Note:  This blog is best enjoyed from it's inception.  I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing...

I feel like I am sitting down in class to type out my first essay of the year:  "What did I learn over the summer vacation?"

Well, as I've always told my students, every lesson worth learning is always learned the hard way.  I have always believed this axiom, and I have personally continued to prove it to myself; with each incident seemingly more painful than the one that preceded it...

Let's see if can make this long story short... (insert Jeopardy! music here...)  Uh, no.  I don't do 'long story short.'  Whew, glad I got that off my chest.  Now, let me begin.

 I went up to Santa Monica (SM) and Santa Barbara (SB) for a quick roadie and to visit some friends.  I got to see some awesome folks, including my students!!!  I also had an opportunity to talk about my road trip experiences in Ms. Gasparino's class!!!   How incredibly cool is that?  I got to stand up in front of a group of students and talk about ME!  LOL.  Thank you, so much, Jenna.  That could have been the highlight of the entire year; your students were awesome!  I also got to camp out on East Camino Cielo Road overlooking the Santa Ynez Mountains to the north and Carpinteria/Montecito to the south, and, oh yeah, Santa Cruz Island and Anacapa Island to the west.  Of course, my phone died, and the photographic evidence will be scant.  C'est la vie.

[Shoot, while I'm thinking of it, I want to give a special shout-out to Tom and Detra Hemingway, and my dear friends, Dawn, Tina, Bree, Terry, and Larry Boone.  It was nice seeing each of you.]

However, this cautionary tale is not about the people I did see, rather it is about the people I did not get to see... One of the sweetest people on the planet and her very cool boyfriend.  Here is how things unfolded:

• I contacted Gioia some time ago and let her know that I'd love to visit with her and Mark when I got to SB.  
• I came to town
• I let them know I was in town
• Gioia texted me the address
• We decided to get together on Tuesday after school. 

Perfect so far, right?  What could possibly go wrong?  Don't you just love that question?  Here's what happened next:

• Daylight savings or standard time or whatever the heck it is causing these early sunsets...
• Those of you who have been with me previously know that the plan is to be off the road by dark
• Combine the forgoing two elements, and you've got (insert ominous organ music here...) foreshadowing... gasp!!
• I never nailed down a place to stay for the night.  In my car, no prob, find a cool spot, pull over, recline seat, and voila!  On the bike, it ain't so easy, which I was reminded of way, way, way back on... SUNDAY!!  On Sunday, I lingered over my late lunch and charged up the mountain to get to my campsite.  The good news is that I knew exactly where I was going.  The bad news is I still got there in the dark.  And all this information was fresh in my mind on Tuesday when...
• I failed to ask Gioia and Mark if it would be okay to crash at their place on Tuesday.  This is where I need to apologize to Gioia and Mark.  I was really looking forward to seeing you guys and I was stupid not to communicate better.  This omission led to...
• A rash splint-second decision that I needed to get on my proverbial horse and get to a campsite, which resulted in...
• A sprint down the 101 Fwy to Oxnard, then PCH to Sycamore Canyon.  First, as you know, a sprint is never a good thing for me.  Secondly, I knew that I would arrive at the campground in the dark...
• What I didn't count on was the heavy fog that settled in on the coast after a clear couple of nights...

One challenge for the blogger is crafting the proper language to capture and summarize the visual event.  It will be impossible for me to describe how scared I was riding down PCH that night...  Now, California Highway 1, aka the Pacific Coast Highway, aka PCH is a beautiful ride under most circumstances, including the beautiful blue sky and warm breezes which I enjoyed on my way up to SB on Sunday afternoon.  On this evening, however, we saw road conditions that can be lethal.  Thankfully, Sycamore Canyon Campground is not far from my entry on PCH.  This section is windy and winding, and the southbound lane closely hugs the coastline.  I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I was scared for my life.  A headlight on a motorcycle is practically useless when it's really dark, so riding solo means squinting at the road for rocks, potholes, sand, animals, truck tire treads, etc.  It is no fun and that's why I refrain from riding in the dark for the most part.  In the fog, well, the only thing you can do is focus on the white line to your right and turn when the line turns...  Unfortunately, turning a motorcycle means leaning it, and leaning a bike when you can't see the road is cotton-mouth inducing.  By the time I got to Sycamore Canyon, I was ready to kiss the moist ground...

I'd arrived at my campground, tired, stressed, frustrated, angry at myself, and ready to be off the road...  Only one problem, however... The ranger station was closed, but I could self-check in to the campground, all it would cost is $45 for the night...  Ouch!!! Now, I failed to tell you that I had used my one hotel night budget the evening before in Carpinteria...  I just didn't feel like sleeping on the ground on Monday night, and I'd get to watch Monday Night Football, all for $53!  Okay, let me get this straight... the state of California wants to charge me $45 to put up my tent for one night on a piece of ground in the canyon?  And, this is only 8 dollars less than a hotel chain that 'left a light on for me.'

So, at this moment, I have 3 choices: Pay the man. Stiff the man. Ride on to SM.  Now, I'm in no mood to fork over 45 bucks for the pleasure of sleeping on the ground.  So, let's rule that out.  I think about setting up my tent, rising early, and heading down the road...  No. That's not an option.  I used my every-once-in-a-while special exemption when I did the camping equivalent of the dine-and-dash back on that cold night in Arkansas...  Nope, I feel like my karma is still recovering from that hit...  Sadly, this leaves riding in the fog, even as I pray that each turn in the coastline gives me that microclimate I need to abate that cursed fog.  I pushed southward to Malibu, Pacific Palisades, and Santa Monica through the mist, white-knuckling it all the way as the oncoming northbound cars blinded me and the onrushing southbound cars felt as if they'd run right over my scared ass.

I made it safely, inquiring from my friend, Tina, whether there was room at the inn for a complete idiot.  Thankfully, there was...

So, back to our lesson, boys and girls... what did I learn?

I learned that simple communication saves hours of teeth-gnashing.  I learned that short road trips (this one turned out to be about 940 miles) deserve just as much respect as a long ride; plan accordingly!  Finally, obey the rules you've established for yourself...  They are there for a reason and the lessons that led to those rules were, I assume, learned the hard way.  Let's try not to repeat them again :)

Stella is fussing.  Time to be Poppy!  I love that job.