So the length of this trip is not really what made it so long. Having grown up in California the trek to the south is one I am very familiar with. On this particular trip Jason and I were on the way home from having visited friends in San Diego. It was our wedding anniversary and we thought we would celebrate by hitting the open road, drive the up the coast on highway 1 and just find the perfect place to stay for one night. We wanted to enjoy the drive and just stop wherever we wanted, find the perfect spot and be spontaneous, read we had no reservations. So we hit the road, the drive is gorgeous and we are having a great time. We hit Santa Barbra in the early evening and the whole town is sold out, some random fiesta weekend thing. We decide to forgo the rest of the coastal drive and just head north to find a place to stay, any place to stay. So we drive on to Santa Maria, sold out because of the mid state fair. By now it is about midnight and we have no place to stay. At about Solvang at the saddest Bakers Square in the world, having found out that this town was also sold out, we decide that we are just going to get home and drive through the night. At four in the morning we finally made it home. It was the longest day and road trip of my entire life! I vowed never to go anywhere without hotel reservations, especially during the mid state fair.