drivetofive

Odometer: 488,417

Inevitably at some point during each work week I’ll get the question from coworkers:  “So, where’s this weekend’s trip?”  Maybe it’s because I have a giant US map pinned in my cubicle which serves no purpose other than to daydream daily about road trip destinations.  I got some odd looks from people when I told them I was planning on going to a place which has the lowest, driest, and hottest locations in North America — in August, too.

I set out yesterday to join a friend of mine, Brenda, for a visit to Death Valley.  We descended from about 3,500 feet in elevation to sea level – and below – within about 15 miles.  The landscape is a vast wasteland once you get into the valley.  No place to seek shade!  We packed in some water bottles to stay hydrated for good measure.

The following picture was taken just east of Stovepipe Wells Village in the park.  There are some sand dunes in the area.  Death Valley is known for its temperatures – the highest on record being recorded at Furnace Creek, at 134 degrees Fahrenheit in 1913.  Yesterday it was “only” around 113.

Check out the fuel prices in Furnace Creek.  I’m glad I filled up elsewhere.

This is a side-road off the main highway near Furnace Creek called “20 Mule Team” road.  It feels like another planet.  Desert Mist paint color sure does blend in with the desert.

Thanks Brenda for a fun afternoon!

You can’t pass by the World’s Largest “anything” without pulling over for a picture, so I did that here off Hwy 95 while en route to Vegas.

I stayed with a friend in Las Vegas last night and rolled back to the Phoenix area bright and early.  Shortly into the drive, I passed by Hoover Dam.  Until just recently, the highway went OVER the dam and it was notorious for being a traffic bottleneck.  A bypass bridge has since been completed that slices out the delay considerably.  This bridge is an impressive feat of engineering.  The road level stands 880 feet above the Colorado River, making this the second highest bridge in the United States.  I took a short detour to snag a picture over the edge of the bridge on the Nevada side (the river serves as the NV/AZ state line).  Hoover Dam is in the distance.

The Legend passed this week’s extreme heat durability test with flying colors.  Looking forward to the next adventure.

Odometer:  479,118

Twelve hours in the car for an hour long visit with friends and then a brief visit to the beach?  Yes, please.  Most rational people wouldn’t dream of driving all the way from Phoenix to Los Angeles and back in a day, but then again, perhaps I’m a little crazy anyway.  Yesterday’s day trip was one of the most easiest routes I’ve had to navigate.  I can hop on I-10 just a few miles from my home and stay on the same interstate all the way until the 4th Street exit in Santa Monica which is within walking distance of the beach & the pier.  Who needs air travel!

My A/C blower motor is officially toast, so this was a windows & moonroof-down trip for me.  Aside from a headache caused by the wind buffeting and some warm temps on the way home tonight, it wasn’t all that uncomfortable.  At least the weather in southern California was 70’s and perfect as usual.

I’ve done the trip to LA so many times that I have my “standard” stops along the way.  I’ll usually fuel up at 339th Avenue which is just west of the PHX metro area near Tonopah, then again at the Washington Street exit in Indio.  Easy on, easy off.  I should also mention that there are two things I pick up at the convenience store during each and every road trip:  A vanilla flavored Starbucks bottled drink, and a blue packaged Rice Krispy Treat.  Gotta have ’em.

First stop in Santa Monica was a Legend meet where I rendezvoused with some good friends for car talk.

After lunch and a visit to the beach, I headed eastbound.  This leg took longer because of typical southern California traffic.  Here’s a shot of the gridlock on I-10 just prior to the 405 junction.  Messy!  I ended up taking the 10 to the 5 north to the 143 to the 210 to the 57 and down to the 10 again.  In the end, my return trip still only took me a little over 6 hours even after the delays.

Two more pictures from the drive home.  The first captures one of my favorite features on the 91-95 Acura Legend coupe:  operational rear windows.  Backseat riders always get a kick out of the fact that the little windows go down.  Handy for air circulation!  This picture was also taken during my absolute favorite time of the day to drive, just before dark.  Dusk in the desert is one of the most serene, beautiful settings.

And a shot at the rest area about 60 miles east of Quartzsite.  I was the only person there.  Great sunset.

Odometer:  477,043

Looks like it’s already been about 10,000 miles since I started the blog and I’m creeping ever closer to the half million mark.

Life is a highway!  And I spent this weekend riding that highway.  Specifically, Interstate 8 which parallels the Mexican border all the way from Phoenix to southern California.  I trekked to San Diego for the Rock & Roll Half Marathon.  The trust old Legend made the trip without a hiccup, including a steep grade on the westbound leg that rises from sea level to about 4,100 feet within a matter of 15 miles or so.  There are places alongside that stretch of interstate with signs marked “Radiator Water” for any unfortunate automobilers who might need it.

I took the chance while in the area to zip up the I-5 and say hello to my friend Tom and his mom who are visiting that area from Connecticut for a week-long vacation.  Tom is a long-time friend and fellow Acura fanatic, so we snagged an obligatory driveway photoshoot at the beautiful home in Lake Forest (Orange County) that his family is renting during their stay.

Aside from some expected traffic delays dealing (and parking headache!) with the marathon event and its 20,000+ participants in downtown San Diego, travel throughout the weekend was painless.  It did hurt a little to pay $4.49/gallon for premium fuel at Shell in Jacumba, CA on the return leg.  Just for kicks, I checked my fuel mileage and had only been getting 25 mpg or so, but this was with windy conditions, 80 mph on the cruise control, and A/C full blast.  Maintenance wise – nothing noted since the last oil change.  For convenience’s sake, I had the last one performed at Acura North Scottsdale which is right near my office.  “My” service advisor there, Summer, always incorporates a coupon into my total bill even though I’ve never had to print one off the website.  $36.35 including tax and I was out the door and on the road.

Here’s a shot from Fountain Hills after work today on the way home.  Buggy front end but she still looks decent from a distance.

Odometer:  469,133

Weekend roadtrip to the beach!  The old Legend made a voyage to southern California and back to Phoenix this weekend.  A friend and I went to the San Diego Crew Classic rowing regatta, held at Mission Bay.  Aside from some spendy gas prices (paid $4.13 for 91 octane this morning at Chevron in Point Loma), it was a pleasant adventure and it’s always one of my favorite drives.  Interstate 8 is (in my experience anyway) one of the least traveled interstates and thus it’s an easy drive to set the cruise control and forget it.  The highway parallels the Mexican border and offers pretty nice scenery if you’re into desert and sand dune landscape.  We did make a pit stop at the “Center of the World” monument in Felicity, California – just west of the AZ/CA border.  There’s a monument/pyramid and a sign denoting the location’s significance.

• http://www.felicity.us/home.html

On the subject of mileage, I did make an effort to check mileage (I can’t remember the last time I’ve reset the trip odometer – I always just let it roll around and reset itself every 1,000 miles).  The coupe pulled a modest 370 miles out of 13.22 gallons today, so right around 28 mpg.  Not the best I’ve achieved, but we did have quite a bit of wind and it’s still better than the 26 mpg highway rating from the car’s original window sticker:

I never did see that pesky check engine light at all this trip.  The A/C got a good workout – we’ve already crept into the 90’s for temperatures.  So much for springtime – bring on the triple digits.  During the return trip, we raced a freight train that paralleled the two-lane Hwy 238 approaching Maricopa, Arizona and were able to pull off the side of the road and await its arrival.