LA-LA(NO), tuesday to saturday (9/25-9/29)
Late saturday I got back from a fantastic trip to the southwest/western south. In order to keep memories of this trip alive, I'll be putting up a summary of each day and keeping these entries public. Why did I fly out west? To keep my college pal, Kate, company as she drove from LA to N'awlins. I love random adventures like this and jump at the chance to participate in 'em.
Tuesday 9/25, Boston-Long Beach (flight), Long Beach to Williams, AZ
Got to Logan late, well, on time (an hour before the flight) but later than I had wanted. Checking in at JetBlue's ticketless machine thing was fast and easy and I had no troubles going through security with my big duffel bag. Oooh! Near the gate was a Dunks! Plane trip was uneventful, although there were some screaming children. Why do people bring their young ones on planes? Why??! (hypothetical question)
Landed in Long Beach on time. Man, what a tinyass airport. It was like an extended trailer in a trailer park. Kate met me maybe 5-10 mins after I exited the airport. She informed me that an acquaintance of mine called the Long Beach airport "Havana" because it resembled 50s/60s Cuban style architecture. Hmm, it does have a vintage look to it.
Our quest now was to find me an In and Out burger. Took a little while, but we found one in Azusa, CA, just off I-210. Yum! I ordered a double-double, no onions, fries animal style and a neapolitan style shake. Good times! (double double = two patties of meat, two pieces of cheese for your burger; the rest of the terminology can be found if you google "in and out burger" secret menu). Onward.... we found some palm trees and took a picture of her statue, squirrelly, near them.
Driving driving... Took I-15 next. Man, LA really is smoggy. Landing I noticed a giant brown layer over the area but wow. It obscures the nearby mountains, and makes the highway signs have a nasty blackish film.
Rising higher, into the hills. Desert landscape. Wonder if this was where Jim Morrison hung out and did peyote, or something like that. Next road: I-40. Next stop: Ludlow, CA, a 'ghost town'. Took a bunch of pictures there. Part of Ludlow is still inhabited but there are a number of abandoned buildings. Route 66 goes through here, as well as tons of freight trains. Yes, I took numbers of shots of the trains too... BNSF (burlington northern santa fe) hauls craploads of freight through here. We saw several trains during our stop in Ludlow.
Among the non-train pics I took in Ludlow were ones of abandoned old cars (30s/40s era Plymouth rusting out in a field, 50s/60s era Chrysler with its light aqua paint still on-- I thought of you Lisa!), faded writing on buildings and of course, the falling-apart buildings. On the road again.
As we drove along, we could see the moon rising.. it looked so big at first. Combined with the setting sun and beautiful desert and hills... it was quite a site. Crossed into AZ with little fanfare; passed over the Colorado river. Hmm... CA and AZ both are really concerned about their produce. They have border crossings to stop trucks from bringing it in. Next pit stop: Seligman, AZ. Got gas and some magnets. (I never have enough) One was a map of AZ with a little thermometer on it, the other was of a skeleton in a chair with the following caption: "It's a dry heat, Seligman, AZ". I particularly enjoyed that one because... if I ever had a nickel for every west coaster who bitched about the humidity out east...
Ended our day in Williams, AZ, which was 30-60 mins south of Grand Canyon. Oh, and this was after hitting up a Carl's Jr along the way. Gotta have local fast food while out there! So ends Day one.
Tuesday 9/25, Boston-Long Beach (flight), Long Beach to Williams, AZ
Got to Logan late, well, on time (an hour before the flight) but later than I had wanted. Checking in at JetBlue's ticketless machine thing was fast and easy and I had no troubles going through security with my big duffel bag. Oooh! Near the gate was a Dunks! Plane trip was uneventful, although there were some screaming children. Why do people bring their young ones on planes? Why??! (hypothetical question)
Landed in Long Beach on time. Man, what a tinyass airport. It was like an extended trailer in a trailer park. Kate met me maybe 5-10 mins after I exited the airport. She informed me that an acquaintance of mine called the Long Beach airport "Havana" because it resembled 50s/60s Cuban style architecture. Hmm, it does have a vintage look to it.
Our quest now was to find me an In and Out burger. Took a little while, but we found one in Azusa, CA, just off I-210. Yum! I ordered a double-double, no onions, fries animal style and a neapolitan style shake. Good times! (double double = two patties of meat, two pieces of cheese for your burger; the rest of the terminology can be found if you google "in and out burger" secret menu). Onward.... we found some palm trees and took a picture of her statue, squirrelly, near them.
Driving driving... Took I-15 next. Man, LA really is smoggy. Landing I noticed a giant brown layer over the area but wow. It obscures the nearby mountains, and makes the highway signs have a nasty blackish film.
Rising higher, into the hills. Desert landscape. Wonder if this was where Jim Morrison hung out and did peyote, or something like that. Next road: I-40. Next stop: Ludlow, CA, a 'ghost town'. Took a bunch of pictures there. Part of Ludlow is still inhabited but there are a number of abandoned buildings. Route 66 goes through here, as well as tons of freight trains. Yes, I took numbers of shots of the trains too... BNSF (burlington northern santa fe) hauls craploads of freight through here. We saw several trains during our stop in Ludlow.
Among the non-train pics I took in Ludlow were ones of abandoned old cars (30s/40s era Plymouth rusting out in a field, 50s/60s era Chrysler with its light aqua paint still on-- I thought of you Lisa!), faded writing on buildings and of course, the falling-apart buildings. On the road again.
As we drove along, we could see the moon rising.. it looked so big at first. Combined with the setting sun and beautiful desert and hills... it was quite a site. Crossed into AZ with little fanfare; passed over the Colorado river. Hmm... CA and AZ both are really concerned about their produce. They have border crossings to stop trucks from bringing it in. Next pit stop: Seligman, AZ. Got gas and some magnets. (I never have enough) One was a map of AZ with a little thermometer on it, the other was of a skeleton in a chair with the following caption: "It's a dry heat, Seligman, AZ". I particularly enjoyed that one because... if I ever had a nickel for every west coaster who bitched about the humidity out east...
Ended our day in Williams, AZ, which was 30-60 mins south of Grand Canyon. Oh, and this was after hitting up a Carl's Jr along the way. Gotta have local fast food while out there! So ends Day one.