Driving down I5

Driving during the holidays is always gonna be crazy but this past Thanksgiving weekend was just horrible.

We drove from the Sacramento area down to the San Diego area. We left the Saturday before and it was smooth sailing almost all the way down. There are two major areas that you can stop in for food and fuel. There are of course gas stations along the way but pricier and food is very limited at other exits.

We passed thru the 'Grapevyne' without a problem. Whats the Grapevyne? Well on the way down I5 between Bakersfield and Los Angeles is this beautiful mountain range you have to drive thru.  Your ears will pop!  As you drive you climb and climb and on the other side you fly down the road!  Have good breaks! lol....  I think the locals call it that because on the base there is an exit called Grapevyne.  Once on the other side you hit the LA area and thats when the traffic started.  Whats worse was the rain that came and went throughout the day!

The Mountains

The clouds over the moutains.

According to the GPS our total trip was 517 miles and it should have taken just 7 hours. I used a regular GPS because last time we took the trip our phones lost signal during most of it. Our total trip took us 9 hours door to door because of Los Angeles traffic.  Its strange traffic, it wasn't like there was an accident or active construction or detours... it was just stop go traffic that didn't make sense.

So we spent Thanksgiving week in San Diego and decided to return on the Sunday after the holiday.  What a mistake that was!  We figured if we left before noon we will get home at a decent time, wrong!  LA was so horrible it took almost 5 hours to go barely 150 miles! Once we hit the Grapevyne traffic was moving again and we were excited, but delayed.  Until we get to the other side and once again there was traffic, stop and go and stop and go... the volume was ridiculous!

Traffic didn't start flowing smoothly until we were almost in the Merced area, by then it was so late we were dying... a total of 13 hours driving to get back home. We finally arrived home at midnight.  Next time I don't think we will leave so late next time wait until Monday lol.

Traveling to San Diego

While living in Northern California it feels that any 'popular place' in California is super close.  We are just outside of San Fransisco so there are quite a few places near by,  LA is just about 6 hours south from our location and San Diego is a bit south from there.  Most popular places in California is a short drive away.  Add in traffic time and the travel time is still not to shabby.

The drive down I5 is long and boring, to top it of phone signal is sketchy in many locations.  There are some beautiful landscapes along the way but the cow farm is not one of them. The stench lasts for miles!  And thats in both directions.  Once you get to the mountain, AKA THE GRAPEVINE the drive gets tricky as you are driving up hill for a bit, then just over the crest, and downhill.  If you driving a car that cant handle inclines try another lol.  Watch out for speeding on the downhill as I am sure cops are waiting for you to pick up speed and get caught at the bottom. 

On the other side of the mountain you eventually reach LA and the traffic starts.  Getting thru this city is always hectic and if it happens to be the 'witching hour' you in for some hell.  Once past Disneyland traffic seams to open up and moving again.

From start to end it took a total of 9 hours door to door.

Disclaimer: All my post are about my experience and is not advice in any situation.