Day 59, Wednesday, November 11, 2009 – 78 miles

The San Diego Zoo is better than I remember. We spent about 6 hours there and were pretty well worn out with all the walking.

After the zoo, it became interesting. We decided to go to a grocery store since we were out of milk and fruit. While driving into the parking lot, I could hear a clicking sound coming from the driver side rear tire. I hoped it was just a stone, but it wasn't. A large screw was stuck in the middle of the tread. I located a tire store called Express Tires about 3 miles south and drove there. I decided to have the tires rotated while getting the tire fixed. It was going to take a couple hours since there were other customers ahead of me, so we decided to eat. The tire shop manager suggested Brigantine, a seafood restaurant, across the street. It turned out to be one of the best meals we have had all trip. One of our favorite grocery stores is Trader Joe's, and it turns out there was one just down the block from the tire shop. We walked there and picked up some wine and other things. Bonus number two for the evening. The tire shop did not get finished until almost 8, and hour after closing. They did not charge us for the work of repairing the tire and rotating. Bonus number three.

Getting back to the fruit, after leaving Tucson, we remembered California does not allow fresh produce to be brought into the state. After we ate what we could for lunch, we tossed the rest. When we went through the inspection station, they didn't even ask, so we did not need to toss the food. We won't be so pessimistic next time.

Tomorrow we start the northward and final leg of our trip. To be truthful, we are looking forward to getting home. We expect to be in northern California on Friday, Oregon on Saturday, and Western Washington on Monday. We possibly will be home by the 18th.