Northern California 9 Nov 1997

Southern California 10 Nov 1997 11 Nov 1997

The Southwest 12 Nov 1997

Texas 13 Nov 1997 14 Nov 1997 16 Nov 1997

New Orleans 16 Nov 1997 18 Nov 1997

Montgomery, Alabama 19 Nov 1997

Tuesday 11 Nov 97 Palm Springs

Well, we didn’t make it to Blythe today.

We left Santa Barbara at a reasonable time, then went south along 101 toward Los Angeles. The waves breaking onto the beaches were so spectacular that we got off at one of the county beach exits, and watched (and photographed) waves and surfers crashing into the shore. (We saw our last few offshore oil rigs, too. They’re eerie, like battleships of some alien power reminding us that we are not on our own.) We knew we wouldn’t be seeing water for a while, so stayed a bit longer than we should have, perhaps.

Then, it was on through Los Angeles, via the notorious freeways. They lived up to their reputation. Countless lanes wide, the entrances are metered even in mid-day. As we were driving along being as attentive as possible, we spotted a commercial pickup belonging to a business that caught our attention—Seattle Coffee. The driver noticed our license plate at about the same time, and for the next few miles we drove along side each other, trading conversation and pictures. This incident needs the same publicity that the freeway shooting stories get, but you folks will be the only ones to know.

[One or more paragraphs inadvertantly deleted here. In general, we discovered Palm Springs on the way, and because they were having a Veteran’s Day parade that promised Great Things, and because everything was just so charming, we abandoned plans to make Blythe, and stayed in Palm Springs.]

We had a wonderful late lunch (a true dinner) in this genuinely charming town, and checked into our hotel as the town gathered for the parade. It proved to be a good one. A mixture of high school bands and military organizations, including an excellent Marine band. 99% of the military presence was dedicated to WWII, which says something about both the town and the state of military remembrances in the US in general. What will happen to Veteran’s Day when my generation is the only one left? Perhaps, Vietnam will be so shrouded in myth that it will be back in style.

Before the band concert and fireworks, we found the local theater (all of this activity was via walking), and have selected a film experience for the evening—Richard Gere in something about “The Red Corner,” if I remember correctly. The concert was wonderful, taking place in a town square lit up by hundreds of cute lights, attended by a couple hundred of the local citizenry (and a couple tourists), and accompanied (at the right moment) by military cannon and fireworks during the performance of the 1812 overture, just at late dusk. What a way to top off a remarkable day. The night is yet to come.