Chino, CA to Tuscon, AZ

Before leaving California, we spent the night with Adrienne’s parents in Chino.  She drove me around so I could see a few of the remaining dairy farms in the area they live.

We also came across these llamas during our drive.

Her parents  have horses and here’s Harriet, her mom, feeding Axel.

Her dad, Mark wanted to be sure Adrienne had a special Florida gift to take with her.

Her mom also rescues cats and right now she has 20+ kittens.  I don’t think she will miss the black & white one I put in my backpack – just kidding.

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We’re meeting her sister in Indio at Shields Cafe for Brunch since it’s close to Coachella where she’s working for her newspaper.

This place grows and features dates and they are incorporated in a variety of ways. One option was stuffed dates (cream cheese & jalapeños) wrapped in bacon.

I opted for breakfast and had the date pancakes. They were delicious!~  The dates were so sweet, I hardly needed any syrup.

We we sat outside and enjoyed their live music.

It was quite ‘toasty’ outside, but worth the trickle of sweat that went down my back.

All too soon it was time to say goodbye and start the 2500+mile journey.  We are pretty much on I-10, ninety percent of the time.

Naturally I had to share some of my desert photos.  These are from the California desert.  Yes, I have found that in each state the desert looks different.

Our goal this day was to reach Tucson, AZ.  Adrienne wanted to be the one that drove us out of California……and she did.

We stayed at an interesting hotel in Tucson – Lodge of the Desert.

The room was great and had that ‘southwestern’ theme going, go figure.  🙂

We found a really cool brewery downtown Tucson in their entertainment district called The Hub, Restaurant & Ice Creamery.

Beer started the evening…….and I’m discovering a taste for amber beer.

I had the best burger in a long time and they came with tator tots- very tasty.  Adrienne still had room for ice cream after her meal, which they make inhouse,  but I had no room left, I was stuffed.

Breakfast was included with our room and was a nice way to end our stay in Tucson.

And then we have the Arizona desert:

The next travel goal is to reach San Antonio, TX – its going to be a long, long drive in a days time.