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2023 02 03 Van to Mesa.movVancouver to Mesa
Vancouver to Mesa
Feb 3, 2023
Lisa's cousin, Linda, and husban Gord invited us to come visit them at their home near Messa, Arizona. Instead of flying down we thought why not drive our electric car. We would save money and get to tour Washington, Oregon, California on the way. One thing that we did not count on was that charging in the US and particularily California is much more expensive then Canada. That combined with the fact that gas is cheaper in the US made the savings much smaller. In rough numbers driving an electric car in Canada costs about 60-75% less then gas but in California it was only about a 30-40% cheaper and we had to stop every 1.5-2.5 hours to charge.
San Tan Flats, Arizona
San Tan Flats, Arizona
Feb 7, 2023
After four days on the road it was great to spend some time with cousin Linda and Gord at their beautiful home in Mesa, Arizona. They were fabulous hosts and introduced us to some of their talented neighbors. Cindy took us out to legion to try our hand at line dancing and Mike invited us to the Johnson Ranch where he and his band were playing all our favourite dancing tunes. Thanks Linda & Gord - hope we didn’t burnout the motor in the margarita machine.
2023 02 07 Mesa, AZ.mov2023 02 14 Seguaro.mp4Saguaro National Park, Tuson
Saguaro National Park, Tuson
Feb 14, 2023
From our base in Tuscon we toured Saguaro National Park which is about 80 miles North of the Mexican boarder. We hiked Picacho Peak, froze our toes at Gates Pass, spend many hours taking in the animals and plants at the Sonora Desert Museum and then sat in awe as the sun set over the desert at Javelina Rocks. We even woke up to snow one morning. Everywhere we looked there were photos wanting to be taken. But even when the photos came out great they could not compare to the surprising beauty of the desert.
Tuscon - sites
Tuscon - sites
Feb 16, 2023
While in Tuscon Lisa and I spent the day at the Pima Air & Space Museum. The acres of planes were impressive enough but the volunteer airmen sharing stories was the highlight. One airman sharing his stories was one of only 3 remaining members of the 390th Airborn. He had stories ranging from the horrors of war to the weekends meeting girls in London. He joked how the men selling papers called out PAPERS! PAPERS!..and then under their breath condoms.
The next day we went to the San Xavier del Bac Mission before heading back to see Linda & Gord in Mesa, AZ. We tried our hand learning to Line Dance and danced the night away at a couple of the outdoor Briquet / BBQ and beer venues.
2023 02 16 Pima.mp4For our last adventure in AZ we wanted to go see the cave dwellings at the Tonto National Monument but there were no Super Chargers on route and we were not sure we would have enough charge to make it back. So kindly Gord & Lind took us in their car. The cave dwellings were interesting but the drive up through the mountains was even better. Still in awe at how beautiful and varied a desert can be.
2023 02 21 California.movCalifornia
California
Feb 21, 2023
After a great time hanging out in Arizona with cousin Linda and Gord it was time to start heading home. On route to our first stop, Los Angeles, we had planned to stop at the Joshua Tree National park but sadly car battery limitations didn’t allow us enough time. So we carried on and met up with one of our former home stay students, Ruoxing, who is now studying at the U of SoCal.
While in LA we stayed with cousin Tatiana Krokar who is a production manager & writer known for My Best Selfie (2019), Believe It (2009) and November (2004). Despite Tatiana’s home being in the midst of a major renovation with tarps and scaffolding everywhere she made us very welcome.
We toured the Peterson Automotive Museum which was hosting a fabulous exhibit showing the history of Tesla. Next stop was Universal Studios. The Harry Potter and Mario World were my highlights. I was in awe of the attention to detail. Everywhere we looked there were fun references to the film and cool special effects activated by magic wands. Then the weather started getting rough so we ran from the wind, rain and hail and headed up the coast. We finally found the sun on the beautiful Monterey coast.
Next stop heading home to snow!
California to Home
California to Home
Feb 23, 2023
After leaving Monterey the weather was threatening to get worse so we made a run back to Canada with only a few stops along the way. We had timed it so we could stop for dinner in San Francisco as one of my favorite restaurants, House of Prime Rib, but sadly they were booked solid. When we travel we try not to make plans too far ahead so we can be flexible to experience things we didn’t plan on or even know about. Generally this has served us well. Like the time we were in Italy and our friends Peter & Irene were in Egypt and we despised to meet up in Croatia on a boat / bike tour. But in this case we should have planned for that delicious diner.
2023 02 23 Cali home.movPage updated
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