Tallahassee or Bust! Day 1: The Road Dog, Hits the Road!

OK... first things first... had a horrible nights sleep.  I got to the hotel that shall be nameless, tired and sweaty and there is someone "Blazing Up" in the parking lot in his car. Not even really trying to hide it, you could smell it and hear him coughing... all I wanted to do is get to the room, change, head to the gym and then grab a little something something to eat for dinner... The choice for "Day - 0"... Taco Bell. Normally not too bad, its food I get it, but what a mistake based on tonight! (That's what they call foreshadowing)

I rolled around and tried to sleep but kept thinking about the "Crypt Keeper" Keith Morrison's report many years ago about what's actually on your sheets... something I KNOW I have to get over. After waking up at 2:30am I finally got back to some sleep.

Day 1, started out a little late... but that's a "Teenager-Thang" according to my lovely daughter Sage. I had so many high hopes that on our drive down to LAX for her trip, Daddy and daughter would bond! We'd talk and have a grand old time, but another "Teenager-Thang" is the need to sleep pretty much ALL of the time. Which she did...

I'm not allowed to show pictures of her sleeping any more, although I think it's really cute, so I'm only able to show her hands, but trust me... she was out like a light!  From Santa Maria to LAX... Nada, Nothing, Hello!!!

The drive to LAX was spectacular near Santa Barbara as usual and THAT I will miss about California.

Once we arrived at the airport and I was able to wake her up, m-daughter did allow one last pic before she headed off for her Christmas vacation.

Back on the road, you have plenty of time to yourself and it's OK. I have books on CD, Podcasts from NPR, including "Pop Culture Happy Hour" one of my favorites! Pandora streaming from the speakers and occasional calls to and from friends and family along the way.  But just outside of Palm Springs as I started to head for the Arizona border, I realized that turning everything off and having just the wind blowing is special.

That time alone in the car, with your thoughts, can't be duplicated. Call it "Wander Lust" or whatever, but there is something in me that has that sense of adventure. Tallahassee and the new job will challenge me like no other adventure before and I'm looking forward to that... even doing it all alone.

Once I got off the road and rolled into Phoenix for my stop for the night, I was a little nervous at first rolling up to, "The Clarendon Hotel."

I used KAYAK to book it and it's not in the hippest part of town, but it is an old school hip  
hotel that I WOULD recommend to anyone coming through town. I has kind of a hip, retro, Rat-Pack kind of a feel to it. 

After I checked in, hit the gym, showered, I went to the hotel restaurant, "Gallo Blanco Café." Now remember that foreshadowing earlier???


Well I had a slow roasted, locally sourced pork taco and a Carne Asada Burrito with "real" beans and rice... not a bean like "Aco Ell" filling from the night before. The food was spot on and delicious.

So all in all, "Day - 1" turned out to be pretty good... Let's see if we can make it two for two!










Coda: Don't ask me why, but I decided I would take a picture of the soap/lotion layout in each hotel I stay in on the way.  Trying to see if it says anything about the place, the comfort, the hospitality if you will. This could be crazy, but if you've got a take on the pictures... post a comment!

Day - 0... Casa Grande Inn














Day - 1... The Clarendon Hotel