It was 22 degrees this morning in Santa Fe, a good excuse not to rush out on the highway on a motorcycle. The El Rey gives a voucher for a discount breakfast and that is how I came to find the Pantry. It is a diner two doors down Cerrillos Rd from the motel. It harkens back to the 1950's, it is small, maybe 12 or 15 tables and a long counter with stools. There where people lined up for tables so I opted for a stool. The staff is a mix of hispanic and anglos with the patronage being 50/50 also. Sitting at the counter I got to watch the kitchen and waiters interact. The dishwasher came out with clean coffee cups with his fingers through the handles so it looked like a bouquet of pottery on each hand. All the staff was racing around trying to get ahead of the breakfast rush, with lots of kidding each other. It was way fun to sit there and take it all in. The guy on the next stool had oatmeal, it looked good but. you know, when in Rome, so I went for the Durango Omelet which came with a version of hash brown potatoes I hand't seen before. The sauce was a nice hot, just one of the best omelets I have had in a while. The patrons all seemed local with many greeting each other. It was a great find and when I was back at the motel checking out, if I mentioned I had breakfasted there, whomever was standing there would start raving about how great it was. So a great start to to my second day on the road.
The run today was to get a big chunk of the distance to Los Angelos covered and it went well today, as I write this I am in a Route 66 themed Ramada Inn in kingman Az. The weather was mostly clear except around Flagstaff. At the Arizona Border there is a lovely rest stop that has a sandstone ridge to the north of it. Sitting at a picnic table ,with a Raven above me in the tree grumbling that I wasn't sharing my snack, it was a balmy 60 degrees. But when I started the climb back up to Flagstaff's 7000 ft elevation the temperature dropped down into the mid forties. The afternoon build ups had a line of clouds with virga but I avoided rain. But once past those mountains and the decent of the ridges the temperature got warmer again and by the time I got to Kingman it was in the mid sixties.
So it looks as if I have the cold behind me for a few weeks as I make the final run into LA tomorrow to spend some time with my daughter and her family.
In my original post about this trip I spoke of my optimism of the people I might meet on this trip. And today was a wonderful example of that coming true. From the crowd and staff at The Pantry to the people who greeted me and talked to me at the Rest stop, it was always friendly and positive. I danced with Semi trucks and other traffic all day and even out there on the interstate everyone always making room, I was not cut off once all day! That seemed amazing to me. The Mothership was a flawless partner in the dance.
So as I said yesterday evening, I will continue tomorrow with optimism undiminished but this time much warmer. Pacific Ocean, here I come.
Will by the River
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