April 14, 1996
Lake Skinner, California

COMING YOUR WAY WITH ROADTRIP AMERICA!

The sound of hundreds of bike-riding kids enjoying a week away from school makes this retreat south of Hemet a particularly jolly place. Add in a few dozen dogs, some good trails through the rushes, and Marvin's ready to stay forever. Our big news is that RoadTrip America went live online last week on the World Wide Web.

Needless to say, the project kept the Phoenix One at a temporary standstill. Even though we weren't as mobile as usual, we still had the pleasure of spending time with friends new and old. Greetings to Beverly & Shannon Pluim, Brian Egan, Tom Emge, Dale Enochs, John Geraghty, Nathan Crawford, Roger Mutsch, Manny Mendoza, Ray Kettle, Jim Upton, Richard Wylie, Rashantha da Silva, Karen & David Stockman, Nancy Stone, Jennifer Enderlin and Peter Ackerman. We crossed paths with Stan & Lisa Fink and Ed & Dot Kahn by fortunate accident on the beach at Morro Bay!

With all of our attention on RoadTrip America, March turned into April before we realized it, and we hadn't written a Phoenix One Journal. We're calling this one a March/April issue, and now we're back on track. Guess that's what a good project does to a schedule!

Your generous support of the Phoenix One Journal over the last twenty-five months has been wonderful. Your gifts of postage and the kind notes have kept us going. With the increased Journal circulation and the daily production requirements of RoadTrip America, we've decided to make a change in the way the Phoenix One Journal is published. Starting with the May issue, our friends and former neighbors Frank and Marlene Griffith will take on the task of printing, folding and mailing (third class) the Journal from Denram Publishing in Monrovia, California. We'll continue to write and edit the Journal on the road.

In the meantime, we hope that you have the opportunity to look at RoadTrip America. New features appear every day, so you really can "ride along with us". Of course, to view it, you need access to the Internet's World Wide Web. Fortunately, more and more public libraries have Web browsers. Our Internet address is: http://www.RoadTripAmerica.com.

There's lots to see in RoadTrip America. We report on favorite eateries, interesting places and unusual events. You can take a tour of the Phoenix One. "Gizmos" lets you guess the identity of unusual objects. The Phoenix One Journals are in their own department, complete with color photographs.

And the best part? The RoadTrip America People, of course! If your smiling face isn't already out there for the world to see, it will be after the next time we see you! With our trusty Kodak digital camera, we can put you on the Web almost instantaneously!

We appreciate your telling your friends and colleagues about RoadTrip America. Its financial success will allow us to continue the publication of the Phoenix One Journal and to keep all of us on the road. If you know of anyone whose business would benefit from advertising on RoadTrip America, we'd appreciate your passing the word along.

In the past week, we've enjoyed the ambience of one of our favorite places, Sam's Family Spa in Desert Hot Springs. Sam Weinberg, Mary Strange, and Debbie Matas gave us a behind-the scenes tour of this remarkable oasis, including a personal introduction to the two new black swan chicks.

Next, we spent the night at one of the best-kept secrets in the Los Angeles area, the Yucaipa Regional Park. Even though we arrived after the park had officially closed for the day, a friendly staff member escorted us to a beautiful site overlooking three small lakes. In the morning, we drove on up the road to Oak Glen and sampled some of the delicious apple pies that have made the Los Rios Rancho famous for nearly a century. It's apple blossom time, and the views were eclipsed only by the aroma.

We stopped next in Rancho Cucamonga at the Route 66 Museum and Visitor Center. We were greeted by "Dr. Route 66," also known as Robert Lundy, Ph.D. The Executive Director of the center, Dr. Route 66 knows everything there is to know about "The Mother Road." He was happy to see that our mailing address is on Route 66 in Pasadena.

Just prior to coming here to Lake Skinner, we made our annual pilgrimage to the Temecula Pizza Company where we were welcomed by Felix R. Lopez and Sara Pence. As always, the stromboli was sinfully delicious and Marvin was treated like the star he thinks he is. If you are ever near Interstate 15 at the Route 79-South exit, you simply must stop and munch.

Publishing features daily on RoadTrip America presents us with new challenges at every turn. We have new equipment to understand, new deadlines to meet, new stories to tell. It's great to know you're with us as we head on around the next bend.

Mark & Megan