What) Some historians think that the American Empire peaked in 1969, when NASA put a man on the moon. But we'd say that the peak happened a year earlier, when the cash-strapped City of London sold its famous London Bridge to an American oilman.

    Robert P. McCulloch, who also manufactured chainsaws, paid $2.5 million for the bridge. He then paid another $7.5 million to have it pulled apart, crated, shipped to the U.S., and reassembled as the centerpiece of a city that he was building in the Arizona desert. As a final gesture, McCulloch had the bridge declared an antique to avoid paying taxes on it.

    The bridge is 950 feet long and weighs 33,000 tons. It's sometimes confused with the more visually interesting Tower Bridge (which remains in London) and sometimes mistakenly believed to date from the Middle Ages (it was built in 1824). The only thing that the bridge really has going for it is the "London Bridge" name, but that was enough for McCulloch. He had it rebuilt on dry land, then had a mile-long "river" dug underneath it, turning a Lake Havasu peninsula into an island and giving the bridge something to do. (1)

    Where) On McCulloch Boulevard, perpendicular to, and just west of, Highway 95.

    Why) I really enjoyed reading the story above but sometimes I put a Buckys item on the list largely because it is halfway between two destinations and promises to be a nice place to take a walk. This stop is like that.

When we reached the outskirts of Lake Havasu, I decided that it made sense to turn onto London Bridge Road despite what the GPS was telling us. As we followed that path for what seemed like miles, Pam and I had "fun" wondering about it's name until we saw this sign. (2)

Although I liked looking at the bridge's stonework, I am starting with this picture because it was also the start of our walk along the water.

We were walking away from the bridge but every so often I would turn around and take another picture of it.

Although the walk was pleasant enough, Pam felt that the energy of the other humans in the area was too old. 

I was not affected by that and just enjoyed the stroll. Does that make me old as well? (3)

The best part of this Buckys came 50 minutes later when I stopped at Daniel's and bought a bag of their Tuna Jerky.