Down the Pacific Coast I Go...

Well I hope you made it across buddy, because I sure as shit didn't. I got hassled a bit at the border, lost my temper, and eventually just turned around and drove back home.

Not sure what will become of this trip for now... I just want to go and bang my head against the wall. I think I shall because it can't feel much worse than I do right now.
 
Dude, that sucks!

What crossing did you take?
 
Damn, that sucks!

I guess our day was a bit better then, the crossing at Peace Arch went flawlessly and we just arrived in San Rafael, a few miles north of San Francisco! Way earlier than we originally thought!

That might have something to do with the car we got, they originally wanted to give us a Sentra... or a Camry (yawn...), but then they found a nice Ford Fusion with the 3l V6 engine :-d

https://pic.armedcats.net/k/ki/killpanda/2010/10/19/P1010586.JPG

Now that's a nice car! I'll wait until we do something else than Highway before I do a full review, but rest assured that it's coming at some point :)

Hopefully the rest of the trip is just as painless!
 
I would recommend not going to Hearst Castle, since Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo have much much more to show case and offer...San Luis Obispo is a big college town right now(Cal Poly SLO and the local JC...),try out Firestone grill if your a big fan of BBQ tri trip sandwiches...also theres a bunch of bars down in SLO especially during Thursday night is big down here....If you keep going down the 1/101(they stay together for 10mil or so), Pismo Beach is pretty cool to check out and theres a bunch of good places to eat and hang out(splash cafe is a good place too). Between SF and SLO depending on what day you do that drive, there may be a decent amount of traffic that will slow down your drive down the coast. Ive done the San Jose - San Luis Obispo run for 4 yrs studying here and between 101 and 1, the HWY1 drive easily puts a good 2 hrs on what it usually takes. If you also have some free time, google Perfumo Canyon Road...
 
But the inspection stations are just for fruit, at least all the inspection stations I have ever passed through are. Why did you get hassled? =o?
 
Sorry to hear you had trouble at the border. When I crossed from US->Canada it was a PITA as well, had to wait almost an hour while the border guards "checked" our vehicle. However, had absolutely no troubles coming back down though, it was just a wave and got through.

Don't give up just because of some zealous border crossings.
 
Well all of the inspection stations I go to just ask, and they really don't question it. They seemingly just don't care honestly. As long as fresh fruit or veggies are not TOTALLY obviously seen they won't notice usually.
 
The Hofbrau in Morro Bay has a better view (right on the ocean) than Firestone's in SLO. Hearst Castle takes up a lot of time and its kinda pricey for what you see, they have Zebras on the property and there are elephant seals on the beach just south of Hearst Castle. I have driven 1 and 101 from the Bay Area to SLO and can say 1 is way better and it is way better all the way down to LA.
 
Well all of the inspection stations I go to just ask, and they really don't question it. They seemingly just don't care honestly. As long as fresh fruit or veggies are not TOTALLY obviously seen they won't notice usually.

Its the border crossing from Canada into the US. Depending on which crossing you go with they can be real pricks. They didn't let my dad up into Canada last year because of some minor criminal offense when he was a teenager. Funny, because they've let him through plenty of times before that and then all of a sudden he can't go because of something that's already been dealt with? Stupid.
 
Ahhh I see. Yeah you can't do anything about the border guards. That's part of the reason why I never go out of the country, they hassle you if you have electronic devices (THEY COULD BE A BOMB, yeah right. Or, YOU HAVE DOWNLOADED MUSIC, We're confiscating your computer! What!).

Oh well, sometimes it's worth trying again if you do want to go to California and have a nice trip? Don't let that discourage you Shawn. D:
 
That's part of the reason why I never go out of the country.

Only an American could say this - imagine being from Luxembourg or Andorra :p
 
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Only an American could say this - imagine being from Luxembourg or Andorra :p

Only a German would actually find that funny.
 
Only an American could say this - imagine being from Luxembourg or Andorra :p

People in the middle of Canada or Russia might disagree with you :p

I don't even have a passport. It's not like I am purposely avoiding other countries, it's just that I rarely have want or need to travel that far. The only thing even remotely nearby is Canada, anything else would be a long flight. And no offense to Canadians, but I've been there and I wasn't exactly overwhelmed by the foreign culture :p
 
Just to let you know, I'm now in Los Angeles after spending a great day in San Francisco yesterday :)

I'm going to stay a couple of days to visit (my cousin lives there and will be our guide, which is nice), after that we're going to head straight to Las Vegas :)
 
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