This was the plan yesterday… a plan that was in the hands of others mostly, a path that I will never take again, as, I am not alone in this Journey, but with Spirit… and sitting in a truck all day for him is not a very sane option!

We left Joshua Tree fairly early toward Indio, do I know that area well by now! I feel like we have been going around in a circle lately, by tonight we have, at least it was only one.

Back on Highway 10, exit road 111… or avenue or something close to it, to Walmart, having a prescription refilled, my Dr from Georgia was suppose to call it in. No biggie, easy to find, but no Rx waiting for me. Another phone call to my old stomping grounds… please… please… do not give me a recorder again. Thumbs up, the fault was mine, on my last check up, right before I left, I was suppose to have stopped that medication… the nurse, concerned that I have been taking it now for 3 months and more, being a duplicate of another one that replaced it, went through a whole drill of symptoms… all is well, glad to have given up one Rx at least…

Jay is a nephew of a friend of mine, actually another Jay who was the owner of the Bronco before me! He owns this great Restaurant in Palm Desert called Jillian’s, right at the eastern end of El Paseo Drive… I was suppose to meet him past 2pm, with the idea to camp on his home property and check out the kitchen… something I would never pass up.

Having time to kill, and having experienced the handling and rattling of the Bronco in its worse scenario possible, I decided that maybe it is time for some new shocks… there was time… and… hesitating on the choice, I stopped at a Pep Boys that also had a few service bays. What do I know about shocks for a Bronco?… I figured as they guided me into some Rancho’s RS5000, which of course I had never heard of, but, they were heavy duty which it needed, I went for it. Not four… but six, as it takes 2 in the front… my luck!… and if that was not enough, they also recommended an alignment. It made sense… 2 hours of wait, not bad, enough time to chat with the local customers also waiting, and close to $500 later… remember 6… and alignment… and heavy duty… I am trying to feel like I did not get ripped off… and on the road we are again.

I have to say… they have made a world of difference, air bags… new shocks… I should be all set for a while…

It is time then to go to Jillian’s… Ah! Palm Desert… and I thought the wealth in Naples, FL. was something… Naples looks trashy compared… but, big disappointment… no where to park… the city is not geared for my 37ft caravan… I find room in front of the restaurant, for a few minutes, have to move to the street and barely squeeze it all again for just a few more minutes, with the hope that no one will hit the trailer on the narrow 4 lane two way street. Not much time to talk… Jay gives me directions to his house and I am relieved to leave, planning to come back for a great dinner with the bike…

We are going uphill… and more uphill… and what I see… I do not like!

Steep is not the word, I don’t know what the word is… I know that I will burn a clutch, that is even if the Bronco makes it up pulling close to 3000lbs of trailer… there is no way I am even going to attempt… I stop dead in my tracks, there is a driveway on my right, long gate is closed but, at least I am off the road… luckily a kind young lady, who happens to live there and now is behind me, opens the gate and lets me make my U Turn on her property… Back to the restaurant… it is getting late now, an hour before dark… Jay makes a few phone calls, he did not realize, even thought he did see the caravan… that I would not make it up their road… I figured he must have bought the mountain and had 5 acres blasted off!!!

Last resort, try to find an RV Park… get settled in, unload the bike and get on with that dinner which by now after the smells I more than ready… had no food all day… was a water day!!!

It is late, no one is answering the phones, I take a chance and leave for my search… passing the Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley and Roll Royce dealers, The Hermes and Gauthier stores… The Gucci Mucci is all here, trust me… Bob Hope ave, Frank Sinatra ave, Gerald Ford, Dinah Shore… I forget some, Oh! Sonny Bono… they are all here… I fit… don’t you think?

They are full… they are full with rates of $50 to $60… per night… imagine that! Maybe the space for that price comes with a personal Butler or Assistant of some kind.

So now what?… The only place I can stop and take a breather will be a Gas Station… and I was truly looking forward, well, not only the dinner… but walking with Spirit the next day, up and down El Paseo Drive… the equivalent if not better of Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles… I have watched the other side of the world live for so many years as I catered to them as a Personal Chef, giving I must say as much abuse as I could… and I am never amazed at the novelties the wealthy can find to spend their money on. And here it was, for me to photograph… look… maybe even touch?…

Retreat is my only thought!… Mojave Desert… lets get out of this mess… enough… I would like to go back sometime… and walk that Drive! I know the interest is there from many… and myself… curiosity you know…

It is dark by now… we are both tired, starving… a starving Chef visiting another Chef in his Restaurant… What happened?… What is wrong with this picture?

The Freeway is jam packed from the commuters driving to and from the 11 desert cities that surround the area… a couple exits down I see a sign that says… “Motel 6″… and why not!

Sometimes one has to do what is right for the moment… $48 with my senior discount (hey… yes!), what a bargain that was… long, long shower… the bed was not as comfortable as mine, I even… watched a bit of TV… well, surfed the channels as they say!…

That was our day… a great day!… Got off one medication, got new shocks and starved all day which means I might have lost a pound or two… got cleaned up… with even a new look… the look I had when I left… this is almost like restarting the Journey all over!…

We are now in Mojave Desert… at the Hole in the Wall campground… tomorrow I will start planning the next stops, the BLM lands… and now… will always have Plan B!

You be well….

Ara & Spirit

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 13th, 2007 at 7:37 pm and is filed under travel, spirituality, pit bull, sidecar, motorcycle, cooking, photography, riding, homeless. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.