May 14, 2009 - Head East Young Man

Well, I made it back from California. With the passing of my Father-In-Law last month I needed to return to Golden State to sell a house and move household belonging back to my Mother-In-Law’s new residence in Ohio.

I kept a visual diary on my I-Phone of points of interest along the way. My brother, a 30-year armed forces veteran, accompanied me on the adventure. We rented a 17 foot U-Haul to move possessions through CA, AZ, NM, TX, OK, AR, TN. KY, and OH. Below is a summary of the trip.

Wednesday, May 6 – We flew Delta Airlines from Cincinnati to LA at the height of the Swine (H1N1) Flu pandemic scare. I decided to wear a surgical mask and to toss in a few coughs and sneezes. There was a reason I was the lead in my High School’s rendition of “The Music Man.” Before long I had an entire row to myself.

Thursday, May 7 – We packed the truck and left LA at 8:30 p.m. We headed east on the 405 to the 605 to the 110 to the 10 to the 40. Amazingly there is still an LA rush hour at 8:30 at night. We deiced to take Interstate 40, which parallels the old Route 66 from LA through to Nashville before taking I-65 to Louisville and taking I-71 into Ohio.

Friday, May 8 - We spent three hours, from 4-7 a.m., at a motel in Needles, CA that rents rooms by the hour. After a Grand Slam breakfast at the local Denny’s, we continued on through Arizona and spent Friday night in Albuquerque, NM. We drove a total of 709 miles the first 24 hours.

We did stop long enough to acquire gas and to get into a traffic jam at the University of Northern Arizona’s commencement exercises in Flagstaff, AZ. As we trekked eastward at an 85 mph clip, I’ll never know if the Eagles were correct when they sang, “Winslow Arizona was such a fine site to see.”

Saturday, May 9 - We took off right after the 6 a.m. revelry. This was my Breakfast of Champions from a NM gas station:

We traversed through New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and stayed in Little Rock, Arkansas. This segment was 883 miles.

In Texas we saw what was titled the “World’s Largest Cross.” I think Ohio’s Jesus would beg to differ.

According to the movie, “An Officer and a Gentleman” this is what I expected to see in Oklahoma:

I was pleasantly surprised to see rolling hills, green space, and wind turbines.

When we stopped for the night in Little Rock, I decided to tour the Bill Clinton Presidential Library. I took the below snap shot from the library’s restroom.

Sunday, May 10 – We completed the final leg of our trip from Arkansas through Tennessee and Kentucky into Ohio, a total of 626 miles.

We arrived back in Ohio only 69 hours after our departure from LA. The drive was a mix of Smokey and the Bandit and Cannonball Run, with a hint of Death Race 2000 thrown in to keep it interesting.

I wish I could have been taking this trip for other reasons and spent more time enjoying the scenery.

After listening to country music for 2160 miles, (and they say water boarding is torture), I think Lee Greenwood had it right when he said,

“God Bless the USA.”

This is a GREAT country with all of the diversity of people and geography. I met new, interesting people at every rest stop and gas station.

If I understand the new economic policies of Mr. Obama, I should be receiving several stimulus checks in the next 4 years. I plan to use the money to purchase an RV and return to the southwest in search of the World’s Largest Ball of Twine.