Road trips will remain a solitary adventure for me. NEVER will I share with another individual. We'll fly. I can't decide if the worst was the famous Cardiff, Wales to Paris, France debacle, the fear-inducing Kapalua to Hana trip on Maui, the brake-failing Colorado Springs adventure or that first fall-in-love up the CA coast experience. Yep, THAT one is the worst:

I dated this California boy once. We were very different from each other.

Spoiled SoCal brat that he was, he traded automobile for air plane anything over 150 miles. His idea of camping was accommodations at the Hilton. And every meal was a HUGE production.

Nonetheless, we both had the summer off and decided to 'compromise' on how we spent it. I gladly left Cincinnati a met him at his home in San Diego. We rented a convertible and began our 2-month adventure up the California coast with nothing but a map and one shared duffel bag of clothes.

I remember his father's parting words, "These two are made for one another IF they make it back without killing each other." Big if.

Did I mention I can't read a map to save my life?

His style: LA Glitterati, Posh Hearst Castle, and glamorous eateries. My style: Pismo Beach sand dunes, picnics with the sea lions, Madonna Inn craziness.

By the time we hit the Big Sur we had been on the road for two weeks. Yeah, we were lolly-popping along and having a blast! He was even beginning to enjoy racing through the giant trees. Outside. With the bugs. Ha! And I was charmed by Carmel (until I was served RABBIT...holy bunny ears I almost flew home right then and there!).

By Monterey, we weren't just dating, we were a couple. Holding hands down the beach, sharing bowls of steamy chowder. So it's not necessary to say that San Francisco sealed the deal. For the first time I fell in love...with a city and the boy.

A few weeks in San Fran and I didn't want to leave. UNTIL I experienced Nappa & Sonoma and then I think the only reason we left was because they were catching on to my underage self!

His idea of fun/my idea of fun...it was all the same at this point.

Did I forget to mention that none of this was new to him? The trip, the cities, the restaurants, falling in love...he'd done it all before. So while I ooooed and ahhhhed over the (silly looking, really) tree at Pebble Beach and rode in the golf cart while he putted around, I also couldn't wait to experience something new with him!

Which means, he didn't know how to get there without our trusty map. And that's when things started going downhill.

Of no fault of my own, I do NOT have a sense of direction. It is "I park in the same spot everyday at the office because I can't find my own car in the parking lot" bad.

This did not bode well for making our way to Yosemite. Add to the equation that the accommodations were to be a compromise in my favor...camping.

I remember the hours of yelling, frustration, and tears getting to the park. The sigh of relief when I saw the preconstructed tent, with cot (this wasn't going to be like REAL camping, he'd be just fine)! The confusion of why other campers were lugging thermo-sleeping bags and winter clothing into their tents. Crazy people, it was 80 something degrees!

Unconcerned, we threw in our joint duffle-bag, rented some bikes, and explored the glorious waterfalls. I just knew everything was going to be okay when we found the lodge and he said he'd much rather be camping in the tent.

Back in love!

Until nightfall.

oh my GOD, California weather is insane. Back east, if it's warm during the day, it's going to be warm at night too. But in Yosemite, I swear to god it froze that night. At least we did! I remember waking up in the car with the heat on. The boy glaring at me and announcing that we were going HOME!

It took us a month and a half to make it up the CA coast, but less than 24 hours to drive back to San Diego. I don't think the boy and I spoke to one another the entire time. Was it because the retractable roof had broken and so I kept the heat on full blast (effectively sweating him out)? Or just way too long period of time spent together?

Who knows.

I still enjoy all of those cities in CA at least one a year...especially the Nappa area. But I take them in chunks and fly to the nearest airport ;-)