City Upon a Hill: California Road Trip

Table of Contents

Went on a business trip to America, worked one week and played one week. Road trip along Highway 1, Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Yosemite.

Thanks to my company, I went on a business trip to America for two weeks - one week working, one week playing. Apart from last year’s company annual meeting trip to Japan, I’d never been abroad, especially traveling solo, which was a bit intimidating. Plus the itinerary was decided just before departure, with almost everything planned dynamically along the way. But the results turned out quite good, thanks to help from local classmates and former colleagues.

Preparation
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The working week was fully booked, so I only formally started planning the trip two days before hitting the road, because a fundamental question remained undecided: should I rent a car for self-driving, or join a tour group? After all, being in a foreign country for the first time with unfamiliar territory, plus being quite rusty at driving these past years, I was somewhat apprehensive about self-driving. But being timid isn’t my style - just do it.

So I contacted a local car rental company - Hertz, and booked an SUV. The process was incredibly simple, didn’t even need to register an account, just needed a Chinese driver’s license with an international driving permit translation. Made an online reservation the day before, went to the store the next day to pick up the car. Definitely bought full insurance coverage - proved to be so wise afterward. Rented for 8 days with insurance for under $600 total.

As for route planning, I only confirmed Highway 1, Los Angeles, and Yosemite as must-visit places, leaving the rest to improvisation.

While planning the itinerary, I looked at some Western US tour group routes. Basically confirmed LA and Yosemite as two must-visit destinations.

So the rough itinerary was: March 31st depart from Cupertino in the Bay Area, Highway 1, Los Angeles, Yosemite National Park, San Francisco.