As you can see by the palm trees, I am now in loverly Cal If Forn I Ay. And, as I am gonna be here for awhile longer, I am sending out an appeal for info to all the Californians out there...



I am in Riverside at the moment. Does anybody know of any good places for me to explore while I am in the vicinity (anything strange, scary, odd, abandoned, weird, unusual, odd, 'haunted', intriguing, or just plain odd...?) I would like to get out there and get some stuff for my site, but haven't had time (or chance) to do any CA research (been working on the book material) I would verily appreciate any tips/suggestions evah-so-muchly!

Also, you Arizona folks- send me some suggestions, too! On the way back to Texas (whenever I do head home) we will be passing through AZ once again... maybe stopping over in Phoenix/Tempe...

I did get to check out some great AZ places on the way here, but they are all for the upcoming book. I'd really love to get some new stuff for Lost Destinations, so any suggestions would be great!

Thanks in advance, guys... *smile*

So, a guy walks into the psychiatrist wearing only shorts made from Gladwrap. The psychiatrist says, 'Well, I can clearly see you're nuts'......

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This is my new pal. I call him Mr. Bitey. He enjoys ravaging lesser dinosaurs, sunsets, long walks in the sand, and Big Macs. Or so I assume, since I found him hanging out right outside a Mickey D's just offa the AZ highway...



Sorry that I have not posted in awhile- ack! I meant to. I really, really did. But, once we hit the odd little desert hotels in Phoenix, we lost our lovely WiFi connection. Dang! *shakes fist at sky*

But now we are in California. Yep, we made it. So, I am now back in Internet-Access-Land, and thus, can post again. We are currently crashing at Lobo's house in Riverside (*thanks, Lobo's Mom*!!!) while I rest, reset my brain, and work on the AZ book stuff and the pictures I took. All I can say is- Arizona is one weeeeird place. Much weirder than I had ever experienced on my previous jaunts through the 'Grand Canyon State' (and no- I have still never seen the Grand Canyon, dammit)

So... who wants to see PICTURES???

Ok- I just added a page of pics and tales of adventure(?) to LostDestinations.com, and you can see that right here.

I could take up a whole bunch of space here describing this stuff to you guys. Or, you could just click the link and see/read for yourself. Click the link, click the link!!! And then let me know what you think, ok, friends...? *wink*

(Sooooo... who has missed me??? Heh)

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So.... we are still in Arizona. And it's been RAINING. And we have had motel issues (they overbooked, we had to change rooms)



Since we have not been out exploring yet (stupid rain and motel issues!), I will describe our fabulous hotel room to you guys. Since that is all we have really seen so far, dammit.

It's tiny. The tv reception sucks ass. And the only cable we have is HBO. So we actually watched an episode of BONANZA this morning. See what I mean?? We did crack up though, at this sign they had on the show... little wooden stick on a dirt road with a plank nailed to it that said 'San Francisco' (handwritten!) with an arrow. We were half expecting it to read 'San FranCiscky', gosh dangit...heh. And Hoss with his ridiculous hat is always amusing. I guess.

And a tv side note- WHYYY do they always set up hotel rooms so that the wall lamps reflect perfectly onto the tv screen, no matter what angle you try to see it from?? It's absolutely annoying. It almost seems they do it on purpose, the poopyheads!

Oh, Mothman is sharing the room with us. Or maybe one of his cousins. He's just been hanging out here & there on the ceiling ever since we got to this new room. Maybe he's just trying to escape the rain? It's all good. I happen to like moths, actually.

Lobo has been on a quest for a decent burrito since we left Texas. It is not going well. I think he's about to give up on the burrito-makers of AZ. Maybe he'll have better burrito-luck when we get to CA?

Also, I've been smoking cigarettes... yes, CIGARETTES!... since we've been here. Most of you guys know I don't smoke (cigarettes, heh) But there's just something about being on the road and hanging out listening to rain in a crazy little desert motel room in Tucson (with Mothman ) It brings out my inner smoker, or something, weirdly.

Since we have moved to the 2nd floor, we seem to be able to connect to the WiFi even easier (and with a better signal!) This wireless shit is just amazing to me. It's like Harry-Potter-level magic or something. Astounding.

It's after 9 am here now and it seems the rain has stopped for the time being. I hear birds singing outside! So I think we're gonna be able to actually get out there and get into some trouble today... *wink*

So I am off, time to take a shower (oh man let's hope the shower works better here than the one in the last room- ack) And as an added bonus- the bathroom door doesn't even fit in the frame, so it doesn't close! Oh, joy.

I will continue to keep you guys posted... (errr about the trip, not the shower ok perverts??? Ha ha)

(oh PS- we are going to attempt to go to the Lost Diner chat tonight- IF we can get online... so, hopefully we'll see some of you there... and you guys feel free to hang out and chat there tonight anyway, even if we can't get in for some reason ok?)

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Goooood Morrrning ArizoooooNA!



Yep. We are in AZ... in fact I am posting this from a hotel room in Tucson. A'yup.

This is the first time I've been online since we hit the road... we seem to be able to connect to the hotel's network via WiFi... mwa ha. But the connection is spotty, so my posting might be spotty as well (OUT, damned spot!! Heh)

Anyway... here is what's happenin' so far....

Sunday: We were supposed to leave early-morning-ish. But, I was all messed-up and nervous and crap the night before (like the kid in that Disneyland commercial- I'm tooooo excited tuh sleep!!')... and so I didn't fall asleep until far into the AM (like, 4!) So obviously, I wasn't awake 'early'for a morning departure. Oi. We didn't end up leaving til evening, so I drove through the dark (DARK!!!) night to Tucson. Lobo fell asleep and I listened to old classic country tunes and Beatles CD's as I boogeyed on down the highway. It was too dark to see the sexually-suggestive cacti along the road (you know, the ones that send me into giggle-fits!!!! Tee hee.) But mostly the drive was mellow and uneventful. Too bad. I could have used a little excitement. Heh.

