It was one fine evening in the Autumn of 2005 (or Fall as they call it in this part of the world), that I decided to venture on the longest road trip I had ever been on. Was it from my subconscious mind that saw a random link on google? or was it one of the ads in the numerous magazines I had scanned through? I don't know... but I did know it was out there waiting for me to come!
After hours of meticulous planning, armed with a bunch of AAA maps, and a Canon SLR, I set out on my 2000 mile road journey that would leave me breathless every single minute I had my eyes open. The flight from the Twin Cities to Seattle was quite short as I remember, maybe because of the excitement. I rented out a car from the Seattle airport and started my quest for beauty.
The first leg of my journey led me through the cities and suburbs of Seattle and Tacoma up and around the Olympic National Park. It was dark and my goal was to reach the western coast by sunrise. The HWY 101 took me through the port of Angeles in the strait of Juan de Fuca and into the Pacificas at Abbey Island.
There are some times when 101 would shy away from the blues of the ocean and into the greens of the land, but you can take diversions from 101 to stay closer to the sea. My AAA maps helped me stay closer to the seas.
After around 15 hours of driving and stopping I finally reached Cannon Beach where I had booked a motel, thanks to the www craze.
The next day I covered the entire coast of Oregon from Cannon Beach all the way up to Point Arena in the Californian coast.
The Oegon Coast is spectacular, the entire stretch of 101 being close to the Pacific. Every bend and turn the road makes would have me stand in awe.
I had only heard about the Giant Redwood trees, and here was a chance I had to witness for myself the enormity of these giants! It was getting dark and I had to reach my second pitstop of Point Arena. The third and longest leg of my journey was to cover the Californian coast through the city of San Francisco and into Los Angeles.
101 never ceased to astound me. Even as I wound my way through the trecherous and never ending curves, i did let myself stop every now and then just to feel the air.
The Californian coast was much les rugged and boasted beautiful beaches with surfers and swimmers. Here i met some other kinds of swimmers - large hoards of them! All basking in the morning sun, some trying to play as well.
The road from SFO to LA was not as astounding as the Oregon coast, but it had a beauty of its own.
When i get more time. I'll probably have another posting decdicated to California and its interiors from National parks to vineyards.
My first road trip spanned around three days and 4 nights all spent on enjoying every bend and curve of HWY 101 and Hwy 1 in CA. More than 2000 miles of bliss. It was a dream come true for a travel fanatic like me.
