The Trip III. Route: Sacramento to LA via the 99 then the 5 to downtown San Diego. Me, Valerie, and Ella.
9:30 Left Sacramento after a having to trot back home for something we forgot.
10:00 Stockton
10:10 – 10:45. Freeway gridlock south of Stockton for road repair. When we reached the location of the ‘repair’ (no joke) we found 14 CalTrans workers literally leaning on their shovels while one fellow shoveled in a hole. Much to my chagrin, my camera was in the trunk.
11:00 Modesto
11:30 Merced
12:30 Fresno. Here we went through the Jack in the Box drive through. My second hamburger was most unwholesome (It felt like it had a four day growth of beard) and I had to put it down. I’m still a little nauseous from thinking about it and don’t think I’m game for fast food for a while.
1:45 Bakersfield. The worse part of this drive, without a doubt, either direction, is the drive between Fresno and Bakersfield. It may only be an hour and fifteen minutes but it seems like 3 hours.
2:45 Magic Mountain. I was going about 85 mph here and a Hell’s Angels fellow sped past me like I was on a tricycle. Kind of Mad Max like.
4:00 Orange County. Any who does this drive even semi regularly probably joins me in almost weeping when the border of OC is reached on the 5 coming through LA. The 5 in LA from downtown south is basically cobbled together with spit, old tires, and burning corpses. Only iron and steel cars from the 60’s and 70’s that actually want to bump you are allowed to drive on that stretch. The signs and interconnections are modeled straight from a Dr. Suess book. But a couple miles into OC, as I’ve said before and will again, is paradise. The freeway opens up and its like the 1970’s view of the future… empty with expensive cars and good looking people.
4:45 San Diego County. Note: the stretch between South Orange and Oceanside is considered the ‘fastest’ stretch of freeway in California. I was at 90mph the whole time and still getting passed.
5:45 Downtown.
Final note: During the 8 hours on the road I saw 4 signs for Governor Schwarzenegger. Nothing for anyone else. That’s sort of unusual.
August 30th, 2006 at 12:00 am
“The 5 in LA from downtown south is basically cobbled together with spit, old tires, and burning corpses. Only iron and steel cars from the 60’s and 70’s that actually want to bump you are allowed to drive on that stretch. The signs and interconnections are modeled straight from a Dr. Suess book.”
As someone who regularly has to make this abominable drive, I’ve never seen it put so eloquently. Classic.
August 30th, 2006 at 12:00 am
I laughed at the lucidity of that passage as well.
August 30th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Take the 405 it is newer and easier to navigate.
Duane I admit I actaully enjoy the drive on the 99 – though I usually have moments of blacking out between Fresno and Madera from lack of sleep and monotony. and at least I skip the last hour and a half to get to Sac.