2026, Automotive, dreams, Travel, Weather

Hawaii Bound?

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It was cloudy here a couple of weeks back for the latest lunar eclipse.  I knew it was cloudy but I set my alarm for 3 a.m., just in case.  Crickets.  I re-set the alarm again for 4:30. Hope springs eternal.

Before that alarm went off my dream world went a little crazy.  For some reason in my dream the alarm had gone off and when I got up, instead of looking out the window to the southwest, I put on my slippers, got into my car and set my GPS for the Big Island of Hawaii.  Unlike reality, in which my GPS says there are no directions available between my house and Honolulu, in my dream the directions were going right there.  If you figure not stopping to eat or sleep, I could get to San Fran in about 30 hours.  If I could drive from San Fran to Honolulu (snort), it would take me another 60 hours; guessing the eclipse would be over by then.

If there was a reason that I was driving to Honolulu, other than to see the eclipse, it wasn’t clear upon waking up.  Why I couldn’t just look out my window, I don’t know.  And it certainly wasn’t clear why I thought I could drive my little Honda Insight across the Pacific Ocean. 

The capper was, of course, that when the alarm went off at 4:30, it was still completely overcast.  Guess Hawaii was second best?

What’s the longest distance you’ve driven?  Any good ferry stories?

26 thoughts on “Hawaii Bound?”

  1. The furthest away we’ve driven is either southwestern Colorado or the Hudson Valley in New York. How much mileage we accumulated driving around once we got there I can’t say. The furthest we’ve driven without stopping for the night is either Denver or Fort Collins, Colorado.

    When (once again) my daughter competed in Scottish Highland dancing, we traveled annually to Alma, Michigan for the regional contest. Generally when we did so, we took the ferry across Lake Michigan from Manitowoc to Luddington. A group of dancers and their families from the Twin Cities did this and we all returned to Manitowoc the same way. On board the ferry, the USS Badger, there were various entertainments to while away the several hours the passage required: crew members in badger costumes, bingo, and sometimes karaoke. Once on our return trip there was a large contingent of Mennonite families on board, sitting sober-faced in the lounge. Most of the dancers, as you might expect, were young girls but we had with us one young man dancer as well. When the karaoke opportunity came up, several of the girls and the young me got up and performed “Stop! In the Name of Love!” With the young man, Ben by name, in the Diana Ross part.
    The Mennonites didn’t react at all, which seemed funnier than if they had laughed and clapped.

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  2. In fall of 1976, I (with 3 cats) drove my VW van all the way from Brooklyn, NY to Palo Alto, CA, but in two shifts. The first was to Marshalltown, IA (where I stayed with my folks till January, when I moved to Mpls).
    Then in early November, I drove the cats out to Wasband in Calif. Took a few days, I remember some Super 8 type places.

    I also drove that California-Iowa route at least once more, coming back with a friend to the Midwest for a summer break. Stayed overnight in Denver with our respective friends there.

    I remember taking the Madeline Island Ferry the one time I’ve been there… And when we visited our friends in Port Townsend, WA, we took the ferry from Seattle. But I have little memory of details, other than that you could get a cup of coffee. It was cool to lean over and watch the water churning.

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  3. The farthest I have driven is to Glacier National Park – not all in one trip. I think we stopped once or twice and camped along the way. That was a long time ago.

    Many years before that, a couple of friends and I drove across the UP, up through Ontario and into the eastern provinces. We re-entered the US in Vermont (I think), and drove down the eastern seaboard to North Carolina, with stops in Boston and Washington DC. We returned from North Carolina through the Appalachian mountains, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, etc. That was the year after high school. I may have written about it in more detail in the past.

    Today is a big day. Maggie is currently being spayed and micro-chipped. She didn’t get breakfast and wasn’t happy about it. I’m sure she will be less happy later in the day. She will have to wear a baby onesie and a cone of shame. I kept telling her how sorry I am. I am taking my car up to Burnsville for routine service. AND I realized that my hot water heater isn’t working anymore. I know the pilot is out, but I think the thing is done with life. I hope not, but I’m in the market for a tankless water heater if I need one. Anyway, the water is really cold. I’ve called a plumber.

