Road Trip!!

Now that I'm back in California full-time, I'm also back behind the wheel on a daily basis and just over a week ago, I made my first semi-lengthy road trip in over four years. My new Nissan Rogue and I set out late on a Tuesday night headed for Santa Barbara, roughly 300 miles and 4 hours away. The drive down was in the dark and my focus was just on getting there, but when I drove back on Thursday, I left at 6:00 am and was able to actually enjoy the trek back to Silicon Valley.

A few observations from along the way:

-- No radio nor iPod is needed at 6:30 am when you are lucky enough to be driving right along the coast as the sun is coming up. Just me, the Rogue and the road... that was plenty.

-- Turns out that Santa Barbara Road is nowhere near Santa Barbara.

-- Gilroy does indeed smell like garlic.

-- And Salinas smells like onions.

-- Seeing the exit for Hearst Castle brought on a little twinge of nostalgia.

-- I don't know if it's a more laid back approach in NoCal in general or if my patience has taken on the characteristics of a true New Yorker or if it's a bit of both... but I implore all you CA drivers out there on the 4-lane 101, please, PLEASE stay out of the fast lane unless you are going at least 75 mph.