Landlubbers again.
The cruise ended on Saturday but the adventure continues. We planned to leave Los Angeles and fly to Las Vegas. Thence to drive to the Hoover Dam and on to Kingman, Az. Plans, like all things, need revision when put into action.
I spoke of the flight delay in the previous post. Well, that necessitated driving straight through to Kingman. I wanted to stop at Hoover Dam then to Kingman but what i want doesn't matter. The trip to Kingman and our room did not bring additional problems.When we awoke on Sunday morning, we looked forward to a really good day. Of course any day you wake up, we call a good day.
We had the free breakfast provided by the hotel. We noticed some of our breakfast mates drove big Harley motorbikes. They must have come from Germany for a "man's holiday" since the bikes all looked identical, the riders spoke German and the bikes had German national flags flying like ensigns on their bikes. I know this steel trap of a mind  i have doesn't miss a trick.
Off to see the town of Kingman, Arizona. To hear them tell it, Kingman made the West all that you see. One note of fame for Kingman concerns it's main highway, Route 66. This "Mother of Roads" began in Chicago and traveled through 7 states before ending in San Bernadino, California. The same route today uses four lane highways and much higher speeds. Remnants of the original route 66 run alongside some of these highways and some of route 66 runs on the highway though not marked as such. In Kingman, Route 66 carries a celebrity status. Many restaurants and hotels with Route 66 somewhere in their name. We remembered we traveled on route 66 when we visited Albuquerque, New Mexico. Of course, i come from Chicago and have traveled on Route 66 many times.
Other than Route 66, Kingman has little to offer. Even though we drove through on Sunday the "main" street, Main street, had few shops and no activity. I did see and photograph a nice 4-8-4 locomotive. Since we expected to stay longer in Kingman, our plans changed when we drove the street and completed our tour of it. So off to sunny, Lake Havasu and The London Bridge.
But before we go... we did visit the local information station where i bought a most beautiful shirt of yellow and orange adorned with route 66 signs and such. But more to the point, we spoke with the sales lady about the heat and sun and Kingman and that we came from Traverse City. She knew Traverse City! She has people in Manistee! Small world! She told us that the heat in the west had little moisture, 10-15% so with proper clothing the heat didn't get to you as with the heat and 80% Michigan air. She even went so far as to say after 25 years in Kingman she can't return to Michigan in July, August or September because the air feels too thick to breath. I needed some Michigan air about that time, regardless. One may get used to hot dry air but it takes longer than the time Deb and i would spend.
We started our drive to Lake Havasu and the London bridge with a outside temperature of 85f at 9:30am. Hot! We ended our trip at London Bridge with a temperature at 110f and the sun brighter than i have ever seen. Now dry or not, this heat caused my knees to buckle upon alighting from the air-conditioned car.
We managed to walk about an area designed for tourists. This led to the waterway under London Bridge and millions if not tens of millions of boats and sea gnats and people. They all have acclimated to the heat. Perhaps i exaggerate a bit on the number but the vision remains that busy.
London Bridge, for those who don't know, originated in London, England. When it become to old to support modern traffic the City of London sold it. Long story short, An American ex-CEO paid $2.8 million for it and another $10 million to take it apart, mark each piece, ship it to Lake Havasu and put it back together. Actually, the bridge we see has the skin of London Bridge and the under structure of a brand new bridge. If it wouldn't work in London it wouldn't work here.  The bridge construction took place on and over dry land. Then after the construction completed, they cut a channel from one part of Lake Havasu to another, kind of a short cut, and the bridge began doing it's job and the once peninsula became an island. The bridge generated interest in this otherwise blank landscape and Lake Havasu, the city, began developing, paying the ex-CEO all his money back and more. Thus sayeth the informational brochure.
 Next we drive to Laughlin, Nevada.