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  4. 6100+ miles on a three week excursion with my Dad. Lot’s of relatives along the way.
    Columbus to Spokane.
    Spokane to San Jose.
    Southeast through Death Valley.
    Back west to San Bernardino.
    Route 66 (Not much left of it) to Chicago.
    Back to Columbus.
    A grand tour.

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  5. In 1982, Sandra and I “circumnavigated” the western half of the US and southwest Canada (BC, Alb, Sask, Man). Took a month.

    Carlton, MN to grandparents’s house in Eldon, MO. Then through OK, TX, NM, AZ to Sierra Vista to visit her sister. From there to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, San Diego, LA, San Fran, up the coast to Olympic NP, Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria (by ferry), Banff NP, and across southern Canada and back home.

    We tented all the way except for a hotel on our anniversary in Santa Cruz, CA, and motel in Hope, BC after we “broke” the 40-day drought in Olympic NP (which is a freakin’ rain forest, folks!). Almost got washed down the Hoh river in our tent that night. We were so saturated, we simply dumped all our wet gear into the back of the Corolla hatchback and drove to Hope, BC, and a motel where we dried our gear the best we could.

    Other than that, several more trips to each coast over two or three weeks.

    The longest I’ve ever driven in one stretch without a break is about 3 hours (200 miles on the interstate). In a day, we may have driven 600+ miles. Mostly me at the wheel in the past 20 years. I used to need one or two breaks in a long day, but I can easily drive all day if I need to.

    Chris in Owatonna

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  6. We are glad we no longer have to drive 550 miles one way to see our son and his family. I dreaded the trip to KC to get Mitzi, but it turned out to be pretty good. I do the driving, and I don’t think I have long trips in me anymore. Husband doesn’t feel comfortable driving our van, which is why I drive. He prefers to drive his pickup.

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  7. Bless you and your subconscious dream world. That is a creative solution to overcast skies.

    That said, I have almost given up on scanning the night sky for celestial events. Between frequently present clouds and light pollution, it is rarely worth the effort. Sad emoji here…

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  8. Rise and Shine,Baboons,

    Wow, VS, your dream would have worn me out. I have no doubt that the ride over the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii would have freaked out my subconcious.

    In 1993 following our wedding, husband and I drove with the two younger kids over a 3 week period, through the Great Plains to the Rockies, to Lake Tahoe, then Napa valley and San Franscisco, to Southern California and Disneyland, then the Grand Canyon, through New Mexico, back to the Great Plains, then home. WE all still talk about the trip, especially some of the funny camping experiences we encountered.

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  10. I remember riding in the back seat of my parents’ unairconditioned car across country when I was five or so. Around Reno it was so hot it was hard to breathe, the hostile air assaulting our faces through the open car windows.

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  11. driven many long trips in one sitting. bathroom breaks optional with pee jar on hand. san bernado to mpls
    mpls to orlando
    boston to minneapolis
    banff to minneapolis

    saw an online story about a guy who was in chile and decided to walk home to his home in europe. no flying no rides. thought it would take 12 years hold ups like pandemic cost him and its taken 25 years but hes still at it. walked from chile to alaska and waited for winter so he could jump ice chunks across the bearing straight and across russia. challanged crossing siberia and iran on route. had two rules
    1 no motorized transport toward goal
    2 if he had to fly to get visa, he had to return to point of origin to resume walk.
    he did make one 5800 kilometer walk to get special permission to make a country crossing
    what do you put on that gravestone?

    27 and 30 hr flights to china but 22 hrs is fast

    germany to minneapolis to attend fantasy football draft to complete a 42 hour day

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    1. You’ve reminded me of the Out of Eden Walk… Paul Salopek is walking the “human migration” route. I think when he started (in Africa) he thought it was take 7 years. It’s been 13 and he’s still got to go from Alaska down to the tip of South America. I’m guessing at least 4 more years?

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    2. I also found Karl Bushby online. He started in 1998 and as of today he is in Hungary. Expects to be home this September! Wow – that’s dedication to a project!

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