One Week Later...

Taylor and I left around 7:15 CST last Sunday morning, and approximately 900 miles later stopped for the night about 8:30 PST in Tucson. We hit some pretty heavy rain about 50 miles this side of El Paso, and saw some pretty amazing lightning in Arizona. Also one of the more magnificent sunsets I have ever seen.

I had made this trip once before with Lauren, and everything was brown and dry then. I was amazed at how green everything was in west Texas and all the way across southern New Mexico. Arizona was pretty rugged, but we didn't truly hit desert until mid-Monday morning as we crossed into California. From the state line to well past Palm Springs, it was hot, dry, and desolate. The temperature ranged from 108-111. There was one gas station about halfway between Blythe and Palm Springs, and regular undleaded cost $3.99 per gallon. Fortunately, we didn't need gas at that point. Prices that we saw in the Los Angeles area ranged from $3.07 - $3.39.

After crossing the desert, we initiated Royce II and Royce III to the delights of the In and Out Burger in Loma Linda. We reached the end of the interstate at Santa Monica, took a right, and rolled into Malibu around 4:30 Monday afternoon. Barbara had flown in earlier that afternoon and was already checked in to our hotel. After dinner we discovered, to her dismay, that there is no longer a Ben and Jerry's in Malibu.

The next morning Taylor and Royce got checked in for New Student Orientation, got their student IDs, and checked into their dorm. The rest of the day was spent moving their stuff and setting up their room. Although there are a couple of palm trees impeding their view slightly, you can see the Pacific from their window. Promises to be a tough semester...After a trip to Target, Orientation officially began that evening...