Monday: Ok, so we finally arrive at the hotel at about midnight (after a few rounds of driving in circles, trying to find our hotel... THANKS Yahoo Maps, oi (of course their directions were wrong, wrong, wrong... *sigh*) So we finally found the hotel on our own, and I pulled up to the front of the lobby while Lobo went inside to check us in. Here's where it gets STOOPID. I had to show the guy my ID. I was exhausted, groggy, road-weary, and very out-of-it. So what do I do? I hop out of the Jimmy, grab my bag, and lurch zombie-like into the hotel lobby. It was only after we came back outside that I realized.... Oh. CRAP. I had...ummmm... left the keys in the ignition of the truck. The very-tightly-locked-up truck. It was at that moment I thought, 'OMG, Lobo is gonna MURDER me"... *tremble* LOL! But of course not- he's a good guy and promised not to treat me to a slow, torturous death. So... we didn't know what to do. Locksmiths wanted $200+ to come out and unlock it. And, if you have ever stayed in a hotel, you know about the useless (for car-breaking-into purposes) wooden hangers that do NOT come off of the rack. So... no help there...

*screams suddenly- III-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!* (ack I just bashed my funny bone on this hardass wooden chair-arm, owwwwwwie!)

Sorry. Ouch. Ok... back to the story. It eventually turned into a 6+ hour odyssey, trying to break into my truck. Oh man, it was awful! ALL our stuff was inside there, and we could not break in. Lobo walked all over half of Tucson looking for something wire-hanger-like. I will skip ahead and leave out the illegal activities having to do with the insanely difficult and dangerous act of removing a strand of wire from the top of a chain-link fence. But, yes we finally got in (yay, Lobo= my hero!).... at about 6-7 am. Oi. After carrying in all of our crap, it was well after 8 am... we collapsed into coma-like sleeping and didn't wake up until after 6 that evening. Oooops!

Tuesday: Obviously, today. We had intended to start explorations today... but, after all the craziness and stress of the trip thus far, we woke late again today and have just been bumming around our hotel room, resting/recovering. Bad Scoobies!! Good thing is, we don't have a tight time schedule on this one so we can get started tomorrow. I can't wait! My exploration-nerve is tingling (Shady-spidey-sense on overload!!)

Anyway, that's the trip thus far. The really really fun stuff starts tomorrow... *woot*! Exploration tiiiime, bitches!!!!! Heh. I will try to post again so as to keep you all informed about out (mis?)adventures...I miss
you ALL but will be 'seeing' you all soon with new pics and tales of wild weird adventure. So stay tuned!!

Oh and an extra-special thanks to Raysie and Markus (*super-duper-huggles*), who have been minding and moderating the Lost Diner while we are away- THANKS you guys!! *mega-hugs* And don't forget- we are gonna TRY to do a live Diner chat this Thursday (technology-willing), from here in AZ! So, check it out (Hell check out the Diner anyway- it's already getting filled up with awesome, intriguing posts and lots of great members- friends old and new. It's really becoming a fun hangout- woo AND hoo!)

And that's my report from the road... 10-4. Over and out!

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Well, today we hit the road to begin our Arizona odyssey. I will try to post from the road so keep an eye out! In the meantime, enjoy this past-road-trip retrospective photo medley:

San Antonio, TX: drunken-Shady-bartop-dancing... roadtrippin' kitties... cemetery strangeness... road shots... oddities... and of course, the Alamo and such. Click here and here for those.

Huoston: more roadtrippin' kitties & kitty mayhem in hotel rooms... weird cemetery stuff... historic architecture... crazy automoblies... Galveston beach and ferry... World's Biggest Fire Hydrant... and more. Check those out here

Take care, everyone! *hug* me if ya miss me... *smile*

*grabs backpack, waves bye-bye*

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Yes, the rumors are true (thanks, Bruce). It is time for another roadtrip.

ROOO-AAADTRIP!!! *yells it*

I have been asked to do some exploring/photographing/contributing for/to the upcoming Weird Arizona book...! Produced by the same masterminds (aka the Marks of Weird US) behind the other Weird books (Weird Texas... *ahem*)... this time Lobo and I will be blazing a trail across the weird wilds of the Grand Canyon State (poor Misery has to work and cannot go, alas) I can't tell much in the way of details, because that's how these things go. Heh.

But I can tell you that we will be hitting the road for AZ this weekend, and exploring for about 7-8 days. After that we may be taking a personal detour to California... and I'm not sure how long we'll be there...

But rest assured we will be seeking out whatever weird we can find while we are out there. Of course I will share the tales and pics when I get 'home' (and what IS home, anyway.... but that's a whooole other philosophical rant for another time...)...

Thanks to the modern breakthroughs in technology like rentable laptops at Rent Something, Incorporated we will have a mobile computer with us while we are out traipsing the badlands. We are hoping (...fools.... FOOLS...) to be able to get online while out on the road and maybe even- gasp!- post updates!

We'll see how that goes.

If all goes well... mebbe we'll get to do a Thursday night chat from the road, garsh darn. Well, stay tuned here (or on LD, or in the Diner, or on my 360 page... gah!) for updates on our cross-country adventures (I think we're leaving this Saturday)

(oh and don't forget our 'Virtual Bon Voyage Partay' in the Diner chatroom, tonight 8:00 pm CST, see prev post for details)

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