Sarah's Cross Country Adventure
In and around United States
LA is not the place to be passing through. People who live south of LA who find themselves having to drive north, for whatever reason, try to game the traffic situation. Which is nearly impossible, since it's random and chaotic, but almost always guarateed to be bad.
My drive started off well, then I cursed myself by acknowledging that the traffic wasn't so bad. Coincidentally, my curse was timed just as I passed the LA County Line and had to slam on my brakes. From then on, it was stop and go. I eventually left the 5 for the 10, which actually moved.
Then I hit Santa Monica and took the Pacific Coast Highway. What a pain! I was stuck in Santa Monica for three hours!! And you would think that at least the view was nice, but since all the houses there are build as townhomes infrequently broken with small sidewalks to the beach, what you're really looking at is a bunch of garages and the other motorists. Who, also being stuck in one place for three hours, are not at their most attractive.
The sad thing about all the traffic is that I still thought I could make it to San Simeon for the Hearst Castle Evening tour, so I rushed (as quickly as possilbe, since there was also traffic there) through Santa Barbara, where I had been planning to stop and see the mission.
By the time I made it to San Luis Obispo, where I had a reservation for the evening, it was 9 pm and I was exhausted.
Hopefully this will be the most boring and hectic day of my trip.
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler Wanderer
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1
Moving Away from the Greastest City
After enjoying the self-described "Greatest City" for a year, I'm moving on. I was rather sad to leave, but at the same tme excited to get started on... Continue reading » -
2
a quick night
Just in San Luis Obispo for the night, so again, I missed the mission. It seemed like a pretty nice downtown area though. Continue reading » -
3
Coast Line and Oysters
The drive up the coast was incredible! It reminded me of driving through Costa Rica, where every turn brought a view more spectacular than the last,... Continue reading » -
4
Hearst Castle
San Simeon is all about the Hearst Castle. In fact, I didn't see anything else while I was there. You start the tour at the Visitor's Center, where... Continue reading » -
5
Giant trees and dodging wild animals
The drive north from Monterey is less dramatic but just as enjoyable. I went through fields of artichokes, strawberries, pumpkins, and fields full of... Continue reading » -
6
More coast driving
Before leaving Point Reyes, I hiked the Earthquake Trail, which is right along the San Andreas Faultline. There is a very clear broken line all along... Continue reading » -
7
Amongst the Giants
Fog covered the coast when I left Mendocino this morning, so I wasn't exactly looking forward to the drive. It turned out not to matter for more than... Continue reading » -
8
Fog on the Coast
Yesterday I was on the road for 10 hours and only made it 250 miles. This was due in part to a flickering oil light, which took about 3 hours to fix.... Continue reading » -
9
The Rainy Northwest
Continuing up the coast, I got to see the Northwest in it's true colors. Grey, white, muddy brown. It rained for the last two days, which didn't mak... Continue reading » -
10
The Old City
I got to Seattle just in time to see a glorious sunset from Matts balcony. Seattle is a great city! I spent a day here during a midshipman cruise... Continue reading » -
11
Grand Coulee
Today I started heading east. I took Interstate 90 from Seattle, giving myself a break from the 2 lane roads for a little while. I did make good tim... Continue reading » -
12
Glacier National Park
It only takes about an hour to drive across the panhandle of Idaho. The scenery reminded me of A River Runs Through It, although Im not sure if that... Continue reading » -
13
Yellowstone National Park
I got to Yellowstone National Park just in time, as all of the services close after this weekend. The drive south through Montana was just as impress... Continue reading »
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