On the Road Again

Day 17: Drive to Watsonville without stopping

My quest to complete 30 new things in 30 days has led me many places.  This weekend it has taken me to my hometown of Watsonville in northern California. I have begun to exhaust many of my resources in southern California so I ventured north to seek out new opportunities.  Here I have the assistance of a whole new batch of people that have not already been burdened by my requests for assistance on my tasks.  I also have an entirely different skill set available to me to broaden the possibilities.

There are two types of road trips in my opinion.  The first kind is the more adventurous of the two, whereby the trip is more about the journey than the destination.  It consists of making many stops along the way to partake in any number of roadside amusement enterprises.  The second option is the git-r-done mentality.  Timeliness is the name of the game and the shorter the trip the better.  While the former is certainly a much more relaxing and enriching experience, more often the latter is the option I defer to.

On a weekend when I literally have one day to squeeze in as much quality nephew time as possible, while still trying to accommodate everything else I have planned, getting to my destination as quick as possible was certainly high on my list of priorities.  And thanks to my new car (well, it's new to me at least) shaving down my drive time was a very real possibility.  My old car (may it rest in peace) with its 220something thousand miles on it was not exactly the most economical vehicle.  There were times when I looked down at my gas gauge and thought I could make it without stopping, but as the needle crept lower and lower I inevitably had to pull off for a quick fill up.  So, as my first trip north in my new car I though today might be the day I finally make it without having to stop.

The challenge here was not just maintaining good enough fuel economy to make the journey, but fighting my own urges to stop an take a quick stretch and grab a bite to eat.  It's interesting how when you don't want something it is available in abundance, but what you do want something you can't have it.  Every other time I have made this voyage between Watsonville and Orange County I wanted to just keep driving but was forced to stop.  Now that I was attempting to actually make it the whole way without stopping all I wanted to do each time I passed an exit was pull off.

Alas, I did not succumb to my desires and I made it all the way to my destination without a single pit stop.  I drove 367 miles in just under 6 hours munching on Cheetos and Corn Nuts and fruit snacks to pass the time and keep me awake (did I mention I was tempted quite a few times to call the whole thing off and stop for a quick power nap.)  So, will I make any stops on the way back down to The O.C.?  Not if I can help it!