Tue, 24 Jan 2006

Trip, in review

Some highlights (and lowlights) from the road trip...

Vacation Dates: 12/13/2005-01/02/2006

Miles Travelled: 6700+

Accidents: 0

Near Misses: 8 (+/- 2)

Cities Visited: LA: Shreveport. TX: Dallas, Sweetwater, Sierra Blanca, El Paso, Amarillo. Mexico: Juarez. NM: Deming, Albuquerque. AZ: Phoenix, Kingman. NV: Las Vegas. CA: Baker, Anaheim, Pomona, La Puente, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Malibu, Port Jueneme, Carpenteria, La Crescenta, San Bernardino, Ventura. OK: Oklahoma City, Shawnee. MS: Taylor.

Sights: The Southwest, Dallas Museum of Art, Juarez Market (old), Phoenix Museum of Art, Heard Museum, Hoover Dam, Getty Center & Museum, OKC Memorial, wind farms, brushfire smoke plumes, The Pacific Ocean, southwestern cities at night, oil wells.

Weather: Fog in L.A., tornadoes in Atlanta, gusty wind in between.

Signs you're officially in the Southwest: Dust Storms next 50 mi., Elk Xing, Bighorn Sheep Xing, Moose Xing, Tumbleweeds, dryness, cacti.

Best hotel: tied: Red Roof, El Paso. Best Western, West Hollywood.

Good eats: Palma's (Italian, Deming), Katana (Sushi, L.A.), some taco joint (El Paso).

Commerce: The Water Store (Phoenix), open market (Juarez, MX), Sportsbooks (Las Vegas), Third St. (Los Angeles), cotton farms in Texas, strawberry farms in California, Hillside Grocery (L.A.) nonstop train activity (west of Dallas), Border Patrol checkpoints.

Good Times: Driving all over the place. Angering the taxi drivers in Juarez. Confusing the Border Patrol in El Paso. The art museums. Christmas Day on a beach. Monday Night Football at 6pm. Pub crawls in 3 states. Visiting friends in 3 states. Forgetting everything about work. Raucous poker game two doors down from a dance club. Busting out of a 1-table Hold'em tournament. Discovering In-N-Out. Fireworks and cheap beer for New Year's Eve. Learning the origin of 'Sooners'. Hearing "Hey-Ya" on acoustic guitar and fiddle. Pancakes Bigger Than My Head.

Random strangers: Gas Station cashier in ???; phone store salesman in El Paso; several poker players in Las Vegas; Bachelorette Party in OKC; gallery curator in Carpenteria; sushi chefs in L.A; bookstore proprietor in Deming; hotel clerks in Kingman and Albuquerque; oil change girl in Las Vegas; bar patrons in L.A.;

posted at: 03:37 | path: | permanent link to this entry

I made it...
I successfully completed my road trip on the 2nd. Shortly after writing the second daily update, I realized that my time would be better spent travelling around than writing. I'm assembling the summary, will post that shortly. Additionally, the General Assembly is in session, and I've been poking around this year's batch of legislation. I'll probably comment on several bills and resolutions, maybe before next year's assembly begins. :)

posted at: 03:35 | path: | permanent link to this entry

Vacation Dates:	12/13/2005-01/02/2006
Miles Travelled:	6700+
Accidents:	0
Near Misses:	8 (+/- 2)
Cities Visited:	LA: Shreveport. TX: Dallas, Sweetwater, Sierra Blanca, El Paso, Amarillo. Mexico: Juarez. NM: Deming, Albuquerque. AZ: Phoenix, Kingman. NV: Las Vegas. CA: Baker, Anaheim, Pomona, La Puente, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Malibu, Port Jueneme, Carpenteria, La Crescenta, San Bernardino, Ventura. OK: Oklahoma City, Shawnee. MS: Taylor.
Sights:	The Southwest, Dallas Museum of Art, Juarez Market (old), Phoenix Museum of Art, Heard Museum, Hoover Dam, Getty Center & Museum, OKC Memorial, wind farms, brushfire smoke plumes, The Pacific Ocean, southwestern cities at night, oil wells.
Weather:	Fog in L.A., tornadoes in Atlanta, gusty wind in between.
Signs you're officially in the Southwest:	Dust Storms next 50 mi., Elk Xing, Bighorn Sheep Xing, Moose Xing, Tumbleweeds, dryness, cacti.
Best hotel:	tied: Red Roof, El Paso. Best Western, West Hollywood.
Good eats:	Palma's (Italian, Deming), Katana (Sushi, L.A.), some taco joint (El Paso).
Commerce:	The Water Store (Phoenix), open market (Juarez, MX), Sportsbooks (Las Vegas), Third St. (Los Angeles), cotton farms in Texas, strawberry farms in California, Hillside Grocery (L.A.) nonstop train activity (west of Dallas), Border Patrol checkpoints.
Good Times:	Driving all over the place. Angering the taxi drivers in Juarez. Confusing the Border Patrol in El Paso. The art museums. Christmas Day on a beach. Monday Night Football at 6pm. Pub crawls in 3 states. Visiting friends in 3 states. Forgetting everything about work. Raucous poker game two doors down from a dance club. Busting out of a 1-table Hold'em tournament. Discovering In-N-Out. Fireworks and cheap beer for New Year's Eve. Learning the origin of 'Sooners'. Hearing "Hey-Ya" on acoustic guitar and fiddle. Pancakes Bigger Than My Head.
Random strangers:	Gas Station cashier in ???; phone store salesman in El Paso; several poker players in Las Vegas; Bachelorette Party in OKC; gallery curator in Carpenteria; sushi chefs in L.A; bookstore proprietor in Deming; hotel clerks in Kingman and Albuquerque; oil change girl in Las Vegas; bar patrons in L.A.;