When our friend, J Braun, asked if we would like to drive his Miata across country to San Francisco, we said we would have to see if we could afford the trip… and then said yes anyway. We took a look at it, and drove it up to Maine to see if we could handle being in a small convertable, together, for that long of a trip. We decided to do it because the car is small, sporty, and fun. And neither Jason nor I had driven across country.

It was suggested to us to take Route 50 across the middle of the country. Route 50, also known as The Loneliest Highway, is one of the last transcontinental highways that hasn’t been chopped up over the years.

We’re looking forward to taking in some history and taking plenty of photos. Until we get going, I can share some photos from our last visit to the California. Like this trip, our first stop is our home town Toledo, Oh to say hello to the folks before starting out on our trip.

Last time we skipped the middle and flew straight to San Francicso. I have a few photos from that trip burning a hole in my hard drive that I haven’t processed yet. Some were of Sonoma…

And quite a few of Yosemite, which we will meet up with J there this trip. He has a family-friend he grew up with who has an A frame cabin inside of Yosemite. There is a residential area inside the park that had been there for decades. It is now against the law to build inside of the park, but these cabins were grandfathered in.

There was a recent forest fire the last time we stayed in Yosemite near the cabin. I was told they suspected the fire was set on purpose to get rid of the cabins so the park to take back their land… but who knows.  I’m curious to see what has or hasn’t grown back.

And our last stop will be in San Francisco to drop off the car to J’s dad and then fly home. J said next year, he and his wife, Beth, may drive the car back home to where they live in Connecticut.

J is actually going to take a trip that will make our’s look like child’s play, which is why he’s in Yosemite when we’re driving through. He’s picking up a Honda Africa Twin (yes, it’s a dual sport motorcycle) to ride down to Mexico and then meander back home on as many dirt roads as he can find. He has his own blog going where he’s posting about the trip. Check him out on Monday Moto Madness…