Another night of writer’s block. Here is today’s writing prompt:
If you got into your car and drove until you ran out of gas, where would you find yourself? Could you live there?
So, right now, the car has about half a tank of gas. It’s also also sort of temperamental when it comes to fuel economy, so that means maybe 140 to 180 miles. As the bird flies, that’s pretty far.
The circle is at a 150-mile radius. Using actual on-the-road directions, in 180 miles, I could get to Fresno, Point Arenas, Mendocino, Paso Robles, Orland up I-5, Blue Canyon out along I-80 towards Tahoe, or almost to San Simeon along highway 1. Could I live in those places? It’s theoretically possible.
Would I want to? Nothing in the Central Valley, thanks; it’s damn hot in Fresno this time of year. In the little towns along I-80? I’ve never really spent any time there except in the car, but from what I’ve seen, it doesn’t really appeal to me. I’ve never been north on I-5 past Sacramento, but I don’t have a lot of hope.
So, along the coast then? I’ve never been near Mendocino, but the stories sure make it sound good. The coast to the south might be harder; that part of highway 1 south of Big Sur is really rugged and is prone to fires. Very beautiful, though.
Since I’m a geek, I can work from just about anywhere with reliable power and high speed internet access. That also means my job can be done by people anywhere in the world with those things, like places without an astronomical cost of living and lots of labor and environmental laws. I try not to think about that too much.
With the exception of Fresno, all these towns are pretty small. I’m afraid I might get a little stir crazy after a while. I have a three Chinese restaurant rule: there must be a minimum number of places to get take-away within a certain radius. For a while after high school, I lived with my aunt and uncle in small-town New England. That’s when I came up with the rule. Californians love to corrupt all varieties of Asian food, though, so that may not be a problem.
Personally, I’ve always been a suburbanite. The closest I’ve ever been to living in the heart of a big city was when I stayed in my friend’s spare room for a couple of months while I was doing some work in Los Angeles. She lived hood-adjacent, the ATM offered up six different languages, and my car got stolen.
I love maps, so this was a fun exercise for me, even if it did keep me from meeting my publishing deadline for tonight. They’re always full of possibility. I kind of wish I knew more about cartography and GIS. Maybe someday I’ll learn more, in my Copious Spare Time.