Every year when I was a kid, throughout the 1970’s and 80’s, my extended family would take a road trip to San Diego to visit family. During the era of no-seatbelt-laws, thirteen (13!) of us would pile into the family orange Dodge Van with the bubble windows, back area that turned into a huge bed, had a sink and hidden toilet, and a metal ladder on the back. We would leave super early in the morning (though I always believed it was late at night because it was still dark out), and us kids would sleep on the converted bed for the first few hours. After day break, the van would transform to wrap around bench seating. Everyone had their designated seat – including my aunt and uncle who shared the “seat” of the red metal Coleman cooler (I still have it) and those designated spots never changed year after year. My dad was the only driver, and we would always stop at all the exact same rest spots. (In my younger years, I would always vomit at the same rest stop. My Mom had this inevitable situation handled down to a science and was ready for it. There was no mess and it was just part of the trip.) There were a couple overnight stops along the way, including Santa Maria (a relative lived there) and the Disneyland area, and we went to Disneyland every year. (I just googled, “Was Disneyland affordable in the 80’s?” Answer: “Yes, Disneyland was highly affordable in the 1980’s. A 1-day adult passport cost around $12 in 1980, increasing to only about $24 by 1988. Adjusted for inflation, a day at the park was roughly half the cost of admission compared to modern rates.”) We also had our brief sightseeing stops, including Solvang, Hearst Castle, and the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. Solvang is imprinted in my mind from not only these road trips, but also from going on the frequent, “classic” California road trips as a teenager and adult with friends.