Day Four (08.26.09) Energized by our arrival and a morning where we weren't rushing to make good time, Dave and I had made plans to drive from Indio to Newport Beach that day. This was to be our glimpse of greater Los Angeles and the traffic that comes with it, but more importantly, this was a chance to add an ocean and an afternoon of relaxation to our eclectic and rapidly growing list of destinations.
The drive from Indio isn't that bad at around 2/2.5 hours to Newport Beach, but in that time you notice significant changes. The interstate gains several lanes, the commuter traffic snowballs, and concentrations of overpasses start to resemble bowls of spaghetti. The arid desert also transitions into the humid coastal climate, which in turn affects the types, colors, and amounts of vegetation you see everywhere. Not to mention that when you reach Newport Beach, everything is relatively on the up and up and designed to appeal to a more selective income bracket - although to be fair, the beach itself is a mish-mash of everyone and everything in between.
The first thing Dave and I did upon arrival is make our way through the narrow streets between the miniature (but clearly expensive) beach front homes to get to the Newport Pier. My motivation for making the drive out to the beach after all was to grab a bite to eat in the restaurant at the end of the pier. In 2004 I had previously come to Newport Beach on vacation and regretted not getting the chance to do this.
Sitting upstairs in a cubby with the stairs behind us and a huge bank of windows stretching out in front of us, we marked the occasion with a couple of beers and wings (Dave got something else but I can't remember what). It was nothing fancy, but with a view like that it didn't need to be. From our perch on the pier we could see all the way down the beach, straight down the pier, out into the open ocean, and could even see Santa Catalina Island on the horizon.
Like I mentioned in the Indio Outio: Introduction, this was a moment of awe and euphoria - not simply because of the scale and ambiance that the ocean was providing, but because it had only been 4 days and we'd already seen so much. It also had a lot to do with recognizing the difference between just flying somewhere and experiencing the distance by driving. It was tough not to appreciate just what it took to get here. Memories of being in this same spot 5 years prior only emphasized the novelty of the entire road trip.
We spent the afternoon sitting around the beach, getting our feet wet in the ocean, checking out the surf shops (picking up some new sunglasses), and generally just filled the time as casually as we could.
It was around 4pm by the time we decided to head out to Palm Springs for the evening, which for the record is the perfect time (almost anywhere really) to experience the local rush hour traffic. L.A. certainly puts the competition to shame. Thank goodness for carpool lanes.
Day Three (08.25.09) As the sun started to set, bright oranges and yellows stretched across the Coachella valley. The strong shadows created depth and empahsized the sea of windmills that began to surround us in all directions.
Dave and I were cautiously scanning the road ahead to spot the giant dinosaurs, not quite sure where along the interstate they were exactly. I think we listened to the campy single 'Send Me An Angel' about 10 times in a row just so that it would be playing when we finally did spot them on the horizon.
Made popular by The Wizard and Pee Wee's Big Adventure, you get the feeling from those movies that the Cabazon dinosaurs are a roadside tourist trap standing in the middle of a blank desert. This isn't the case anymore. Cabazon has expanded around them, and not only is the area landscaped now, but there's a Burger King right out front.
When we finally did spot the dinos we didn't have an exit to take so we had to to make our way back again. It actually created a great reveal because of how the sun silhoutted the T-Rex. Call it childish, but I was pretty excited to see those giant tourist traps.
Our stop at the dinosaurs was brief, but somewhat surreal. This had been an image that I'd had in my head for quite a while leading up to the trip, so to finally see the landmarks in person I was able fill in the blanks left by my imagination. We took pictures, some of the best from the trip of ourselves, and generally just wandered around to let the moment sink in.
Since the gift shop inside the Apatosaurus was closed, we made plans to return the next morning on our way to Newport Beach, which would also give us a view of the dinosaurs in a new light. The revisit also lead to Dave buying a rubber T-Rex head puppet. It came in handy, allowing me to make more of a scene when I wanted to poke fun at Dave for hitting the rumble strips on the edge of the highway.
Regardless of how much time had been spent in the car, there were a lot of reasons to celebrate at this point. Indio was just around the corner. We'd made it.
Day Three (08.25.09) Blazing sun and miles of interstate in front of us, we left the neon of Vegas behind for the scorching heat and stark beauty of the Mojave desert. It was blistering in the middle of the afternoon, but in my mind this is exactly how I had pictured the road to Indio.
We played Send Me An Angel by Real Life and You Don't Get Much by BoDeans, both songs becoming the undisputed theme songs for the trip thanks to a not-so-classic-movie called The Wizard. You may remember it starred Fred Savage, a Nintendo Power Glove, and featured a scene with the infamous Cabazon Dinosaurs (coming up next).
Dave and I couldn't help but use The Wizard, a piece of childhood nostalgia for each of us, as inspiration during our own trip. This often lead to us quipping about Jimmy running off or one of us slowly pronouncing every syllable of California like he did in the movie. As Joshua trees started to appear we also had to play, no surprises here, U2's Joshua Tree album to further remind ourselves of our location.
Of all the road time we had, this was probably the most defining. We knew we'd be in Indio by the end of the day to relax, drink, swim, and shoot the breeze. At the same time we had already seen some pretty memorable things in both Salt Lake and Vegas, which only helped to fuel our conversations and keep us guessing about the remaining days ahead. The foreign landscape around us created a rare ambience, and with good (or campy eighties) music playing and a willingness to explore, there didn't seem to be anything to distract us from being in the moment.
I had made it clear early on that I was interested in picking up some kind of Route 66 souvenir, so as we reached Barstow we stopped at a roadside convenience store and I picked up a shirt. Not quite satisfied, I actually found a large wooden Route 66 sign the next day in Newport Beach that was more in tune with what I had in mind. There's nothing quite like a stereotypcial memento to mark the occassion.
As we headed further west it wasn't long before the terrain started to change. We hit the Cajon Pass and the expansive desert was replaced with richer hues of lush vegetation and a steady increase in traffic; the pass itself acting as a funnel between the populous of southern California and the desert to the north. We were just barely skirting the greater Los Angeles area, but as tall palms, overpasses, and billboards appeared, the interstate became expectantly urban.
Through the pass and San Bernadino, the traffic cooled somewhat as we changed direction, heading southeast towards the entrance of the Coachella valley. It was all happening pretty fast. The signs and sprawling urban landscape became a quick reminder that over the last couple days we had traveled across the USA, north to south, roughly 1500 miles (2400km) and 22 driving hours. And then there it was, the first hint of our destination clearly marked - Indio 64 miles.
