BY BOB MORGAN, JR.
Young Robert and I just completed a whirlwind Presidents’ Week trip through California and Nevada. I hope I can be indulged if this week’s column is a personal travelogue rather than the more usual political fare.
Unfortunately, I suspect the era of trips involving the lad and me is coming to an end. He will be 18 in a few weeks and will be off to college next fall and I’m sure that he will be more interested in seeing the world with his friends than with his aging father.
Nevertheless, we have given the trips a run over the years, from our first trip to London when he was eight in 2002, to many other foreign and domestic journeys. Perhaps the most memorable trip was to Morocco in 2007, when we took an expedition by van (4 hours each way over the Atlas mountains) and by camel (2 1/2 hours each way) into the Sahara, guided by Berber tribesmen. It was a fascinating look into another culture and world.
In any event, I had a professional conference in San Diego and the lad met me at the airport after it was finished. San Diego actually is a very pretty city, with a beautiful harbor area and some very good Mexican food and seafood. We then went to Mission Viejo, where one of my sisters and her family lives and we had a good visit.
Then it was on to Las Vegas for a little adult time for me and a few activities for the lad, about a 300 mile drive over the desert from southern California. Once we arrived in Vegas, we had good deal on a suite at the Encore (part of the Wynn hotels) which was one of the nicest hotel rooms in which I have ever stayed.
While Dad gambled a little (I’m a distinct low roller; I think I lost $100 total), there was plenty to do for Robert in Vegas. We went up to the Red Rock Canyon, about 20 miles from the Strip, but very much in the desert with beautiful rock formations. We went on a hiking trail advertised as moderate, but it was much, much more difficult than billed. I made an effort, but the lad got to the top of the summit and I just watched. We also went to the new Mob Museum in downtown Vegas (recommended) and saw two shows.
Our next destination was the San Jose/ Santa Cruz area, where one of my brothers and my late wife’s sister (Robert’s aunt) live with their families. Although the relatively easy way to go from Las Vegas was to circle back through California, the lad won his argument to go through Nevada instead. We drove through interesting, but very desolate country, for hundreds of mile on Route 95, which has one lane in each direction and plenty of oncoming trailers and trucks. Still it was a worthwhile excursion. We stayed overnight in Reno and then went over the Sierra Nevadas, which are spectacular, and then into much more lush country in California as we got closer to the Pacific coast. The visits with the relatives were fun and we had a great time going to the beach in Santa Cruz watching the surfers on a beautiful day and then sucking down some Mexican food.
Then it was home from the San Jose airport on the redeye to JFK. I thought it was a really nice trip, even while wondering how many more of these excursions are left.
2012-03-02 / View From Here
