Los Angeles – Phoenix

Who would have believed it: after two weeks of cold, snow and rain, the first sunshine. The journey from the west coast over the Rockies towards Phoenix is hard going despite the good weather. Through the valleys the wind lashes the RV, with its rigid axle, so violently that it bounces up and down like a football, and rocks uncontrollably from side to side. So it’s time to step off the gas again and proceed at walking pace over the mountains. These are the desert regions of California. I have indulged myself in a tourist stop at “Pioneer Town” an old cowboy movie set, where there are screenings of some of the old westerns, and it also boasts an excellent restaurant. Highly recommended.

Oh yes, appointments, appointments, I had them too …

We approached Western Container, THE appointment, the big one, on this section of the tour. How often do I feel as though I’m trying to get blood from a stone during appointments? How often do I get marketing blurb rather than solid facts? Not this time. My interlocutor had already prepared a sheet containing bullet points of all the important details. I could have written the whole story with just this. We went through the points for half an hour, then a factory tour, and finally there was a great story that I would not have expected from the otherwise restrained Coca Cola company. Two smaller appointments and now here I am at the airport in Phoenix; I’ve handed over the RV, with a short list of damage sustained and a fully-stocked fridge, to the next team.