Leaving the Grand Canyon was difficult, but it did feel triumphant. I drove for about 4 hours as the sun was setting to Scottsdale. Yes three weeks later I was back! It brought back great memories.
The next morning I hit the hot tub before breakfast and then hit the road to California. Driving through Scottsdale made me feel very important among the expensive cars and gorgeous people. That part of Arizona was beautiful, and then I hit more desert and sand dunes. I drove through the infamous Yuma and arrived in California finally.
Most annoying about this leg of the trip was the vast amount of border patrol checkpoints, even though I never left the country.
I drove through the mountains the rest of the day and arrived in San Diego, and to my disbelief it was rainy. I settled in and made my way to the Gaslamp before turning in for the night, missing my friend Deb I was hoping to see.
The next day I went to Coronado for some beaching, but again it was nasty outside. I sampled some local cuisine, which was oddly disappointing, then took off for more adventure. I experienced the awful LA traffic and stopped in Sherman Oaks on Ventura Blvd. It was shocking to see so many plastic people.
I drove on Highway 1 all the way to Santa Maria. Seeing the Pacific Ocean at dusk from the ridge of the highway was cinematic to say the least. The next day I arrived in Monterey, which my father had always raved about. I went to the harbor and ate some more (disappointing) fish. It was wonderful watching the sun set on the water in one of my father's favorite places. Here I finally felt the accomplishment of driving from one coast to another.
Deciding to take in the moment, I stayed the night in Monterey before driving through Silicon Valley, Castroville (the artichoke capital of the world) and Sacramento, towards Nevada.
From here on out, it was a race to get back home, and I had to alter my original plans to see much of the northern states. I took it in stride and enjoyed the majestic drive across the continent.
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