After finishing up the holidays, I began packing for my trip to Tucson, Arizona which would begin on January 4th. Essentials were nabbed from bike shops and a quick run to Costco and Whole Foods were made to avoid the sales tax I am unaccustomed to in Arizona. After finishing up one more load of laundry and stuffing the suit case, I hit the sack for my early morning start to the road trip.
Three o’clock rolled around pretty darn fast. I loaded up the truck, said my goodbyes to the family, and ventured on over to the coffee shack for a 5 shot espresso. Soon, I was on the road heading south to warmer climates.
The drive through Oregon seemed to go by quickly and the miles ticked away. The sunrise greeted me right around Dorris, California. It exposed a snow covered Mt. Shasta and streaks of fog that meandered through the valley and hillsides. I couldn’t help but grab a few pics of the quaint surroundings. Eventually, I arrived in Redding where I would make my ritualistic stop at both Starbucks and In N Out Burger. Since I was making decent time, I ended up being the first customer at the burger joint stepping through the doors as they just released the bolt. I’m still not sure if that’s a good thing or bad thing.
I enjoyed my second caffeine rush of the morning and held off on scarfing down the burger until the afternoon since I still had about 8 hours of driving left for the day. I continued on the I-5 corridor through Sacramento, onto Santa Nella, then finally through the LA Basin. I arrived at my Aunt and Uncles, in Laguna Niguel, where I was welcomed with a hug and a trip to dinner.
I quickly unloaded the truck, hopped into another car, and we all made our way to some Thai Food. The fresh appetizers were quite tasty and the Chicken and Tofu Pad Thai were amazing. After finishing up with dinner and conversation, we made our way back to the house where I would crash on the pull out bed for the evening. I’m pretty sure I was dead asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
The next day’s plans included making a trip down to San Diego to take a jaunt on my Uncle’s boat, the Grace Passage. We had a light breakfast, hopped into the car, and ventured down south. Once we arrived at the marina we grabbed our snacks and headed on over to the boat and prepped her for the day out in the bay. Our goal was to find some whales, but we were quickly greeted by some dolphins instead. They meandered there way under the bow of the boat looking up at my Aunt and I expelling water from their blow holes as they surfaced. After playing with the dolphins, we made our way around the last buoy in the bay and headed back into the marina.
As we made our way back into San Diego Bay, we enjoyed seeing all the activity around the military base. Fighter jets and black hawks flew patterns off Coronado and we also saw a nuclear sub exit on the Point Loma side of the bay. We were immediately greeted and paced by coast guard as the sub leisurely departed the area.
After pulling the boat into the slip, giving it a quick wipe down, and locking everything up, we made our way to another dinner. This time we enjoyed some Mexican food at La Salsa. I took advantage of the salsa buffet and loaded up on the chips. Soon I found myself in a slight food coma with a numb tongue. We made our way back home and I hit the sack early as I would have to start the second part of my road trip.
That morning we went out to breakfast at the restaurant in the Mother’s store. I scarfed down some banana pancakes and coffee, plotted the course in the GPS, and was on my way. It was another seven hours of driving interrupted three of four times by border patrol and gas stops. I arrived in Tucson just as the sun was setting over the hills.
I made my way into the city on the I-10, toodled by campus, and found the house. After meeting the roommates and unwinding a bit, I unpacked the truck, pumped the air mattress, and passed out. Tomorrow would be my first ride in the desert climate!
