Los Angeles

Today I finished the first leg of my journey and arrived in LA.  I will be spending a few days here visiting with 1/2 of my parents, 3/4 of my brothers, and 6/7 of my nieces and nephews.

This morning in Flagstaff I stopped by Brandy's for breakfast which had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  I knew there wouldn't be many places to stop along the way during today's drive so I made sure to fill up and grab a snack for the road.  I decided to make a "slight" detour on today's trip so that I could drive through Joshua Tree National Park.  When I looked at the route on Google maps it didn't look so bad, but colored lines on a computer screen can be deceiving.  I took US 95 to 62 so that I could meet up with the main road, Interstate 10, into Joshua Tree.  Driving on 95 was like being in a car commercial; miles and miles of deserted road roller-coaster like hills and all sorts of twists and turns. 

Normally, even if you are on an isolated stretch of highway there are at least a handful of exits and small towns along the way.  Not on this road!  For 2.5 hours of driving I didn't see a single town.  The only evidence of civilization was this ridiculous sign.  I actually drove past it and then turned around just so I could take a picture.  Although it made me a little nervous driving somewhere so desolate, the detour was well worth it!

I had never been to Joshua Tree before and I really didn't even know what to expect.  I was blown away by how gorgeous it was.  Every few miles things just got more and more beautiful.

After leaving Joshua Tree I headed down into the valley towards Los Angeles.  Again, the scenery was absolutely gorgeous.  It seemed like the hills I was driving down were practically at a 45 degree angle and everyone was going 80 mph so it was much more difficult to take photos.  I got one quick snap of the wind "farm", but there were actually hundreds of those windmills.  It was quite a site.

Unfortunately I knew the pretty views had to come to an end and the traffic would begin.  I was lucky to be driving into LA on a weekend and not during weekday traffic, but it was still a whole different world from Richmond "traffic". 

Eventually I found my way to my Dad's house not too much worse for the wear.  I had a lovely Italian dinner with my Daddy and brothers and look forward to spending the rest of the week with them!