Ranter’s ranting

From Pacific Coast to Gulf of Mexico – Day 1

February 3, 2009 at 7:11 am (Soul Searching)

The Beginning

It all started in Mid December 2008. I am on a job attachment in USA for 6 months and I believe this is the only chance I have to see America first hand. Apart from the job assignment on technology transfer, I believe the main portion of the attachment is for me to learn the culture, working and life itself. Through this road trip, I want to see the mass landscapes and a little bit of soul searching. Im not even sure what kind of soul searching Im looking for, maybe by seeing the god’s creation I will be more grateful to what I have, less what I did not, and appreciate the intention of living. I dont know, for sure.

The preparation

1. Renting a car, I got a Kia Rondo. Not the best of the lot, but enough space for luggage and managable fuel consumption.
2. GPS. To keep me on the true path? Bought a Garmin 260 for USD110. Good deal eh?
3. Prepaid phone card. My lifeline.
4. Weather forecast. By renting a room in hotel/motel that offers internet, I would be able to get the latest weather forecast. I dont have a snowchain, and Im driving during winter. Heh. And google map to assist on route selection.
5. Camera/Camcorder. Bought a cheapo Insignia. Maybe I should buy an SLR next time, though any camera wont do justice of the true beauty.

The route

I will reveal the route step by step. Surprise!

DAY 1

• 0815 – Hyatt Summerfield, Pleasant Hill, CA. Car OK. Luggage OK. Weather Superb. The MAN hurmm..ok.

• 0835 – Arrive at Antioch. Never did I knew that it is a beautiful riverside city, though I work nearby. I should explore more. Serious.

• 0907 – Ryde, a small town by the river. Before it Isleton. Goodbye Diablo, welcome Sacramento.
• 0941 – Arrived at Sacramento. Look for coffee joint, couldnt find one in the city center. Found Starbucks, nope nope…boycott that joint. Saw a lot of mandarin speaking chinese smoking chatting and drinking coffee though.
• 1110 – Stop at El-Dorado Hill. Fill in gas for USD10. And coffee. And a little smokey dokey. Going through CA/US-50.
• 1120 – Pollock Pines. 4000ft…6000ft…and going up. First time seeing snow! But the road is clear and weather is superb. The road is by a river, providing a spectacular view.
• 1207 – 7000ft! On the way down I could see Lake Tahoe in the distance. Jawdropping. I love Sierra Nevada.

• 1215 – Junction to CA-89. Still snow all over. Saw people skiing on a plain snowy ground.
• 1233 – Get to CA-88, drove to Nevada by accident since the road I supposed to take is closed in winter. No snow, no ice, just a barren brownish prairie all of a sudden. Surrounded by snowy mountain though.
• 1250 – Getting to US-395 through NV-756. This is going to be a long drive south. Nice. Stop by 7-Eleven for gas (USD10) and coffee and doughnuts on 1310. Lake Topaz can be seen on the left side of the road going south. Flabbergasted again.

• 1357 – Arrived at Sonora Junction, CA-108. Snowy.

• 1412 – Arrived at Bridgeport. Weather still crystal clear. Snowy mountain on right hand side. All of a sudden while going downhill from Willow Springs, catch a view of Mono Lake from high Elevation. MasyaAllah, the scenery just caught me, grab me by the throat, bulge my eyes out of the socket and loosen my jaw joint.

• 1441 – Tioga Pass road. Closed for the winter. My next road trip will be through this road. Not far from the junction, there is a road downhill featuring Mt. Dana and Mt. Gibbs. There is an overlook just beside the road. It says “Owen’s Valley”.

• 1539 – At last. Arrived at Bishop and check-in at Best Western. Eat at Carl’s Jr nearby. Good place for a good night sleep. Took these pictures of fancy cars downtown Bishop. Tomorrow? San Diego.

My GPS telling me that Ive travelled 361.5 miles. Still a long way to go.

Till then, see ya!