Monday, October 23, 2000. Another long driving day. Woke up to blue skies and was able to pack my car without getting everything soaked. Fabulous clouds as I headed out of Arizona and interesting mountains as I crossed the southern-most strip of California on Interstate 8. The mountains looked more like stacks of boulders. 

Spending the night in El Cajon just outside San Diego. Will go to the zoo in the morning and then on to my brother's house in Orange County to spend a few days relaxing -- I hope.

Tuesday, October 24, 2000.  Spent a not-very-relaxing day at the San Diego Zoo. October is "Kids Get in Free" month, so the place was overflowing with school groups. On top of that the pandas (including the baby) were off exhibit and some portions of the zoo were closed. So, did they reduce the high admission price? No. At $18 it was higher than the price listed in AAA.

So was it worth it? I suppose it was just so I could see the bonobos (also called pygmy chimps). I spent much of my time with the bonobos, who have a large, complex exhibit that provides lots of places for them to move around ... and to come right up to the viewing windows, if they want to. I didn't "do" the whole zoo, but among the other critters I saw, the hippos had a really neat exhibit that gives visitors an underwater view.

Friday, October 27, 2000.  Another opportunity to improvise. Said goodbye to everyone and set out in the dark and rain to drive around Los Angeles to the zoo. My ChimpanZoo friend gave me and another chimp fanatic a personal tour of the zoo. My goal was to spend half a day observing the large troop in their attractive exhibit. But they never came out. Workers were in the chimp area and the chimps were spending the day in a caged area known as the Penthouse. Sigh.

Saturday, October 28, 2000.  Back through LA and to the zoo. Watched the keepers set out Halloween goodies that included decorated pumpkins, spaghetti in tomato sauce and boiled egg "eyeballs." Then we watched the chimpanzees come out and discover the feast. Stayed and gabbed with ChimpanZoo friends until 2PM.

Didn't know where I was going to spend the night. I was supposed to have gotten as far as Santa Barbara yesterday, so I hoped to get further than that today. I was well beyond LA when I decided to detour to Lompoc. I'd like to spend much of the day tomorrow enjoying the Big Sur scenery, but the weather may not cooperate. I'll be making this part of the trip up as I go along. 

Sunday, October 29, 2000.  Woke up to rain, so I started out the morning by driving to Solvang -- a little bit of Scandinavia in California -- for a leisurely breakfast. By the time I'd polished off my Danish pancakes, the sun was breaking through. Strolled around the village. It was about 11:30 before I continued the trip north.