Karen & Rome & the Rose Parade

[written by Rome & Karen]

Saturday, Dec. 29, 12:45pm
We decided Odaiko Sonora needs a blog.It's an idea we've had for awhile now, but the recent 13 gig months have rendered it impossible (it's eat sleep taiko, not eat blog taiko).

Fortunately, we have road trip. Even more conducive to blogging is the fact that we're now at a standstill on I-10, between Casa Grande and Phoenix. Two cars have just "busted a move" using the shoulder to drive past the thousands of cars waiting patiently (in most cases) for the accident to be cleared up ahead. If this weren't a semi-professional blogging situation, we'd have some choice words to add right here. AH, and there go about 6 more... it's not a LANE people....

Okay, so we'll stop watching because it's lowering our vibration.

We, Rome and Karen, are on our way to the Rose Parade. The rest of the group is back at the dojo, having Community Group practice. We dropped Bugsy the Dog off on our way out of town, so she can spend New Year's with Auntie Linda.

The first half hour of our highway time was spent discussing Richard Kurin's Talk Story essay on cultural diplomacy. Kurin is Director of the Smithsonian Institution.His ideas are quite evocative, and we feel the new attitude he suggests will shape discourse about arts and culture for years to come. [link to article] In short, he details how our country can begin to repair its rather sullied international reputation by learning more about the arts and cultures of other nations. This "mutuality" will engender greater respect by and for our citizens, and help everyone and their mothers appreciate how America has become a more nuanced and complex place than we ever imagined possible.

5:17pm
We a couple of hours behind schedule now, near Chiriaco, CA. Rome's sleepy, I'm sleepy, and the sun is nearing the horizon. We have listened to Ella Fitzgerald, and had several startling revelations about jazz and her voice, and rhythm... and stuff like that. We've reset the mpg monitor to compare gas mileage at 75mph vs 55mph, we've eaten homemade Mexican wedding cookies, a lavender truffle and turkey jerky. We had an actual lunch at the rest stop just north of the I-8 exit, waiting for the traffic to ease up. The vibration at the rest stop was very high, because it was entirely populated by people who were smart enough to get out of the stop and go traffic. Obviously, they were not in a hurry and were quite comfortable going around the problem, rather than butting their heads up against it repeatedly. Rome believes there must have been a high percentage of water signs.... Even the ladies in the long lines at the bathroom were cheerful. We took a picture of the "poisonous snakes and insect inhabit the area" sign.

The Mojave is much bleaker than the Sonoran Desert. Apart from some cool sand dunes at Wiley's Well and prison road, there's been nothing by scrub and rock for miles and miles. But I guess a lot of people would say that about the Sonoran Desert, too.

9:42pm
Entering the Los Angeles area is one of the longest landings known to man: small burg after small burg, engulfed like stones in the mudslide. It took us 9 hours to get here--2 longer than Google had predicted--because of the accident (that caused the slow down between Tucson and Phoenix). We had been swapping drivers every few hours and I (Karen) ended up doing the last leg. We decided to pull off to get water, and found ourselves in this huge complex of restaurants and cinemas and big box stores. It went on and on for blocks and blocks, but not a single grocery; not a Target, Wal-Mart either, surprisingly. It felt like pretty much any other city in America of that size and cost of living.

We found the Sheraton Fairplex and checked in. The room is a fabulous king suite, with a separate living room, two TVs, a full sized desk, couch and wet bar. Sweet. We moved in for real, taking all of our stuff out of our bags and putting it neatly into the closet and dressers. Four days is worth moving in properly for.