The day began as they often do -- with the scream of an alarm clock. Good. We managed to get out of the driveway close to the 4am target, getting out of the driveway at 4:06am. And then stopped to retrieve the map. Then began driving. And returned to pick up a few other things. Long story short, we were still doing well when we were under way at 4:12am.

After a stop in a neighboring city to complete the travel party (myself, Tubby, Cassie and Rachel), we were on our way. And as you'd expect, at this hour and with sunrise two hours away, no pictures. You'll live.

Our first stop was Tehachapi, California, a quaint little town of 11,000 or so folks, and hosts a California state prison by the same name. (I wonder if the 5,200 guys in prison there count as part of the population?) After giggling at the church in the mini-mall and the decimal place issue on the sign, we were off again.

The introduction of a DVD player to the travel vessel pretty much means I'm driving more, and the rest of the crowd is in back watching movies. Well yippee skip for them. Although we found Rachel and Cassie crocheting after the visit to the Tehachapi K-Mart for supplies. But in the end it worked out well enough for me -- Cassie made me an adorable navy blue beanie cap.

At 11:56am, it became 12:56pm as we crossed from Pacific Time to Mountain Time. Around 1:25pm, since I'm driving, I elected to make the detour to Lake Havasu City, Arizona and see about the alleged London Bridge... in the middle of the Arizona desert.

There was more movie watching as we drove along, and around 5:30pm, I stopped in Winslow, Arizona for gas, food, and an added bonus of a place referenced in that Route 66 song.

After babbling about wearing tin foil as a hat to prevent the theft of my thoughts, I was banished from the drivers seat and sent to the back seat as we crossed into New Mexico, but I got to watch a film, so it wasn't horrible; I chose BASEketball.

Continue on to Day 2