Not all captain’s work is on the water or tied to a dock. This week I was hired to drive to San Bernardino to inspect a boat.
Getting there took about 3.5 hours, with that little thing called Los Angeles in my way. I thought I made pretty good time. When nearing “San Berdoo,” I was reminded of how many thousands of nice single-family homes have been built in recent years along the 210 freeway. The Inland Empire is growing like it was on steroids.
I stayed in a Holiday Inn in Loma Linda and had dinner just down the road at an Applebee’s (I really wish we had an Applebee’s in Santa Barbara). I ordered blackened Cajun salmon and was astonished at how perfectly it was cooked and spiced. I sent my compliments to the chef and tipped very well.
Doing the work was a challenge because it was outdoors in a dirt lot in 106-degrees. Doing the work outdoors in that heat seemed to suck the moisture right out of me at a rapid pace.
I laughed at myself because as a kid and young man I enjoyed hiking and hunting through the desert for a full a day, with only a small canteen of water. But that was then, and this is now. I felt sorely dehydrated by the end of the work.
The first stop after completing the work was a fast-food place (Jack in The Box, as I recall) to order the biggest soft drink container they had, filled to the top with ice and then filled with water.
I had a bottle of water in the car, so I wouldn’t run out if I sucked that container dry through the plastic straw provided with it. I had to push the straw down through the ice and the plastic straw held up, plus it didn’t break down on the drive to Santa Barbara.
The kind lady at the fast-food place took one look at me and said the water was free. I must have look bedraggled. I thanked her appreciatively.
It was 4:30 p.m. when I got on the onramp of the 215, transitioned to the 210 west. Once in Pasadena I took the 134 to the 101 and you know the rest. Here is the amazing part: I pulled into my driveway in Santa Barbara (almost to Goleta) just 2.5 hours after turning onto the onramp in San Bernardino.
Most of the traffic was going the other way, all the way except for a stretch of terrible traffic from where the 134 fed onto the 101 and on until after the 405 traffic merged onto the 101. That stretch cost me at least 20 minutes.
My work went well and was helpful, I enjoyed a stellar meal, and the drive was way better than expected. It was a good work trip. Then I went to the harbor and put my feet in the ocean to recharge.
Traffic was interesting to me because I have worked as a professional driver, and I hold a Class A license with all endorsement. In fact, I was being paid to drive on this trip.
Coming back westbound I noticed that people respected the old code of the fast lane much better than the eastbound drivers had done the day before. What a lot of drivers don’t understand about the fast lane is that it is not about a number (such as the speed limit).
The old code of the fast lane is simply this: If someone comes up behind you and you have room ahead of you, move to the right to let the person pass, no matter what their speed is.
Unless you are a uniformed enforcement officer on duty, it isn’t your place to try to enforce the law by being in the way.
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
