Hometown Fair.
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