This morning I’m not feeling so well. I think it’s a combination of the Japanese take-out food I had last night and the realisation that the adventure is over now. I don’t feel like getting up this morning and stay in bed for a while. I’m only an hour away from San Diego and my plan was to get a test there and stay in the city the last two days. But I don’t feel like ending this adventure yet. I look up other testing places and find one in Los Angeles, close to the Outdoor World store I was yesterday. That looks more appealing to me. I text my friend Brittany whom I had planned to see today if we can move that forward to tomorrow, so I get one more day of adventure. That’s okay and so I quickly take a shower, get dressed and ready to go. I pick up some coffee and a few quick bites at the breakfast table, because my stomach is not feeling well yet. My main hope is that it won’t be some weird version of covid, because I need a negative test today in order to go home on Saturday. I stop at a gas station in town before I get back on the freeway. Gas is here over a dollar more expensive than in the other places where I’ve been in the past two weeks. While driving I think about how I have no desire to go back to San Diego. It surprises me, because I remember how excited I was to be there just a few weeks ago. I think the excitement was partially caused by the sudden freedom and great weather after having been locked up in The Netherlands for so long. San Diego is a nice city by the ocean, but after traveling in beautiful nature in the past two weeks it has lost its appeal to me. All I want now is more adventure. I enjoy every moment of driving today, even the busy traffic of LA. There were times during this road trip that I didn’t enjoy it, but today I completely get it again. Just to be on the move, the freedom to go anywhere, I love it. I’m glad that I found back my love for road trips that I used to have years ago. I know this vacation is almost over, but I still have today and I just hope to come back to America later this year.
Just to be sure I stop at an CSV for a self test before I get the official one. It you’re going to spend 200 bucks, you might as well, right? I do the self test in my car and it turns out negative. It feels like a relieve and I continue driving to the testing location. There is a very friendly guy behind the counter who helps me get signed up for the right test and even gives me a discount. The test self is just one minute and then I’m good to go again. I think I’ve never spent this much money for something that takes one minute, but I’m thankful I’m done with it for now. I want to do something fun after this necessary evil (as the friendly guy rightfully called it) and drive back to the Outdoor Store where I was last night. I play a few more games in the shooting gallery and am actually improving and breaking my personal high score of yesterday.
I think for a moment where to go from here. What I would really like is to spend the last night at Pismo Beach, the beautiful beach town, a few hours north of Los Angeles. It’s a relatively long drive for one last day, but I listen to an audiobook and enjoy the ride. The road goes through beautiful green hills and fields of orange trees. Around 4pm I arrive in Pismo Beach. Unfortunately the hotel I stayed last time is fully booked, but they recommend me a different hotel just five minutes driving away. There I meet a really friendly guy called Joey who gives me a complimentary upgrade to an oceanview room, because it’s my last vacation day. When I walk into the room I’m blown away. It’s beautiful and has indeed a view of the ocean. I walk to the balcony and enjoy the sounds of the ocean and the view of the beach and cliffs. Like my grandma often says “It’s better than I like it”. I’m thankful and glad for this place and that I get to finish the vacation here.
