Ah, traveling. I love it. I guess I will never get over my love of being on the move. I miss it but wow, did I ever get my short-term fill of it this past week. Last Thursday I flew into San Diego International Airport with my first view of the Pacific Ocean in two years. Even that tiny glimpse was exciting. Living in the desert, I really miss the wave-filled oceans, running streams, and mirrored lakes. Although the entire southwest was once a lush land of water, animals and plants, I don’t think it is heading back toward that era anytime soon. Oh well.
Of all the places on the North American continent I’ve traveled with an RV and sometimes pulling a car, I have always been very leery of driving in cities and have avoided them like the plague whenever possible. This time I had no choice. Robert Arends, Public Relations Manager for the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau, sent me a 12-page itinerary (after I put it in a large enough font I could read it!) with 25 venues to explore in five days and write about eventually. I did this same kind of thing in Wyoming a couple of years ago but that was with a guide. That trip we put on a whole lot of miles but I don’t think we had as many places to review. This time I was on my own, being enterprising with Enterprise.
Many years ago, I drove through southern California, most often on my way to a winter in Mexic
o, so I hadn’t explored the San Diego area anywhere near thoroughly. I looked forward to it. Robert had kindly provided maps for every inch of my route and very specific instructions by MapQuest. I soon ascertained the maps were only good for reading ahead of time. While I was driving, I had to very closely follow the instructions and I discovered one more time, that prayer works. To clarify a bit more, I have to take off my glasses to read and the print from MapQuest was probably a 10 font. So, I am leaving the Enterprise rental lot and merging on to I-5, 163 North, I-8, etc., etc., at 70 mph with impatient California drivers chewing on my bumper and my glasses partially pulled down so I could see the road and the instructions.
You know, of course, that all the instructions were so detailed as to have how many miles or partial miles it was to the next turn off and underneath comments in smaller, lighter font to tell me that if I reached “Duncan Dr., you’ve gone about 0.2 miles too far.” So, it was all there, I just had to find it on the enormous green signs that I was flying under at 70 mph (Fortunately, their font was big enough to read with my glasses on).
Once I was off the freeways, I drove windy, twisty mountain roads with names like Wildcat Canyon (which actually are my kind of roads). With that continued prayer on my bumper, I eventually arrived at San Vincente Resort in a somewhat frazzled condition and almost two hours late. However, Janice Baldridge, the Marketing Coordinator, graciously received me and I’ll have to tell you about that next week because I’m tired all over again just writing about it. (You never saw this in print, but if there is ever a next time, I will learn how to use the GPS!) God Bless until then.
Minshall’s RVing Alaska and Canada ($19.95) and RVing Adventures with the Silver Gypsy ($16.95) are available thru Amazon.
At 45, Widow Minshall began 20 years of solo full-time RVing throughout Alaska, Mexico, and Canada. Sharlene canoed the Yukon, mushed sled dogs, worked a dude ranch, visited Hudson Bay polar bears, and lived six months on a Mexican beach. She lectured at Life on Wheels, published six RV-related books and wrote a novel, “Winter in the Wilderness.”
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