Road Trips

Once in a while I just have to get in the car and head out of town, sometimes for a day, sometimes for three months (my longest road trip). Today reminds me of the importance of road rips because it is miserable, cold, foggy (or high marine layer, as the weather experts say) and windy, like the day we woke up one the morning and said, "Let's drive until it's sunny. We headed east toward the Sierra-Nevada Range and didn't hit sun until we got to Pinecrest Lake, 3 1/2 hours and 175 miles later. We stepped out of the M3 I owned then, walked around the lake, sat in the sun for a while, and turned around and drove home, thoroughly satisfied.

The longest road trips were each three months, one through Europe in a SAAB 99, and one around the US in an Oldsmobile Quad 4. Each was about 10,000 total miles. Europe was an amazing trip. Picked up the car outside of Amsterdam, drove into Deutschland, picked up camping gear and headed out. Used my German for the first time at a German Army camp when I asked a soldier, "Wissen Sie, vo ist der Kampingplatz Silberfuchs?" I could speak pretty well, but had to ask that the reply be slower than one normally replies. "Langsalm, bitte" was a phrase I used often. "Slowly, please." Drove from Hamburg in the north to Munich in the south in three weeks and enjoyed cruising down the autobahn at 100 mph, watching the rear view mirror for the occasional Porsche or Ferrari coming up from behind at 130! Also saw a couple of scary accidents with burned husks of barely recognizable cars.
        After three weeks in Germany, crossed the border into France. Had to leave Germany because I found myself drinking beer and eating wurst at 8:00 in the morning while walking around the cathedral at Ulm—way too used to the culture, and loved that each town had its own brewery which produced excellent Bieren. As I drove across the border, the difference between the attitudes of each country was apparent. Going into Germany from Holland, German border guards stopped me and questioned what I was doing and even looked through the car. From Germany into France, the border guard just lazily waved me through as though he couldn't be less worried. Spent a month in France, from St Lo to Marseille, including a wine tour of Bordeaux with letters of introduction from Mondavi Winery thanks to my classmate at Bellarmine (class of '62), Mike Mondavi. Toured Chateau Margaux and Chateau d'Yquem, and thanks to the letters was able to taste the best of Bordeaux.

That's the chateau. Looks the same as it did then. Very small, only 113 hectares, but produces the absolute best dessert wine in the world. I've been back to France and Italy since, but the first road trip was an adventure that I relive with fond memories.
     The road trip around the US started on the west coast from Santa Cruz, south to Sin City, across the southern states, up the east coast into Ontario, Canada, across the northern states, and back to Santa Cruz. Saw Carlsbad Caverns, The Alamo, Houston's bygone Astrodome (Astros vs. Giants game), New Orleans, Cape Canaveral, Ron Jon Surf Shop, The Smithsonian, NYC, Cape Cod, Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone Park, and The Great Salt Lake, among many other sights. It was a great tour of America for my two sons, 11 and 15 at the time.
      Lately, my road trips with Lynne have been shorter. Palm Springs, Paso Robles for wine tasting, LA to visit friends. When we get in the car to start out, as we get further from home the relaxation begins to set in, and even if it's only a day, the American tradition of road trips is one we feel privileged to be able to enjoy.