Let’s go for a drive! Time to say good bye to Santa Monica and greet San Francisco.

Ok, just so you know: Move On Up by Curtis Mayfield is the official soundtrack for this post.

For a minute I was going to fly up to San Francisco, but then I thought that once you account for checking in on the Departures side and disembarking and waiting for luggage on the arrivals end, I don’t think I would actually save any time. And seeing the California countryside is something I wanted to do. Getting a drive sounded like the more luxuriant option.

Originally I was thinking about heading up to San Francisco on Thursday or Friday but I got a ride offered to me on Tuesday and had to take it! Just some dude from Craiglist responding to my ad about “Hey, who’s got room for me in their vehicle?”

The reality ended up being very different.

Got a little snack at Jack in the Box (saving the consumption of a meal for the best fast food place in the world! Wait for it…)

So what do you think we’re doing with the car unloaded at the side of the highway?

Busted tire! But Joe fixed it in record time.

And then we stopped for a late lunch at the best fast food place in the world. Now, I am a serious connoisseur of fast food burgers. I have had many tasty fast food burgers in my time.

But the best fast food burger is In-N-Out. Hands down. At home, it’s the Burger King Whopper. But from all over, In-N-Out is what’s ’bout it.

After that business with the tire falling apart, you’ll never guess what happened down the road.

A blown out tire. Dude had to drive a mile on the metal to get to a service station, where we waited an hour and a half for a mechanic to show and put a new tire on. It’s cool, it was a neat spot. I mostly just sat on a rock and read.

It was a long drive, but I made it safe and sound. Last night we went out a little bit and today was a big day of walking around. I’ll post pics from all that tonight. Right now we’re going to watch 60s Spider-Man cartoons and start to think about dinner.

Rando Calrissian and Sean Solo.

Tags: adventure, blog, california, fun, landscapes, life, los angeles, me, memories, photos, pics, pictures, san francisco, scenery, travel, whatever