Well, it's not really Stanley Kubrick's vision of what 1999 was to be. In fact, if anything, my first excursion to the west coast was overshadowed by the lack of quality technology in the so-called "technology age".

I must apologize for the lack of quality pictures in this section. When I scored a digital camera for the trip, I imagined National Geographic quality images in every shot I took. But my lack of experience in the digital domain brought about my downfall. The camera created discolored pictures at a miniscule 320x240 resolution. Basically, it was an expensive thumbnail camera. It's a hard lesson to learn when you take what you feel are once-in-a-lifetime pictures.

But enough of my sob stories - on with the vacation!

San Diego (from Coronado Island, CA)

In September of 1999, it had been almost five years since I had made a strictly adventure trip. While I had travelled to Dallas, Nashville and Asheville, NC, all of these were apartment hunting trips or to visit family and friends. My California excursion would be the same type of trip. I made contact with a friend from Dallas who had moved back to her hometown of San Diego. When I began investigating airline tickets, I discovered U.S. Airways had a special to get people to fly long distance out of the Asheville Airport. I paid around $180 for round-trip tickets to San Diego.

For those of you who have never flown into Lindbergh Field in San Diego, let me tell you, it is an impressive view, but you may lose your lunch in the landing process. Upon approach you almost field like you are going to land on a parking deck. With the landing strips so close to the city, you literally fly a couple hundred feet away from buildings. All I can say is, I wouldn't want to be a rookie pilot flying in there.

Once I made it through baggage claim, I took the shuttle to pick up my rental car. To my dismay, the agency had issued all of their larger vehicles and I was left holding the keys to a compact car. Now, for those that don't know, I am 6'6", not exactly compact dimensions. I told the woman at the counter she had better let me see if I could even fit in the car. She gave me the keys and I took a test sit. I was amazed by the interior cab room and accepted the smaller vehicle. That moment of inconvenience began my interest in the Dodge Neon as a possible replacement for my '91 Buick Skylark.

> Change of Plans