Completing our lap of the US

Natalia and Aurea, two lovely girls who live with Terrie, inspected Chris' bike before making a fond farewell.

Terrie, her son Greg, and Jay web-cast an on-line blog radio segment each Thursday from 3 to 4 pm PDT, in which Jay interviews metal artists. Chris was invited to be the guest for today, so we rode back into San Diego, California around lunch time. Instead of taking the highways, we rode down the Coast Highway, which was slower but more interesting. There were people swimming, surfing and exercising. Greg is a keen surfer staying out until it gets dark.

It seemed pretty warm, and when we arrived at Jay's learned that the temperature was 99 F.

We also learned that an engine on a QANTAS A380 had exploded on takeoff from Singapore, and their fleet of 5 aircraft were grounded pending safety checks (3 at LAX airport, apparently). Our flight back to Oz on Sunday is supposed to be on an A380 - who knows if it will be cancelled? (If QANTAS know, they aren't telling).

Chris's talk with Jay went off well. You can read/hear it here. Jay translated for the benefit of American listeners, explaining "aluminium" is actually "aluminum", and so on.

Greg(left) was in control of the technology while Jay(right) directed the interview with Chris.
When it was over, we said a rushed goodbye to Jay and Terrie and headed up the freeway to LA. We were expecting peak traffic and long delays and had a sense of dread in our hearts.

It was still 98 F as we mounted up. The first part of the journey onto the freeway was slow, but as we entered the on ramp we gunned the bike to merge into the traffic at 80 mph. There was a spot of congestion and we slowed to a complete stop briefly. Once we reached the carpool lane we picked up speed - motorcycles are allowed to use this lane on the extreme left of the road, along with vehicles carrying two or more people. There aren't many of the latter, so we enjoyed a smooth fast run when the other 5 lanes slowed to a crawl.

The traffic became quite heavy when we approached LA, and in the end it took us 2 hrs 15 minutes to cover the 105 miles. It was quite dark when we arrived.

We checked into the Carlton Motel on Long Beach Bvd, the same place we stayed in when we arrived in May. AJ, the friendly young manager was pleased to see us again and hear of our exploits.

We ate at a local Chinese restaurant before riding over to Long Beach Airport to pick up a hire car.

Meeting Jay Whaley

Today was a scheduled rest day with nothing planned so we spent some of the morning relaxing in Terrie's home which is only a few miles from the ocean.

These budgies are safe from the hawks that sometimes terrorise them.

The garden is full of fruit trees and flowers. It still feels like spring here.

The ocean is only a few miles away. There are plenty of people surfing and swimming.

Terrie works for Jay Whaley, a jeweller who runs a workshop and teaches classes in San Diego, and had to leave at 6 am. We decided to follow her in (at a more respectable hour) so we could meet Jay and see his shop. Even in the middle of the day the main road to San Diego was a mad rush of traffic, 5 lanes wide all going 80+ in a 65 zone.

We were welcomed by Jay saying "So you're the biker trash from Australia?!" and were instantly friends. We had lunch with Terrie and Jay and spent some time admiring his well-equipped workspace. Not wanting to get underfoot, we left mid afternoon.

Some of Jay's artwork.

Students working on jewelery in his workshop.

It was pizza for lunch.

The ride back was even more frenetic in the heat of a very warm autumn day. We were glad to reach Oceanside and exit to some quieter, tree-lined streets.

We stopped at a supermarket to stock up on supplies for the evening meal - another barbeque.
Terrie relaxed after a hard day's work.

Thankfully we bought ample supplies - we thought it would just be Terrie and us eating in tonight, but were pleased when Greg (Terrie's son), and Natalia joined us to eat out under the pergola in the cool of the evening. This weather is remarkably balmy. We felt sorry for Elizabeth and Nick from Ohio. They are already preparing for the winter.

Getting lost again

Gary has a beautiful outfit. We met him while filling up with petrol.

Our plan for today was first to ride south through Joshua Tree National Park, California to Mecca. The Joshua trees are distinctive and grow quite large for a desert plant. WWe have seen them in other places, but here they were most abundant.

Our GPS was set for Mecca and off we went. After an hours travel we left the Park and entered a town where we stopped at a diner for lunch.

The service was slow, and while we were waiting Chris decided to check the map. It was only then we realised we had gone the wrong way.

Unfortunately the GPS couldn't computer that the shortest distance to Mecca was through the Park, and it took us on a semi-circular route that led to Joshua Tree, 15 miles due west of Twenty-nine Palms.

