I Made It!

I left Indio at about 8:30 thinking it would take me 3 hrs to get to Costa Mesa.  That's about what it took, and the trip was uneventful.

I followed the Garmin directions up to the last couple of turns, but missed one and ended up where I wanted to be and got here easier!  I can tell you that once I got into traffic, it seemed there was a generous space between me and the cars in front, and looking in the rearview, the cars behind me were holding way back.  Most of the time anyway.  Cars and trucks passed me now and then and traffic was heavier in places and moved slower, but I never felt crowded at all.  It has been a beautiful trip, and I'm so grateful.  I would say the Red Sea definitely parted in my favor.

Costa Mesa is nice from what I have seen of it - very Southern California!  I knew I was a little early to arrive at the motel so I stopped in a Coco's restaurant about a mile before.  Ah, I had a huge croissant with turkey, avocado, tomato, lettuce, and a plate of fresh melon in place of the fries.  I never dreamed I could eat it all, but I did!

The motel room is about the smallest one I've had this entire trip, and has no fridge which I've gotten accustomed to.  Now I'll have to buy ice for my coolers everyday, which is a pain in the neck, but I'll try to consolidate everything into one cooler.  I've been using a smaller one for bottled water which I'm drinking like crazy due to the aridity and heat.  The temps here are in the upper 70's for the rest of the week, but in the sun it feels very hot.  Just like Sacramnto.  I also have to pay for internet, another first for the entire trip.

I have quit keeping mileage figures so studiously.  What does it matter how far I've traveled from point to point.  I know the total round trip will be in the neighborhood of 8000 miles when I've finished, and it doesn't matter what kind of fuel mileage I've gotten.  There was nothing to do but buy it when I needed to.  It hurt when I made the first fuel stop in CA though - $3.29/gal.  I think that is the first time the entire trip I've paid anything close to $3/gal, much less 3.29.

I have a lot more to write about, but it will be in another post.  Just wanted to say my attitude adjustment worked and I landed safely at my destination here.