Roadtrip: Day 1
Day 1 started off bright and early in San Jose, as I finished packing my bags, put them all in the car, said goodbye to my friends and trundled off.
I initially considered heading down the coast on Highway 1; I've done it several times before, and it's one of my favourite drives, especially on a sunny day. It takes almost 5 hours to get to Santa Barbara though, compared to just 3 on the 101, and seeing as I didn't leave until 11 I decided to take the quicker route. Quicker still would have been the I-5, straight down the central valley, but that's just one long straight boring road... at least the 101 has some kind of scenery too it! I followed the 101 South until I reached Paso Robles, where I took the CA-46 East until I hit the I-5 just above Bakersfield. The 46 had some wonderful scenery... fantastic rolling hills covered in parched grass that had turned a deep shade of gold. Coupled with a beautiful clear blue sky, it was quite an experience driving through the hills into the central valley. I should've kept on the 101 though, as the central valley was boiling hot, and there was a big accident on the I-5 just after Bakersfield as the road climbs into the mountains. An RV caught fire, closing off all 5 lanes for a good 30 minutes of so, an my car's thermometer was reading 124F at the time, so sitting there wasn't particularly pleasant!
Coming out of the hills and into LA wasn't too bad though, with the temperature coming to a mere roasting 104F, and the traffic lightened up considerably. However, coming out of LA on the other side reminded me yet again why I hate Los Angeles. The traffic was abysmal, taking 90 mins to cover 25 miles. All the constant stopping and starting guzzled the petrol too, so I spent more on that then I had hoped. Once I cleared the LA city limits though the traffic once again lightened up, and the drive down to San Diego was quite pleasant; I was treated to an awesome sunset over the Pacific while I was still about 30 mins out.
I actually intend to sleep in the car most nights to try and save money, but I decided today that I'd find a hostel, so I made my way to the Ocean Beach International Hostel. Pretty european as hostels go; cramped communal kitchen, small dorms and full of Germans and Australians. It's clean though, which is always a bonus, and it's right next to the beachfront.
It's been quite the start, and it's certainly the most I've ever driven in one day. I'll see if I can get my car's oil changed first thing tomorrow before I head off to Flagstaff; I need to spend some extra loving attention on it over the next 15 days!
Pictures
Roadtrip webpage
I initially considered heading down the coast on Highway 1; I've done it several times before, and it's one of my favourite drives, especially on a sunny day. It takes almost 5 hours to get to Santa Barbara though, compared to just 3 on the 101, and seeing as I didn't leave until 11 I decided to take the quicker route. Quicker still would have been the I-5, straight down the central valley, but that's just one long straight boring road... at least the 101 has some kind of scenery too it! I followed the 101 South until I reached Paso Robles, where I took the CA-46 East until I hit the I-5 just above Bakersfield. The 46 had some wonderful scenery... fantastic rolling hills covered in parched grass that had turned a deep shade of gold. Coupled with a beautiful clear blue sky, it was quite an experience driving through the hills into the central valley. I should've kept on the 101 though, as the central valley was boiling hot, and there was a big accident on the I-5 just after Bakersfield as the road climbs into the mountains. An RV caught fire, closing off all 5 lanes for a good 30 minutes of so, an my car's thermometer was reading 124F at the time, so sitting there wasn't particularly pleasant!
Coming out of the hills and into LA wasn't too bad though, with the temperature coming to a mere roasting 104F, and the traffic lightened up considerably. However, coming out of LA on the other side reminded me yet again why I hate Los Angeles. The traffic was abysmal, taking 90 mins to cover 25 miles. All the constant stopping and starting guzzled the petrol too, so I spent more on that then I had hoped. Once I cleared the LA city limits though the traffic once again lightened up, and the drive down to San Diego was quite pleasant; I was treated to an awesome sunset over the Pacific while I was still about 30 mins out.
I actually intend to sleep in the car most nights to try and save money, but I decided today that I'd find a hostel, so I made my way to the Ocean Beach International Hostel. Pretty european as hostels go; cramped communal kitchen, small dorms and full of Germans and Australians. It's clean though, which is always a bonus, and it's right next to the beachfront.
It's been quite the start, and it's certainly the most I've ever driven in one day. I'll see if I can get my car's oil changed first thing tomorrow before I head off to Flagstaff; I need to spend some extra loving attention on it over the next 15 days!
posted by Nebhead at
04:24
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