It was already early afteroon by the time we left the diner, and we were effectively yet to start our journey to Oceanside, 35 miles north of San Diego.

We re-traced our path through Joshus Tree NP and found the road south to Mecca. On the way there were varied and huge rock formations. The cactus garden also amazed us. There was a chipmunk living in these arid conditions.

Although there were postings about Tarantula spiders, we did not see any. An occasional fleeing bird would catch our eye.

The weather was quite hot (unseasonably so, we have been told) so we were pleased to stop for drinks.

Continuing south on 86, we passed the Salton Sea, 235 ft below sea level, before heading west to Borrego Springs on S22. The S22 road out of there is a great motorcycle journey, winding its way up the Montezuma Grade which climbs over 3000 feet in six miles.

The views changed from a dry desert to green grass and beautiful trees, something we have not seen for some time. We soon found ourselves on CA 76, another scenic road that took us all the way into Oceanside, where we were invited to stay with Teresa, another of our metal artist friends. Terrie has a beatiful home just a few miles from the ocean. The suburb is lush, green and full of trees. She welcomed us with cold drinks before we settled down to a Barbecue dinner with wine. Yum!

Squeek greets everyone.

We met Terrie's son Greg and her housemates Natalia and Aurea who live with her.

Moving on

Homes in Las vegus are enclosed by walls keeping their ecosystems protected from the desert.

From Las Vegas,Nevada we rode to Twenty-nine Palms, California. We travelled through more desert country, with no particularly scenic points of interest along the way.

The most interesting thing about the route is that it was used by the Rat Pack to travel back to their homes in Palm Springs after their gigs in Las Vegas .

One of many dry waterways.
The first leg of the journey ran down I-15. Once into California we took a left onto the Nipton Road (Route 164) followed by 2 right turns in fairly quick succession to take us across the Mojave National Preserve to Cima and Kelso.

We stopped in Kelso for lunch at the old railway depot building, now preserved as the visitor centre.

We continued south on Kelbaker Road. (We rode up this section of road a week or so ago when we travelled from Needles to Shoshone.).

Salt mining on the way.




We passed under I-40 and soon after turned right to Amboy. Heading south from there we passed the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. Turning right at a T junction put us on the raod into Twenty-nine Palms. where we stopped for the night.


(The Rat Pack would have continued down CA 62 to Palm Springs)

An even more restful day in Las Vegas

We spent part of the day resting by the Hard Rock Hotel poolside, a luxurious array of pools, sand and numerous tents and outdooor seating at various levels. Shade cloths were strung across palm trees. It was too cold in the water for swimming, but a few people came to enjoy the warm autumn sunshine.

Gym facilities.

There are various pools.

Private outdoor facilities.

Imported sand, and numerous lounge facilities.

You can drink and gamble at the bar in the pool.Fountain.

Shade sails tied to palm trees.

After partying til late, we welcomed the opportunity to sleep in this morning. It was midday when we surfaced for brunch.

View of Las Vegas from our window.

We checked out some local eateries and decided the best value was to be found in one of the hotels eateries, and returned there for dinner. The complex also included various stores for shopping. Las Vegas is so spread out it is easier to shop at the motel complex you are in.

A rest day in Las Vegas

A couple of BMW riders we met in Oatman earlier in the week (Gary and Grant) invited us to have lunch with the European Motorcycle Owners group today. On our way there we took a ride up the strip (it's not nearly as sparkly in daylight but the structures are still impressive).

The BMW dealers are a few miles south of the main part of town.

When we arrived Gary welcomed us and introduced us to the rest of the group. Mimi's where we headed for lunch was about 400 yards away as the crow flies, but on the other side of the Interstate. so it was about a mile to ride there. Actually, we were the only ones who rode - the rest were all in cars (!).

Lunch was very enjoyable and we talked about bikes and rides and adventures . All too soon it was over. Gary very generously paid for our lunches - despite our protestations that we pay our own bill.

We returned to our hotel to catch up on blogs and rest ahead of tonight's Halloween party. Americans take Halloween seriously, and it's not just for kids.

The shops have been full of pumpkins and Halloween related merchandise for at least a month, which means there is no sign of Christmas decorations yet - as we get in Australia from early October. There is also Thanksgiving at the end of November, so this is a crowded season of celebrations for Americans.

We enjoyed the festivities long into the night.