July 26th, continued

Kathleen came over and we all headed down to the beach. Sunblock was our friend, and we made sure to wear tee-shirts so that we couldn't get burned like yesterday. We played smashball with Van in the surf. After the beach we walked over to Miguel's, sandy feet and all, for some fish tacos. They were fabulous.

Van had to go to work by 6, so we said our goodbyes and started packing. Kathleen had her symphony gig at 7, so we said goodbye to her as well. Her job down here has been helping the San Diego Symphony start up again after a 3 year downtime. She is here part time to help out with some of the outdoor concerts. This time she was calling howitzer cues for the 1812 Overture. We heard the cannons go off as we were packing our luggage. Go Kathleen!

Ruth made us some mac n' cheese for dinner (yum!) and we went to bed around 10:30 for a quick nap.

July 27th

We woke up and left San Diego at about 3am to beat the heat of the Mojave Desert. It was an interesting drive. The hills east of San Diego looked interesting -- from the shapes we could see in the moonlight. The sun started to rise around 5:30 and we felt as if we were on some strange planet. By then we were in the flatlands and dunes near Yuma, AZ. It was really weird and beautiful but we could tell even then that it gets mighty hot out there. We stopped at a rest area around 7 AM and it was definitely in the 90s already.

We stopped in Gila Bend, AZ to head north on highway 85, and lo and behold there it was! The Space Age Motel and Restaurant! We had to stop and get some photos of the spacey sign and then for some reason, food sounded like a plan. The coffee shop was good but we were a tad disappointed that it wasn't more "space age" on the inside. Still, it was great to finally get back to good southwestern food. Lynne had Huevos Rancheros, and I had Chorizzo and Eggs. Mmmmmmm.

We headed into Phoenix and took some pictures of saguaro cactuses and lonely roads. We got a hotel room at 11am and took a long nap. One of the few good things about hitting Phoenix this time of year is that the hotel rooms are cheap since only crazy fools come here when it's this hot. We went out for dinner with Charlotte and Greg, then to the IMAX to see the Titanica show which was very cool. We went out later for a beer.

It was so nice to see them again (it's been a while) that we decided to stick around Phoenix for another day, despite the delightful 115 degree heat. We hope to catch a Diamondbacks baseball game (playing the Cubs tonight, we hear) tonight.

We plan to drive to Albuquerque tomorrow, passing by some very strange attractions (VLA!!) and hopefully make it by dinner. We are looking forward to seeing MamaVarg.

	Lynne and Kathleen on the beach in Coronado
	Van and Ruth
	Kathleen, Robby and Lynne
	Lunch at Miguel's
	Lynne's fish taco
	Sunrise in the Mojave
	The desert
	More desert!
	Lonely road
	Güera con saguaros
	The Space Age Lodge
	The Space Age Restaurant