This one was really grueling. 3175 miles in 8 days. Stops in Glendale AZ, Glendale CA, Anaheim, Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach, CA; and on the return trip in Quartzite, Glendale – and during our Big Detour through Sedona,  Flagstaff and Albuquerque. It was my privilege and responsibility to be traveling with Julie, Charley (the dog) Alley (cat) four lizards and a dozen snakes.

We rented a big passenger van this time, thinking we’d need the extra space and some room for one of us to sleep while the other drove. Bad idea. 14 mpg on the highway (ouch) and the seats weigh a good 200 pounds each. There’s hardware to remove if you want the floor space too. Worst of all, we were told it had rear climate control, when it in fact had only rear FAN control, and all of the airflow was concentrated on the driver side, so managing the resulting rear temperature zones was extremely problematic the entire trip.

Speaking of which, the departure from Dallas went normally (read late) enough, but a bit west of Weatherford the antenna began to ice up. Shortly thereafter we saw the first of a dozen 18-wheelers we would find lying on their sides as the stretch of I-20 before us was a solid sheet of ice all the way to Odessa.

Among these big rigs who seemed to have forgotten that the rubber side is supposed to stay on the bottom, the last was stretched all the way across both lanes ahead of us. I eased down the left lane past at least a dozen more trucks lined up down the right, and cautiously approached the front of the line. As the overturned rig finally came into view (hard to see with the rubber side pointing toward you in a heavy freezing rain at night) I carefully got out of the van to investigate. The ice under my feet was at least an inch thick. The driver was just climbing out and I was able to confirm that he was okay and 911 had been called.

I then checked to see if there might be a way I could sneak past his cab, going somewhat off the road, to escape. The other drivers said, “We would if we could!” and helped guide us around him. I’ll bet everyone else was trapped there for at least a couple more hours. As it turned out, we didn’t have the time to spare.

On top of having to maintain a top speed of 40 mph for all of those miles, the rain was freezing on the windshield faster than the defroster could keep up with. We had to stop about every 30 miles to let the melting catch up. The antenna just got thicker and thicker. At a few points we had to use a canned de-icer to free the wipers when they froze over too thickly. We only lost traction once, but that brief moment will sure put your heart in your throat. I was carrying very precious cargo.

We thought the extra space in the big van would facilitate a sleeping area for one of us in the back while the other drove, but this night would have none of that. The dog liked it though. More room to stretch out than he was used to.

Beyond the ice we took a short, fitful, shell-shocked nap together (which helped a little) and made our way through New Mexico and Arizona. An old friend of mine lives north of Phoenix in Glendale, so we stopped there for a brief break and headed off for the other Glendale – the one in California and the site of my first interview.

Ryan Ray still has the show up on http://ryanray.com. We were scheduled to be there at 5pm for a 6pm show. We arrived at that very spot at 4:55. It was entirely apropos to do a show under conditions of sleep deprivation in front of a logo that says, “Wake Up!” Check it out – it’s very California. The full name is “Wake Up! Explore Your Passion” and Ryan was interviewing me as an example of someone who gave up the normal career path to pursue a dream. Tell me about it.

Then followed the trip from Glendale to Anaheim. I’m not sure which was worse, the ice – or the 5. Californians are generally a very friendly bunch – until they get behind the wheel. More aggressive than Dallas, more even than Houston. Almost apocalyptic. After that of course, a hotel room about three hundred yards from the entrance to Disneyland is the perfect peaceful and serene environment for recovering from 30 hours of low-level ambient trauma.

Loading in is a pretty big deal for us. It takes four trips with the four wheel dolly at least. If someone raises an eyebrow I just offer, “What can I say? We pack heavy.” That always works.

That was Wednesday night, and fortunately all I had on the books for Thursday was a late morning meeting with Tania (she was awesome) to hammer out the last-minute details, and a quick late afternoon introduction to the meeting of the museum’s board of directors (including Anaheim’s Mayor Curt Pringle) featuring Aussie the Carpet Python, Capone the Tegu and yours truly. That left more time for recovery, including a great meal of sushi and miso to help reset our nerves.

Friday I did something I don’t normally agree to do. Three shows in three hours. I need time between to reset and regroup, but the logistics demanded the schedule we did, and I’m nothing if not a team player. But when the last kid left (I let them greet me and pet Neon on the way out) I had to admit that I was really wiped.

Soo, I loaded up the van again (they all needed a water dish rotation, and that’s easier to do in the hotel room) and got that and a few more details squared away. A quickie nap and we were off to Huntington Beach to do Real Orange for KOCE, followed by a fast trip to Laguna Beach to put those animals in Chris Trela’s office so we could see that marvelous production of “Around the World in 80 Days” at Laguna Playhouse. Great stuff.

Saturday was a bit less hectic, with shows at 11, 1 and 3 for the general public. Julie was there to help with video and after show interactions. Hope the annual show idea works out. We love Muzeo and would be thrilled to be involved in what is bound to be a great future for this innovative approach to the fostering a local interest in the arts.

Then it was Sunday. We got mostly packed up and Chris treated us to brunch at a bakery/café in Downtown Disney. Perfect weather, excellent meal. I’ve always understood why people live in California, I just remain somewhat confused as to how.

It was of course, the day of The Big Game (I understand you can’t use the S-Word without written permission from the NFL these days) but the ticket cues at The Resort were very full. By the time we were on the road again, it was almost game time. We averted a complete mess on the 19 (thanks to Chris again) and took the 57 to the 10 (that’s how they say it there) and we were off – headed East.

We found The Big Game on an AM radio station, but that began a big AM surfing series as we crossed Eastern California, otherwise known as the lunar surface. We got a leg up on that problem from a great guy named Ed that we found at the California Visitor Center in San Bernardino at the 10 and Route 66. He downloaded and printed a list of stations across the regions we were headed through while we browsed the excellent info exhibits. They’ve really put some effort and money into revamping their Info Centers. This one is first class.

We managed to hear most of The Big Game. We were rooting for the Arizona Cardinals, so the game itself was a little stressful, especially when a channel would fade out during an exciting drive. By nightfall we were thinking rest stop and the one we found had an RV parked there, watching the game. We parked next to him and caught Arizona’s last big touchdown play on his big screen through the window. Sweet.

Our next stop was in Quartzite AZ for a meal. Too bad the rock shops you’d expect to find in a town of that name were all closed, but we found a great little bar and grille called The Yacht Club, which made a mean fish ‘n chips. The crowd was understandably subdued, but they had a lot to be proud of in their Cards for making it as close as they did. They almost won The Big Game, and our Cowboys who were expected to do that didn’t even make the playoffs.

By the time we made Phoenix, it was 4 am. A bed and a shower gave us the resolve to take The Big Detour. Sedona, AZ. I’ve always wanted to see the area – felt it calling to me, you could say. Extra rental fees, fuel, mounting incidental expenses and all – we were going.

That’s a whole other story. It’ll be my next entry.  Lots of pics.