So. Cal. - "If you're going thru Hell, Keep on Moving . . . "

11 Mar, 2017;  Barstow, CA Peggy Sue's 50's Diner

"You may get through before the Devil even knows you're there"

Since this post will mostly be a rant, I'll include some photos from alongside the road - this area is near old Highway 66 and there are remnants of 50's style roadside attractions.

I couldn't help humming this CW song as I turned North towards home - I decided to go the direct route which takes me the length of California on either I5 or Hwy 99.  Now, I've done this before (once) and swore never, ever, ever to do it again.  But, apparently, after 4 years, memory had faded and I needed a reminder.

Dinosaurs outside; animated Dinos inside

First, there's the traffic - very heavy and quite intimidating after over 4 months of secondary roads, gravel roads and very few people.  Then, there's the speed limit - everyone else can go 70-75 mph (and drive much faster than that); but trailers of all kinds are limited to 55 mph.  Which means that I'm a slow-moving irritant amidst all this heavy traffic.

You can climb stairs up to a balcony on the other side of this guy.

Then there's the cat.  FW can tolerate about 2 hours of driving.  Then she starts to meow, first quietly, then loudly.  Even though I stop every 90 min to 2 hrs and give her a 30 minute break in the trailer, she doesn't reset.  Back in the car, she takes up complaining again.  Then comes the guttural "I'm getting ready to barf" meow, and then the barfing starts.

It would be great right about then to be able to pull off at a rest area and clean up the cat, her crate, and all the barf.  But, that brings me to the third really bad thing about So.Cal. - all the rest areas are closed!!!  I haven't seen a single one that's been open.

His expressions captures the day pretty well!

Finally, I get to my first travel stop - Peggy Sue's 1950's Diner

Peggy Sue's Diner is a Harvest Host partner.  Which means that I can stay in their large gravel parking lot overnight for free.  Apparently, this is not a big deal as I can see that long-haul truckers have been doing this for years. 

The diner is full of 1950's Hollywood memorabilia and signed photos from movie stars.  There is an attached gift shop with more Route 66, Hollywood stuff, and an old-fashioned ice cream, shake and soda bar.

Out back is a picnic area - that's where I had my ice cream and watched the sunning turtles.

See the pirate hovering over the dinosaur - strange combination!

back in civilization where people torture the cactus

These were the big guys; when I looked closely along the pond edges, I saw baby turtles about the size of a deck of cards.

Going to the bathroom at Peggy Sue's will give you a start!  I so wanted to grab a guy and have him tell me if there was something similar in the men's room!

I almost turned around and checked the sign on the door!

So, the day ends on a good note

Tummy full of very yummy home-made diner food and ice cream, I watch OTA TV for a couple of hours before going to bed.  FW has settled down and stopped glaring at me.

I may even spring for diner breakfast before heading back to the highway wars.