London Bridge

To start this blog I will mention Valentine's Day without a camera! We forgot! The four of us headed over to Wellton where Reg and Kathryn are staying for a happy hour drink and then over to Tacna to the Basque Etchea Restaurant for dinner. Well was it packed with people! But well worth waiting for. Rick's catching a cold by now, I think because of all the wind, and not feeling the greatest. It's Saturday and the weather looks calm and sunny so Rick and I decide to go on a ride to Lake Havasu City and visit the London Bridge. Well what a great day!
For lunch we stopped at the Crossroads Cafe at Parker and even though it was busy, busy we really enjoyed the ambiance and the meal. The scenery around Parker is spectacular with lots of greenery because it is along the Colorado River. An area we feel would be great to explore for possible future vacations! Then on to Lake Havasu City and the London Bridge.

In 1962, London Bridge was falling down. Built in 1831, the bridge couldn't handle the ever-increasing flow of traffic across the Thames River. The British government decided to put the bridge up for sale, and Robert McCulloch, Founder of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and Chairman of McCulloch Oil Corporation, submitted the winning bid of $2,460,000.
The bridge was dismantled, and each stone was numbered. Everything was shipped10,000 miles to Long Beach, California, and then trucked to Lake Havasu City. Reconstruction began on September 23, 1968, with a ceremony including the Lord Mayor of London, who laid the cornerstone. On October 10, 1971, the bridge was dedicated.
London Bridge crosses a narrow boating channel that connects with Thompson Bay on the Arizona side of Lake Havasu. Prior to the arrival of London Bridge, the land upon which the bridge was placed was a peninsula. A large dredge was used to carve a one-mile channel, removing over two million cubic yards of rock and earth in the construction phase. Water was then diverted from the lake, under the bridge and then back into the lake through Thompson Bay. On the Google Map aerial view, the pushpin marked "A" is the London Bridge Resort, and just to the left is McCulloch Boulevard and the location of London Bridge.
Rick and I enjoyed walking on the bridge and taking pictures.

A young fellow very kindly asked if we wanted him to take our picture on the bridge so here we are. We also found our flower bud tea in a spice shop at the bridge mall.

Riding around before heading out we found many beautiful houses and took pictures of the ones we were really impressed with.

On the way back we went across the Parker Dam and travelled in California along the Colorado River back to Parker where there was a 100 year anniversary parade just finishing up. Lots of people celebrating. Then we stopped at the Stone Cabin for a break.
Interesting history, it is 250 years old approximately and built by the Spaniards. We arrived back at the motor home at 6:00 p.m. and relaxed and watched a couple of movies.