Long Beach, Phoenix, LA

Z and I headed south for one more road trip. We visited Long Beach, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. The purpose of this trip was to visit a couple colleges and see some friends and relatives. It was hot, hot, and hotter, but that didn't stop us from having fun and seeing interesting places along the way...

Our sunny hotel in Long Beach awaited us

with a swimming pool to cool off in...

Once we had cooled down, we headed over to Long Beach State University...

Then we hit up Seal Beach to watch the setting sun...

The next morning before heading east on I-10,

we went to Long Beach Harbor...

The drive along I-10 from LA to Phoenix took about six hours...

We passed lots of windmill farms near Palm Springs...

And arrived just in time to take a dip in my cousin's pool

in Chandler, near Phoenix...

Lots of interesting cacti around the area...

...as well as palm trees of various shapes and sizes...

Here's the view from my aunt's house - no pool, just a lagoon...

Next on our agenda was a tour of the lovely campus

of Arizona State University in Tempe...

Then we headed to downtown Scottsdale in 117 degree weather...

Before we headed back to LA, we walked around downtown Phoenix

near the Capitol Building - again, in very extreme temps...

The next day we drove back to LA to visit my cousin's daughter in Claremont...

here's the house she lives next door to...

Working our way across the LA freeways...

Next stop: the University of Southern California...

And finally, the long drive back to the San Francisco Bay Area -

of course, with Z driving, it doesn't take too long...

Interstate 5...

Even during the hot summer months, southern California and Arizona are fun places to visit - as long as you can tolerate lots of sunshine and high temperatures, that is. Thanks to all of you who shared your homes with us on this mini trip!