California Dreaming

"I've been dreamin' 'bout the West Coast (I've been dreamin')
Found some faces that I don't know (I've been dreamin' about it)
I'm seein' signs for California
Trade the shade for somethin' warmer
I've been dreamin' 'bout the West Coast (I've been dreamin')
Where the people take it real slow (I've been dreamin' about it)
I need the sun for just a year
I'll kiss the sky and disappear"
--One Republic’s song, “West Coast”. 

How about a Date Milkshake?

We have arrived at Coronado, California yesterday. I will fill you in on our past two days but as we drove over the Coronado Bridge to Coronado, across bay from San Diego, we had to play this song.

​Before arriving, we left Las Cruces, New Mexico on Friday morning and drove four hours west to Tucson, AZ. Since the next “big” city heading west on I8 would be Yuma, AZ, 3 1/2 hours away,  we decided to make Tucson our home for the day and plan the next day to drive seven hours to our final destination, Coronado., CA. 

We didn’t expect much to see in Tucson, but we had a very nice afternoon sightseeing. If you go you need to go to the Southern Arizona Visitor Center, which is the historical Pima Count Courthouse of the 1800s. The friendly staff provided us with maps of downtown and the pre-routed walking trips and sites to visit. They also told us about the free trolley which we took full circle to scope out the city. 

---

Photos by The Zimmers

Stopped halfway during the trolley ride to see the  Arizona State University campus and also to have our picnic lunch.  Back on trolley to 4th district to check out the hippy artist area, then we walked a 1/3 mile further back to the center of town to check out the boutique, historical Congress Hotel, built in 1918 and known for where gangster John Dillinger was caught and extradited to Crown Point, IN where he escaped. Soon thereafter he was eventually shot leaving the Biograph movie theater in Chicago, still located just walking distance from our former Chicago residence. 

To show you the brilliance of Dillinger, he wouldn’t have been caught at the Congress Hotel except there was a fire in the hotel during his stay. Guests had to leave their rooms until the blaze was extinguished. As the evening wore on, he and his cronies asked the fire fighters if they would retrieve his luggage in their room. Rumor had it his real name was all over the luggage and room, identifying his true identity and not the alias he gave the hotel at check-in. 

Back at the Visitor Center, there are great exhibits describing the history and geology of the area. There is a beautiful gem exhibit which was closed. There were various admission prices around the $10 range. 

Also, there is a touching memorial outside the building in honor of those shot and killed during the mass shooting during a constituent meeting with Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. 

In all, Tucson is worth  a day visit. The next morning we started our last drive to Coronado, CA on I-8 along the U.S. and Mexico border running through the Sonoran Desert and the Imperial Valley, over the Cuyamaca Mountains into San Diego. 

The best part of the travel, at least for me, was stopping at a rest stop just as we crossed into California. Ann noticed the strand of date trees and said, “ Maybe we can buy a date milkshake." Sure enough, the rest stop sold dates and Date Milkshakes!! Delicious. Can there be any bad milkshake? Maybe a rhubarb shake. A garlic shake? 

We'll spend the next several weeks in Coronado and explore San Diego and maybe parts of Los Angeles. 

​All in all, we traveled approximately 2,700 miles from coast to coast. No incidents. All good. Gas prices ranged from from high $3+ to to high $4+ range with the exception of California. I won’t post their prices. See one of our photos for one price. We pulled off i8 to fill up and saw the price, did a quick mental calculation and “Nope."  We can make it to San Diego with the amount we have now and have a gallon to spare. No worries. 

To help with the purchasing of gas we use several apps. One is Gas Buddy, which everyone probably knows about and uses as it lists and maps out gas prices in your location. We also started using an app called Upside. Sign up on their app. They provide cash back on purchases, mostly gas prices, and some restaurants. When we would pull off for gas we would open the app and they provide the participating gas dealer with the best price. The app would show you the listed price, then the amount of per gallon which we found ranged from $.01 to $.10/gal off the pump price. Depending on the gallons you pump you get the cash back on your designated bank account, PayPal or simply a gift card.

We just started using sit, o we will keep you posted as we continue using the app. If you have an American Express Platinum card you can enroll with BP on their app and get $.05 off the BP pump price. Their app sets the pump price as you pull up to the station and you put in the pump number on the app. This technology is amazing to me. 

One last thing: Business and construction (residential mostly) seemed very active in the Austin, Texas area and the oil/gas activity around Carlsbad, NM seemed to be busy in and around town.  --MARTY

---

"We made it!"