In the last few months, I have gotten this urge to travel. It all started when I stayed with some friends in San Francisco to celebrate the New Year. I had never been that far north and was excited to see some fun landmarks, to visit places full of history. To my delight, we went to Haight-Ashbury. No big deal. Just, you know, the birthplace of counter-culture and psychedelic rock in the 1960s.

Since then, I have craved new scenery.

Luckily, I live in California: a state so large that you can find a variety of regions, in every direction, to satisfy any traveler.

This means that I can go north and see snow and volcanoes. Or I can go east or south and find some deserts. To the west, is a million different options for beaches. Right in the middle of it, the Central Valley, is full of farmlands, all of it surrounded by mountains California has it all.

Someone, me, could call it the perfect state to travel through. This also means that it is really big.  Someone, me, could call it almost too big. And, unfortunately, I cannot drive.

Now, technically, I do have a state issued driver’s license. With this, I can legally drive a motor vehicle. But, the problem is that I am not a confident driver. I am from a small town, where the roads are long and straight. Not to mention, flat. How could I go from that to the rocky, curvy roads along California’s coastline?

Even if I miraculously became a self-assured driver, I live in San Diego. If I wanted to visit Mount Shasta, way up north, the drive from here to there would take (according to Google maps) approximately 11 and a half hours! Honestly, that kind of sounds like the ultimate road trip. A drive starting at the bottom of California, going all the way to the top.

If only I could drive. Also, I would probably need a car.

Featured image found here.

Haight-Ashbury image: mine