About 30 years ago I made roughly the same run (Modesto to SFO) by car; it was a pleasant drive. Mid-summer, so all the greenery was green, all the garlic was.....garlic-y.....and there were miles and miles and miles and miles of grapevines. Stopped at the HQ of Sun-Maid to gawk; picked up a tee-shirt, resumed the drive.
Things changed.
...2) It is wiser not to use the restrooms on any California cross-country drive. Excrement can be many places other than in the toilet. Also, fill up before starting. Don’t count on finding gas stations that are not overcrowded or have all their pumps working—even the ones with national affiliations that look as inviting from the off-ramp as Circe’s smile....
...3) Assume “Mad Max” conditions at any time. Contraptions can pose as vehicles in the most regulated vehicle state in the nation (there is a reason why the California DMV is dysfunctional). Cars can still tow each other, 1950s-style, with sagging rope. Expect a piece of lumber or a mattress to go Frisbee on every other trip. Anticipate that a quarter of the drivers have bad brakes, worse tires, and ignore or cannot read signs and posted warnings. The person who passes you at 90 miles per hour likely does not have a license, or registration, or insurance—or, perhaps, any of the three....
There's more, if you have an interest. I don't. No reason to go there, and if there WERE one, I'd find a way to get out of the adventure.
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