The longest shortest weekend of my life...

[Alternate Title - The Worst Day of my Life!]. Well, as many of you know, Tyler and I ventured up to the Santa Maria valley this weekend to explore the possibility of living and working there. We ended up leaving at 4:30 AM on Friday morning. Tyler visited a practice until noon, while I drove almost every city street in every direction, trying to get a feel for the place. I started to notice at that time that I was feeling the beginnings of some kind of cold or sickness--which made sense, as I had been coughed at by a very ill & fevered coworker all week (why would anyone come to work with a 102 degree fever???). We had lunch with the oral surgeon, and afterwards, we drove down to the windy, isolated city of Lompoc, realized there was nothing to see, picked up some Zicam from WalMart (where everyone looked like they were on Meth... but maybe that is every WalMart), and then drove right back. I was falling asleep at the wheel, and Tyler was already alseep in the passenger seat, so we pulled over on the side of the road in Guadalupe and took a nap!

After our power nap, we drove up the street, and stopped in at the Royale Theatre - the old historic movie theatre on Hwy 1 in Guadalupe that is owned and operated as a recording studio by Tyler's friend David from Visalia. We went to dinner with him and his wife & kids, and then came back and watched a movie in his theatre on the big screen - in BlueRay with a powerful 5-point speaker system. It was totally cool! But I was so tired - it was about midnight, and we had been up since 4 am. We stayed with them that night, and by the next morning, I was totally sick - achy, sore throat, coughing stuff up... So we decided to cut our trip short and go home.

We headed down Hwy 1, but Tyler turned off at Point Sal Road - just to "check it out". We drove down the road a few miles until we got to a gate with a "Road Closed" sign on it. After a brief discussion and change of clothes, we started hiking UP at around 10:15. Aside from the fiery burning in my throat, hacking attacks, wobbly legs & headache - it was just what I needed! Cool misty ocean air in my lungs, warm sun, being out of the car, blood pumping, and incredible soothing scenery. We were right on the edge of Vandenburg AFB (hiking along the fence). We reached a military lookout near where the road starts descending toward the beach and decided that was as far as we would go.

Back at the car, we headed toward the 101, stopping for gas and food and oranges. At this point, I really started feeling crappy. My face felt like it had been beaten in by a phone book and my body ached all over. I had the chills, and just wanted to go home and get in bed. I couldn't recline my seat because Tyler had a surfboard in the back. I was in a drooling- half-asleep daze. At around 2:45, we drove by Rincon, and I heard Tyler freaking out - the surf was going off! I told him to turn around and go out, because he would regret it if he didn't (and I would too). I had a blanket as well as the overpowering thought of stretching out flat on the beach and sleeping! So that is what we did. It was still sunny and beautiful, not windy, and I was much more comfortable than I was in the car. Tyler caught some good waves, but he said he felt guilty and came in after a little over an hour. So at 5 pm, we were back on the 101 heading toward L.A. But alas, 20 minutes later, we had to make a stop in Ventura...

Well, long story short, we hit major traffic in the Valley and on the 405, and didn't get home until after 7 pm. How does a 3-hour trip turn into 9 hours??? It was like one of those bad dreams, where you really need to get somewhere, but are endlessly sidetracked. Though I must say, I am glad we were spontaneous even if I was sick. We got to see and do some awesome stuff, and enjoy a beautiful day. It was much better than just staying in the car.

Plus, once we got home, Tyler took care of me and fed me soup and rubbed my sore muscles AND cleaned the house. What a nice guy.


View along Hwy 1 south of Guadalupe

Old barn along Hwy 1

Driving on Pt. Sal road. Everything was carpeted with green.


Looking down toward the closed gate on our hike. Our car is parked next to the road - on the far left.


Looking toward the western part of the Santa Maria Valley

Looking down on the Vandenburg side of Pt. Sal
I'm resting (despite the smile, I'm about to fall over)

Tyler/Pt. Sal

Rusted old lookout tower.

At Rincon, I happened to look up and see Tyler on a wave (not a very good picture).

Beautiful Santa Barbara scenery & Tyler coming out of the surf. You can see La Conchita (the tiny houses) on the right. I'm sleeping in the sand behind these rocks.