Or...Overplanning?
Hmmm, our mantra has always been to Believe in St. Serendipity...to let the road lead us to new adventures. Over the past few decades, she's done us proud.
So, why plan a Road Trip and at what point are you OVER planning?
I caught myself in this quandary setting up our latest foray North to see my Mom in Olympia, WA.
Our original plan was to head up there in December for her 95th birthday (!!!), hitting some major sites along the way, all in "Help Me Honda." Alas, after managing to dodge the Plague for several years, Covid caught us. Just before Thanksgiving (ironic, no?) and that killed that plan.
So now, rested, well, and ready to roll, a New Plan was hatched. Let's plan the trip around something I've always wanted to do, hit Monterey for some of the Pebble Beach hoopla. And, as a bonus, enter the infamous Concours de LeMons. Yes, that Anti-Snooty, Anti-Megabucks Carshow.
It's all about the weird and wonderful and horrible icons of the Automotive world. A perfect venue for a big, bright yellow Citroen Wagon...like ours.
So, first, find out when LeMons is, enter it, and see if MAYBE, just maybe, we can find a place to stay up there where they don't put ground glass in the vaseline when they up-charge you for a room for three nights. To give you an idea, the Second Crappiest Motel 6 in the World, the one in Salinas, charges some $400 bucks A NIGHT!!
Lucky me, using Hotels.com, I found a decent place in Watsonville for far less. BTW, I did this in March! Having locked that in and making sure I could cancel it in an emergency, the rest was easy.
Working backwards, and applying our new standard of trying to not drive more than 400 miles a day and, of course, heading up 101 through the Redwoods, I could then plan stops backwards, knowing we'd have to hit Watsonville on Friday, 8/18. That would give me a date to set out from Mom's in Oly. I could next figure a week at her place, and Hey, Presto, Bob's yer Uncle, and Fanny's yer Aunt, the plan fell into place.
Going up, we'd spend the night in some of our regular digs...Keefer's Inn in King City, The Sherwood Forest in Garberville, and the Knights Inn in Grants Pass.
We like the Keefer for it's history and funkiness, independence, and it's where we'd all stay on the Iron Bottom Drive. We'd stayed in the Sherwood Forest a few times before and liked it (we can't always afford the Benbow Inn!) but OH HORROR! No listing on Hotels...I checked Google, and sadly, the place didn't survive the pandemic! Enter the Motel Garberville. About the same price and good reviews. The Knights Inn in Grants Pass is great because it's again, local, and within staggering distance of the Laughing Clam Pub! Good Guinness, good food!
So, having locked those in (as well as the Knights Inn for the return leg) I decided to go back not via the Redwoods, but head south on the I-5. Yeah, I know, but the drive through Shasta and Dunsmuir is gorgeous and well get to see the almost full Lake Shasta (maybe for the last time?). A stop in Williams, CA meant we could intice Old Buddy Bill and his lady Danielle to jog over from Clearlake to meet us for dinner.
From there, we'd shoot down to Watsonville, do Car Stuff there, and then head home on Monday. WHEW.
Then the Evil Overplanning began to hit. I may have planned this too early, tempting me to micro-manage the trip.
First, a quirk of the Citroen...the fuel gauge has never worked. That means using the GPS to prompt me to gas up somewhere under 200 miles at a go. Which is fine, because it means a nice stop to pee and stretch.
Then came the eternal question, where to eat along the way and not do many extra stops unless we had to. All of a sudden, Breakfast and Weather became issues.
We're traveling in August. In a car with NO A/C. Through some areas that can get REALLY HOT. So, 5AM starts will be required. Did you know that there are few places along 101 that open early for breakfast? Now, I'm not usually a big breakfast eater, but on a Road Trip, starting the day with pancakes and bacon is SO satisfying, as is heading out at O'Dark-Thirty and seeing the sunrise as you drive along.
This meant a couple of places, the Worker Bee in Carpinteria, and (ironically) the Busy Bee in Ventura were out. They don't open until 8:00! sheesh! So, the other favorite, Chads (nee Sambos) in Santa Barbara. And, we could gas up there.
Then the Over-Planning Bug really hit. Thanks to Google Maps, you can not only plan your route, but find ALL the gas stations along the way! This led me down the rabbit hole where I was picking specific gas stops along the way, as well as places for lunch, and...pop goes the spontinaity. sigh.
I've since ditched that idea, having a good idea of what city will give us gas and leaving a bit more planning.
One of my recent ventures, is youtube videos on Road Trippin'. I've already gotten several posted (links are in the top right column for your easy enjoyment) and I plan to do several more on this trip, especially on all those wonderful, weird Roadside Attractions in the Redwoods. You know, the Drive Thru Trees, Confusion Hill, gas station built out of one redwood tree trunk. All the neat, funky stuff.
So, Dear and Constant Reader, WATCH THIS SPACE!
And here's a few photos from our last trip up there in '19:
