Road Tripping in Retirement

Oh, I love the smell of Santa Barbara, sea breeze mixed with tar.  I'm not joking, I love it. (And I know it's not politically correct but I also love the view of the oil rigs off the coast, all lit up at night, as if there's some extravagant party out there on a yacht.)  All these years, I thought the tar on the beach was the result of some long-ago oil spill.  Twenty-something years later and I'm just learning that it is actually a natural seepage from the oil rich coast.

The salty-tar scent brings me right back to our college days here, only our accommodations today are way nicer than our old apartment, with its threadbare brown plaid couch and 1970's shag carpet.

When I retired almost nine months ago, I knew our travel style was going to need ratcheting down a bit.  Instead of ocean-front suites, we'd be scouring the last-minute deals on the Internet for the small room with the obstructed view of the pool.  I knew we would be driving more than flying, and I really thought we would hate that.  

But when you have all the time in the world, driving to your destination is actually quite nice.  In fact, it winds up being part of the actual trip, not just the means to get from here to there.  (And don't even get me started on how much I don't miss taking off my shoes and walking barefoot on the grungy airport path through security.)

But the best thing about a road trip is that you don't have to use your brain to pack. Instead of thinking for days about what you are going to wedge into that carry-on, making sure to have an outfit for each event, and trying to bring as few shoes and jackets for the duration; you just throw as much stuff as you want into the trunk of your car.

Not sure which top you'll be wearing to dinner on Friday night?  Bring all three.  Don't know whether it will be raining or not?  Bring boots AND sling-backs.  You don't have to decide whether you'll really get a chance for some exercise, pack another bag with some workout gear and tennis shoes.  Basically throw everything you own in the trunk and use it as your traveling closet.

And if traffic looks to be bad heading back on Sunday, take a look on the Internet, maybe there's a last minute deal on hotels in San Luis Obispo.  With no plane to catch, no job to get back to, and your closet in your trunk, your travel plans are as flexible as you are.

Comments

[Andy @ Retire at 40]

I agree, just being able to get in the car and go is awesome. Of course, you probably do want to think a little about what you put in your car since any extra uses extra fuel, multiplied by the longer distances you're traveling.

The again, I'm actually getting rid of my car so I won't even be able to do that :-)

[Chad @ Sentient Money]

Envy...I have it.

[morrison]

Time for a road trip! With $1.87 gas, it's possible again.

[Retired Syd]

@Andy: You could always rent a car for a road trip--it's got to be a lot cheaper than actually owning one.

@Chad: You won't be when you hear it took us 7.5 hours returning on I-5 (a trip that should have taken 5 hours!)

@Morrison: Yeah, the gas for the entire trip was less than one round-trip airline ticket! (And we still would have needed a 2nd ticket AND a rental car once we got down there, not to mention parking at the airport!)

[Sylvia B]

I'm glad to see my own thinking reflected in what you've thought; another opportunity for me to benefit from your wisdom leading the way in this. We're about to leave for a journey to Antarctica to "mark" my retirement but I think after that we'll definitely be ratcheting down as well. Not travelling less I hope, just searching for those last-minute deals as you said. By the way, my favorite place to stay in SLO is Le Petit Soleil; a very lovely bed and breakfast right near the centre of town. We just drove your coast and I'm truly always left in awe of its beauty and thinking that when I decided to move from California back to Toronto many years ago I might have made a mistake.

[Retired Syd]

@ Sylvia: Thanks for the B&B recommendation--I checked out the website and it looks cute and reasonable--definitely will do next time instead of driving 8 hours to get 5 hours away!

[Middle Way]

Thank you for writing this post. We have been talking about just this issue recently. I too was of the mind that I would not enjoy driving long distances (I'm thinking of hour upon hour of blank highways...)whereas my husband feels it would be an adventure.

We have a vacation property that takes 3 1/2 hrs by plane to get to and we will, when the time comes, give driving out a go to save the 2 plane tickets, transfers etc!

[Retired Syd]

@MiddleWay: 3 1/2 hours by plane, how much does that translate to in driving? Seems like that would mean you might want to break up the trip and stay somewhere for a night (or three!) along the way. Hopefully there is something interesting to explore along the way!

Or maybe there are some friends you could work a visit in with along the way?

[Early Retirement Middle Way]

Hi Syd;

I think it will up being 4 days of driving--probably will end up being 5 - 6 if done leisurely, with sightseeing and visiting in between.

After doing it once, we'll be able to decide if it is for us, if it was a fun adventure and after factoring the cost of accomodations and sightseeing, was it enough of a savings?