Evidently the Hippygeek and I were suffering from some sort of amnesia as we turned the bus onto Route 1 to head down the California coast. We had both been on sections of Route 1 before, we new that the road was mountainous, curvy and that only select sections have guardrails (probably where cars have gone over the edge in the past). Only someone insane, stupid or suffering from amnesia would attempt to drive Route 1 with a 36 foot bus towing a car.
The curious part was that we were actually looking forward to making the journey on Route 1 – all the way to San Diego. The first part was inland through heavily wooded areas with tight switchbacks and narrow roads. It was quite stressful but, the Hippygeek handled the bus really well. We thought, as soon as we get to the coast, it will get better.
When we finally made it to the coast, the scenery was spectacular, breathtaking. The jagged coastline and rocky cliffs melded the mountains to the sea. I wanted to take a million pictures except that I couldn’t pull my fingernails out of the vinyl covered arm rests long enough to grab my camera.
Our memories started to return as we made our way up, down and around with our 60 foot vehicle assembly. The roads would become very narrow especially at the switchbacks and with the constant flow of oncoming traffic we would just barely squeeze around the corners. I would make the turns with one eye open and the other one tightly shut. At the edges of the cliffs (with no guardrails), I think they both were shut although I really can’t say for sure.
The Hippygeek handled it with nerves of steel although I’m sure some “pucker” was sculpting him a new tushy. My knuckles stayed white as I grasped the bar by my seat. The Lil’ Dude sat up front with me with a bag in his hand as this drive reminded us of an incident while driving through the Blue Ridge Parkway at the beginning of our trip.
After enduring the drive for a few hours, we finally stopped for lunch and a breath of fresh air at a lovely overlook. The Lil’ Dude and I got out first and walked over to the cliff to take in the awesome view. It was just like the amazing pictures you see in travel magazines. Then, the Lil’ Dude says “Mommy, look at the RV, it’s all smashed up”. I turned toward the rig to see two perfectly shaped guardrail lines imprinted like racing stripes down the side.
We broke the news to our heroic driver. He looked at it, then we looked at each other with quizzical looks. Neither one of us had any memory of hitting anything. No strange noises, no bumps, nothing.
Before our lunch was over, we decided that the rest of our trip down the coast would need to be re-evaluated. An inland route straight and flat would be preferable to near death experiences and destroying our vehicle. Although we didn’t exactly know how the rest of our route to San Diego would go, it would definitely be different from our original plan.
So, enjoy the few pictures of the California coast that I took because if my memory serves me, I won’t be taking anymore until I can do the trip in a sports car, preferably a convertible red one.
“Right now I’m having amnesia and deja vu at the same time.” Steven Wright
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