I was up at 0300 and departed Santa Clarita in ‘Sheila’ as the clock struck 0400 on Thursday morning. My thought was to beat all the peak hour traffic as I manoeuvred my way south on the massive Interstate 405 towards San Diego.
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| LA's 6-lane wide freeways can be congested at any time of the day This is the 405 Freeway just south of the 10 Freeway clover leaf intersection - just north of LAX Airport |
Peak hour on the outskirts of LA begins well before 0500, if you do not hit the road early you could be caught up for hours bumper to bumper on their 6-lane Freeways (each way) & let me tell you that is no fun.
Things ran according to my well-hatched plans to avoid the early morning commuter traffic snarls, as I made it through to the South side of LA heading towards San Diego without a hitch.
From where I was staying in Santa Clarita it is 60-miles north of LA on the big Interstate 5 Freeway. The journey south to San Diego was a 3-hour drive, one of my goals was to revisit the famous Hotel del Coronado once again & enjoy my morning tea there, which I did.
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| 'Shelia' parked outside the Hotel del Coronado both elements were created long ago in times faraway |
For 130-years, the Hotel Del Coronado has served generations as an iconic hotel in an unrivaled setting, with old world charm by the seaside.
I would have spent probably an hour or so looking around this magnificent Victorian wooden Seaside Resort Hotel built in 1887, it is an ageless landmark with historic architecture, in a remarkable Southern Californian beach setting. As you can see by the photographs.
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| Hotel del Coronado - San Diego Now a Hilton property - standard rooms go for about $600 AUDs per night. |
As you all know I am a great believer in that you must have control of your countries Borders, needless to say with what has been happening over here in the USA since my man the Donald become the President, I could not help myself to check out the situation on the US/Mexico Border.
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| Warning signs approaching the US/Mexico border |
The US/Mexican border at Tijuana is just 14-miles [22Ks] from the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. I wanted to see with my very own eyes the prototypes of the new wall (fence) that has grabbed everyone's attention in the world wide press for the past 18-months or so. I had absolutely no idea of what I had ahead of myself, nothing ventured nothing gained I thought, & as sure as night follows day “I will not die wondering”.
I decided to pay a visit to a tourist bureau and ask them how I would go about it. They very kindly gave me a detailed map so that ‘Sheila’ and I could drive on out to the Border. We arrived at the most Southwestern section of the Border Fence and we were greeted by a Border Patrol officer with a HUGE weapon hanging from his belt. (you can not see his weapon in the photo [below] because it is hanging from his right side hip).
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| I got to see the US/Mexico border close-up and the well-armed officers of the US Border patrol |
As you can see in the photographs, Tijuana Mexico is on one side & the US on the other side of the fence. As you do, I approached this Border Patrol officer because I wanted to know right from the horses mouth what was happening. The “lCE” melted (excuse the pun) when I explained to him that I was an Australian.
I wanted to know if there was a display area where I could see the new prototype fences as we have all seen on the T.V. He told me that was not possible as they were in a restricted area & I was not allowed there.
I then asked him in what time frame will you guys start erecting the “wall”. His answer to my question was : We have already started to build the “wall”.
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| 'Shelia' - parked alongside the US/Mexico border fence line. as close to Mexico as she may ever get |
This Border Patrol officer was very personable towards me, you can not see it in the photos, because I had to park ‘Sheila’ some 400 metres from where I met this chap & he could not see where I parked ‘Sheila’. He asked me if I had walked to the fence & offered me some water to quench my thirst because it must have been 115ºF/43ºc in the sun.
Anyway this is the story from me reporting live from the Tijuana/Mexican Border. I certainly hope that you enjoyed my “No fake news” reporting.
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| US Border Patrol conducts security on the US/Mexico fence line right down to the waves of the Pacific Ocean [background]. |
Later in the afternoon I decided to drive east towards Arizona along the Mexican border. I stayed briefly at a small town in Southern California right on the border called El Centro, because I needed to be fed & watered, I also wanted to check the World Cup results between Brazil Vs Belgium (big upset there). It was so stifling hot on the journey, I also needed to know what the temperature was once I stopped.
I do not have Air-Con in my Model A Ford, the perspiration was just pouring out of me hour after hour during the 3-hours that it took me to drive from San Diego to El Centro, I must have drank a gallon of water in that time.
Any wonder, when I Googled the temperature at the restaurant it said 115ºF/43ºC & I am sure that driving through the desert the temperature would have been slightly hotter. My guess it was in excess of 120ºF/49ºC. This is not “fake news” every word is the gospel truth.
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| Yuma, Arizona My last overnight stop before making it back to Phoenix, AZ |
Later on in the evening when I eventually arrived at the Motel in Yuma, Arizona I had a cold shower & collapsed in a screaming heap, very exhausting for a middle-aged man like myself.
Tomorrow is another day, I should arrive back into Chandler, Phoenix in the morning, and once again become Trailer Trash in my 'over 55-year-olds' Trailer Park.
I have another week here in the States before it is time to fly back to LA to catch the HUGE Qantas freedom machine back to home soil.
Cheers
Warbo
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