From the Desert to Paradise: June 25, 2011

After a few hours of sleep, it was time to get up and head for the coast.  It was incredibly hot and I had some concern that the Cobra would overheat. As I started the journey, I made a deal with the car that if I kept the A/C on low, it wouldn't overheat. It worked!  I did notice the pattern that if I trailed a car too closely or anytime I would ascend a mountain, the engine would start to get hot.  Knowing that, I changed up my driving habits to work with the car.

After several hours of driving in the desert, all of the sudden I noticed that the mountains were green, not brown.  I hit some traffic and one of the cars was a Mercedes CLS 63 ($100,000, 6.3L V8, +500 Horsepower). The driver really amazed me when he went to pass me and dropped the hammer.  Most people that can afford these cars don't drive them like they are meant to be driven.  After some spirited driving we shared a thumbs up and huge, s***-eating grins and then he got off at his exit.  It's always fun running into other car guys... especially ones that can afford the expensive toys!

Around 6 PM, I arrived at casa de Sorna.  It has been about a year (almost exactly) since I have seen him.  He is doing great.  We went out and hit the beach before dinner.  He took me to a beach where sea lions come up to the sand and sleep.  We could walk right up to them!  Just an FYI- they will hiss/ growl at you if you get too close.  Then we walked around the town and Sorna picked out a nice restaurant for dinner.  When we got back, I meet his roommates and then we called it a night.

So I did it!  I made it from Dayton to San Diego.  I will be here for a few days and then off to other parts of Cali and then the drive back East will begin.

The Mileage from Dayton to San Diego was 72,228-74,895=  2,667!

Mileage: Starting 74,572 & Ending 74,895= 323
Stayed in San Diego (at Sorna's)
States Visited: Nevada, California

Sorna driving the Cobra:

Sea lions from far away:

Sea lions up close:

The coast at sunset:

Sorna with a sea lion:

My turn:

The sunset: