Last Legs

Well, I am writing from Aunt Elaine's living room so you know the story ends well. But it didn't start off that way.

Just a short week ago I was in Pittsburgh and this was not even a fully formed dream, and now it is over. More than 2,000 miles all the way, we really did get our kicks on Route 66/I-40. But today was a little rougher than expected.

We got up early and had breakfast, at which point we headed out of flagstaff to Oatman, Arizona. Oatman is a ghost town that grew out of the mining gold rush and faded out of existence once I-40 was built. The donkeys were left behind and still come down to the town during the day where tourists buy carrots for a dollar to feed them. I'd read about it and decided it was a detour worth taking. It was definitely out of the way at the top of a hill with lots of curvy roads leading you to it, but Cara and I got to watch a staged old Western shoot out, eat some great food, and feed the Burros. Then we headed on to L.A.


It should have taken four hours or so but because we were in the desert and the car is old, of course it over heated and we had to stop several times. After some car repair at a shop a mile past the California border, Cara and I drove on to Los Angeles arriving some time around 1 AM. It was a long road and at times scary (my biggest fear being that we get stuck in the desert with no help for miles, but luckily we got stuck in places close to help so it wasn't as big of an issue). We did make it though, and hopefully tomorrow I'll spend some quality time with the cousins and make it out to the beach before Cara and I begin our next adventure: the California International Theatre Festival.

Wish me (and the car) luck!