The rise and fall of a road trip

Longtime readers may remember my unbridled joy back in March or so, when Gina and I decided that we were absolutely for sure going on a Route 66 road trip in August. I love road trips, and I've only recently gotten acquainted with a few parts of the great Southwest. This was such a perfect idea. I could not wait for August.

So, we were absolutely for sure going on a Route 66 road trip ... until some nagging doubts made us check the price of a rental car, picked up in Madison and dropped off in Los Angeles. (We didn't have enough time to drive both ways on the road trip - we were already hard pressed to find enough time for one direction.) The prices returned made me laugh out loud. Without even taking into account that Gina is under 25, so if she was going to help me drive at all we'd need to pay an extra fee and buy insurance for her, the base rate was enough to fly to and from Rio de Janeiro. HA. Not bloody likely.

And so, the dream was dead. Or at least dormant for the time being. But within minutes, another plan emerged. Take a slightly shorter trip (a week), fly into Oakland, and fly out of L.A. In the meantime? San Francisco, Uyen and the McCormicks, side trips, wine country, Pacific Coast Highway, a room with a rock waterfall shower in San Luís Obispo, beaches, Amoeba Records, Friday night at Largo. I still vow to drive Route 66 someday when I have a month of free time (something tells me I'll have to time that to coincide with quitting my job) but in the meantime - I am so freaking excited for this vacation.