Portland to Monterey
No one wants to read about your road trip.
No one wants to read about your road trip.
This was a tough pill to swallow. I’ve written a bunch of road trip articles over the years. Perhaps I had sympathetic editors who let me write them, or maybe the outlets just greenlit these stories so I’d stop emailing them.
Or what if… my road trip articles were different?
Probably not. A road trip can be transformative, fulfilling, and interesting, as long as you’re seated in the car that’s making the drive. If you aren’t, it’s usually pretty boring, no matter how interesting the car, or your route.
There’s the unavoidable and dull structure:
“First we went here. Then we went here. Next we saw this.”
You can certainly attempt to shake up the structure, but at some point you end up at the same thing: a formulaic retelling of events in sequence.
And there’s never a ‘why?’: the purpose is always simply to get from one place to another place, and nothing more. The story boils down to a series of landmarks, photo stops, and events, interspersed among hours of indistinct highway driving.
You’ll come up with endless inside jokes, observations, and discussions with your travel partner: none of it is interesting to anyone else.
With that said, let me tell you about my road trip.
Portland to Crescent City
My 1980 911SC has been staying in Portland with my friend Daniel Sloan for the entire summer. I drove it in Oregon during some weekend trips in June and August, and intended to wrap up this brief car-cation (coining this) with a drive down to Monterey, CA, for Rennsport Reunion 7.
Daniel agreed to join, and he graciously mapped and planned a scenic 825-mile route, which we set aside two-and-a-half days to drive. Daniel may not have literally written the book on smartly planning road trips, but he has authored the video about it.
Another friend, Steven, joined us on the drive with his Cayman GTS.
It was time for a road trip. First, we went to Crescent City.
J/k. I’ll boil it down to some highlights, interspersed with hours of indistinct highway driving.
We left town on a rainy Wednesday morning, and after an unplanned stop for a shifter adjustment, the 911 was running well. Portland gloom gave way to sunny skies once we made it through Eugene, and after reaching the Oregon coast, we attempted to recreate a 2016 M3 photo overlooking the ocean near Humbug Mountain State Park. It was a bit too early in the day, or perhaps too late in the season. Better luck next time. (see lead photo)
Crescent City to Redwoods
On Thursday morning, we were set to arrive in the Redwood Forest, which I was eagerly anticipating. I had hoped we would get some sunlight beams shining through pockets of fog among the trees, but we weren’t as lucky this time. Still, it’s hard to beat the Redwood Forest, and every detour off the 101 to drive slowly among the trees is very worth it.
Redwoods to Petaluma
I’m not a big fan of night driving in a 43-year-old car, especially after a full day of driving, so it can be a challenge to plan for getting photos at sunset, while still being able to check into the hotel/motel within a reasonable time frame.
If you’re staying in near a populated urban center, it can be impossible to find those scenic stops at golden hour without following it up with a long drive in the dark. Sometimes, when the light is perfect, it’s better to be parked, checked in, and have a beer in hand. (I did not intend to write an accidental Jimmy Buffet song).
Laguna Seca
Driving south through the Bay Area on a weekday morning isn’t great.
But we made it. The end.
I, for one, love your roadtrip stories.
Sounds and looks like it was a great experience! Thanks for sharing!