A Gathering Place

For many years we'd drive down I-5 all the way to San Diego but it's very boring and can get very hot. There's really nothing to look driving through the San Joaquin (wah-keen) Valley and it goes on for hours. And hours!

 

I took this once when we were headed back home.

We decided one time to take Hwy 99 and we've driven that way ever since. It's just a little bit east of I-5 but takes the same amount of time. There's a lot of small towns dotting the highway and it just makes it more interesting. We get to drive by Turlock and Atwater and Chowchilla, it also helps us feel a little more secure knowing there are places we can get to if we have car trouble.

Although with all the thousands of miles we've traveled, we've had very little car trouble. We've been so thankful.

We arrive in San Diego usually in the evening and go straight to our hotel (timeshare condo) in Mission Valley. It's about 15 minutes from the coast. Course, we call all the family and tell them we made it, we don't want anyone worrying about us.

One time we told them that one of the things we wanted to do while we were there was spend an entire day at the beach. My nephew made the suggestion that we have a bonfire and we were absolutely up for that! 

He went to the grocery store and got a few free pallets and that's what we burned. We got to the beach early so we could reserve a fire ring and when I say reserved, I mean we put our stuff around it to let others know it was ours! As the day rolled on and the sun began to go down, we started the fire. Surfers would come out of the water and come over, others would stop by to get warm and we'd talk for a while. It's such a gathering place! It's one of our favorite memories of visiting San Diego!

 

There's just something about being at the ocean in the evening with a huge bonfire to keep you warm!

Have you ever been on a road trip? 

Do you have a favorite memory?