Mapquest, check. Snacks, check. Car. Correction. Convertible. A Red Honda S2000, check.
Red S2000s, not for the closet weary.
With the roadtrip checklist near complete, the last yet very important item on my list is my girl. Besides providing important conversation, it validates my borrowing a red convertible from Honda for the weekend. A couple in a red S2K? A romantic getaway. Two dudes in a red S2K? Either two very confident males, or another sort of romantic getaway. Not one for debate, I picked the former.
Born and raised in LA, I've left the city every which direction, but I've never ventured Northwest along the coast. But after a call to Chris Martin over at Honda, quite possibly the most outdoorsy person I know, I took up his recommendation to drive between San Luis Obispo and Monterey. It would be my first non-Disney California adventure up the fabled Pacific Coast Highway-if I could make it past So Cal's freeway system.
If Nicholas Cage had it hard leaving Las Vegas in a drunken stupor, he's never attempted leaving Los Angeles. Through Ventura County. Via the 101 North. On a Friday afternoon. A two-lane freeway, with no sort of onramp traffic control, I've seen herds of stampeding African wildebeests with more order. So what was supposed to be a roundtrip jaunt up the coast turned into a let's-just-get-the-hell-up-to-Monterey-before-dawn run, with an enjoy-the-coast-on-the-way-down return trip.
And what a return trip it was. Being an "automotive journalist," speaking in superlatives comes naturally; however, despite any past literary attempts, I have to say the drive South on PCH is hands-down the best ever. Emphasis on the "ever."
A windy road with epic views of the coast, I have a newfound appreciation for California's name (despite LA females always digging for it): the Golden State. Gorgeous sheer cliffs, crisp air, crashing waves, thick forests and impossibly-built bridges complemented by the roar of top-down air, Honda's V-TEC and the occasional, yet very welcomed warning chirps of the Passport radar detector, it was a weekend I'll not soon forget.
This summer, if you can, follow the checklist above. You won't regret it. Just don't forget a girl. Unless, that is, you're into that sort of thing.
Carter Jung seoulman@superstreetonline.com