“Road trip! Grab yer duffle bag, son. We’re heading out,” I announced to my airline-pilot son, who is enjoying a forced vacation because of a fractured ankle (pilots use their feet — and darn near everything they have two of — to fly).
“Let’s do it!” he was quick to reply.
It took us 15 minutes to get ready. No one knows how to be travel-ready better than an airline pilot. We each packed a midsize duffle bag with a toiletries kit, undies, shirts, pants and a flannel shirt. That’s it. We like to keep it simple — one hand for the luggage and one hand for the coffee cup.
We piled into the car, cranked up some road tunes (“Born to be Wild” is my favorite) and figured out where to go on the way to the freeway.
Three minutes is plenty of time to reach a destination decision, and we decided on Monterey. Yep, I know — we traded one quaint coast town for another, but we love the coast.
We stopped for a break and to check out the scenery in the Five Cities area. We’ve both spent some good times on the Pismo Dunes and it has become a favorite area. Then we picked up another cup of coffee and were back on the road, with the shiny side up and the grille pointed north.
The drive from Salinas to Monterey, along Highway 68, is a pretty one. Come to think of it, so is nearly every other drive thereabouts.
We stayed at Cannery Row, and ate lots of chocolate from the shops and plenty of good grub from the eateries. We hit the shops to add a few items to our collections of memorabilia and visited the cool museum. Late in the day, we shot some pool, then lazed away the evening tapping our toes while listening to fun live music (rock and blues) at our favorite saloon/eatery, Sly McFly’s. We stayed two nights and got back on the road by 7 a.m. so we could make our afternoon appointments back home.
This seems to be the perfect time for quick — or long — road trips. Traffic is light, gas prices are down a bit, crowds are down a lot and the weather is ideal. Autumn is here, and road trips are on my mind.
Consider a road trip and keep it simple. It will make wrong things seem right, and right things seem better.
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help.
