On the road

Well, technically I'm in a hotel room, but I'm halfway home after spending 10 hours on the road. Damn, California is a long state! So far so good though. The movers rocked yesterday. The driver for my shipment is a guy named Elvis who lives in Nashville...how classic is that? Unfortunately, he didn't look the part (that would have been just too good), but every time I went outside to check on progress or offer them water he would say "uh oh, here comes Trouble." I guess my reputation preceeded me! Anyway, they showed up at 7:15 am and my apartment was empty by noon. Considering I hadn't packed a thing (other than the suitcases coming with me), that's pretty fantastic. Love love LOVE the full service move! Hate hate HATE cleaning :( By 5:30 my apartment was clean, but I was a sweaty, filthy mess in need of a shower and a cold beer. Hit Old Town one last time with my friends for some beers, margaritas, and tacos, then crashed at their place. Didn't say "goodbye" to San Diego...said "see you soon" (likely 4th of July and again in October for a friend's wedding) and hit the road just before 10 am. Hit the LA County line an hour later, and naturally, I encountered my first bit of traffic. It cleared up after a while and a half hour later I hit the LA City line...and again, I was met with stop and go traffic. Not really a surprise since that's where the junction of the 5, the 10, and the 101 is. What's a drive through LA without traffic? (Answer: Nonexistent). Smooth sailing after that. I had my sunflower seeds, a cooler with cold sodas, XM radio, a few audiobooks on contraband CDs (burned from library copies, per Zachary Emig's suggestion) and mostly sunshine the whole way. I arrived in the Shasta area as the sun was setting...the Siskiyous at dusk were very pretty. The tall, rugged snow covered mountains make me feel closer to home already.

Another 10 hours tomorrow....

(PS--I wanted to post maps of this little journey, but BloggerBot/Picassa is MIA. No dice. But it's a real simple trip. Get on I-5 in San Diego. Drive 1322 miles. Get off I-5. No sightseeing and/or coastal driving this trip, I'm all about speed. I'm by myself, and having grown up on the west coast in a family that likes to take RV trips, I've seen most of the coast a few times over.)