2022 Saturday — Road-trip South

We exited our little coast house at 5:37 a.m. in complete darkness to begin our trek south to our other place in SoCal. The first part of the 4-hour journey takes us inland away from the coast. We did not see the sun until we got back to the coastline north of Santa Barbara near Gaviota State Campground. Then within moments we were facing directly into the sun. We have traveled this highway consistently for the past 10 years of owning our little retirement home, but we have not seen this sight before — the sun rising from the Pacific. When we have been 26 miles from the coast on Catalina Island we have seen the sun rise from behind the San Gabriel mountains, but never have we been at this angle on the coast of California an actually seen the sun rise with the ocean in front of it. Looking at a map helps with understanding this; we are headed almost straight east at this location because of California’s configuration.

We’ve learned that if we will travel early on Saturday or Sunday morning we can get through the heart of Los Angeles and east to our home in the Inland Empire before the highway fills with weekend players. Weekdays are much more difficult because traffic is always thick.

We arrived at our destination at the 4-hour mark; the two of us and the two pups were delighted to be off the road, out of the car, and settling again into the “other” place.

The celebration of a southern Californian Christmas holiday can begin.

Rosie (& Mr. Fun), aka Carol
and Chloe & Mitzi too!