Sat, Dec 27 - LA to Arizona

11.19am - oatmeal w/ walnuts, and the pretty card made by Isabella, Cecy's daughter - thanks, Izzy!11.40am - emptying out the fridge: mushroom-prosciutto omelette, buttered naan bread, chutney, and the last of the Moroccan orange-date-mint salad, at home, with Ritesh

12.54pm - and here we are, finally on the road heading east out of Los Angeles! We had reserved a rental car for a week, but when we went to pick it up, they were all out of economy models, so they had to give us what they had, which was a lovely brand new Mercedes (with GPS, which came in very handy). We got this upgrade for the weekly rate we had reserved, which was below the daily rate that this car normally goes for - so needless to say, we were chuffed. Note the snow-covered San Bernardino mountains in the distance...

2.30pm - some potato chips, one some parallel road to the I-15, with Ritesh

2.42pm - we'd hit a lot of traffic going north on the I-15, so left the freeway and took the roads, aided by the GPS. The below is just something we stumbled on when we stopped for a potty break.

3.32pm - more leftovers from home: naan bread w/ chutney and some grilled eggplant, not pretty, but very tasty - and way better than any roadside junk food. Not that there was any - this is a pretty sparsely populated part of eastern California.

3.47pm - a fuji, still in California

3.56pm - and the last almond-rose cookie, shared w/ Ritesh

7.30pm - another potty break, this time in Arizona. We're gaining in altitude, so it's getting significantly chillier. And no, we're not actually driving on the Mother Road, just parallel to it on the I-40.

9.30pm - a mixed salad and some herbal tea, at the Denny's in Flagstaff, Arizona, where we decided to call it a day after logging some 450 plus miles. Flagstaff is at about 7000ft, and it had snowed heavily, so we were a little concerned about heading further north in the dark (well, I was), and the option of a warm dinner sounded very appealing. Had I known what I know now, that Flagstaff closes down at 9pm even on a Saturday night, that the only place open for dinner would be a Denny's, and a particularly nasty one at that, and that there was a lovely Hopi Trading Post about an hour ahead, I might certainly have reconsidered. Ah well.

9.42pm - pan-fried trout w/ some pitifully bland and overcooked veggies and some oily pilaf, with some garlic bread, at Denny's, with Ritesh. I think he had the BLT but can no longer say for sure...