We only had 260 miles or so to drive today, so I didn’t think we’d need to wake up particularly early. And we didn’t. But I had forgotten that Arizona was on Mountain Time, so that meant we were an hour behind schedule even before we left the hotel.

The first part of the trip went very smoothly — the speed limit was 75mph, and traffic generally hovered around that figure. So when I saw the sign offering a bypass of Phoenix, I didn’t even consider it. I should have; soon after passing the sign, we were in bumper-to-bumper traffic going about 15 mph, with another 40 miles of Phoenix to go.

So we did the intelligent thing: we got off the road and had lunch at the Bamboo Inn in Goodyear. I wouldn’t make a special trip to Goodyear to eat there, but it was better than our original plan: Arby’s. And by the time we finished and were back on the road, the traffic was moving again, and we got to the hotel about 4.

Diane’s family was in the lobby, so we started catching up immediately; then we went to our room. Suite, actually, with lots of living space and a teeny-tiny bathroom. It could use a bit more sound insulation from the street, but it’s otherwise quite nice — nice enough that I decided to see whether the hotel would be more reasonable in extending our stay than the reservations agent had been. They were willing to give us two more nights at the same $79 rate, so, barring surprises, we’ll be here till we leave town.

I was wrong, though; the party wasn’t here. It was where Diane’s aunt lives, in the multipurpose room of B’nai B’rith Covenant House, a five-minute drive away. About fifty of her friends and family gathered and celebrated — and there’ll be more tomorrow.

We had wanted to bring a ninetieth birthday card, but we didn’t find any we liked. They all talked about “as you look back”, and Diane’s aunt is not ready to stop and look back! So we got her a 40th and a 50th instead. And, as it turns out, we were not alone — her son bought her three 30th cards for the same reason. I think Hallmark is missing a bet here.

As planned, we’re spending tonight at the Hampton Inn in Blythe, California. The drive from Harris Ranch was uneventful; Diane took the morning shift, driving through a fog-shrouded (but not fog-obscured) valley, until the sun broke through just as we got near the top of the Grapevine. From there on, it was a much brighter trip; we decided to ignore the directions from our car’s GPS and from AAA and got off I-5 at 210, rather than continuing to I-10 (the car) or CA 134 (AAA). The road was lightly travelled, so I think we made a good decision.

We took a break right at noon and had lunch at Dominick’s in La Crescenta, chosen rather randomly. It was a good choice — Diane and I split a pizza, and Jeff had spaghetti. We all cleaned our plates, too! The ice tea could have been better (it was Lipton from a dispenser), but that’s my only complaint.

After that, it was my turn to drive; we went back to letting the car tell us where to go, so it was 210 to 57 to 10 to Blythe, almost non-stop. I turned on the radio soon after taking the wheel, and we listened to the 60’s on 6 tribute to WLCY until we neared Palm Springs. Then I thought it would be appropriate to switch to Frank’s Place, and we stayed with that for about an hour; it was more enjoyable than I’d expected. We finished the trip to Blythe listening to the Beethoven’s Birthday Special on XM Classics, arriving a little before 5pm.

We asked the desk clerk where to eat, and the best bet seemed to be the Townes Square Cafe, a five-minute walk from the hotel. The food was OK, and the waitress was very friendly and efficient; I’d go back.

This hotel has one advantage over our house — a wide variety of TV channels. The friends who are staying at our house e-mailed us and said that the TiVos are complaining that they can’t get a satellite signal, so I guess I’ll have to call DirecTV and find out what can be done about it (preferably before we get home!). I suspect the dish or the multiswitch is acting up. *sigh*

Shabbat Shalom