One day I was scheduled in the Rancho Bernardo area in the northernmost part of the city of San Diego at 10am and in San Ysidro, the southernmost part of the city at 11:30. My appointment would take at least an hour and the scheduler didn't realize that even though both churches had San Diego addresses they were 40 miles apart. I didn't make it to the second appointment on time.
I'll never forget one particular day because it was probably the longest day I ever had on the road.
I started the day by leaving home about 8am for a 9am renewal meeting in Vista. First leg was a relatively short 46 miles. I departed Vista around 10 for the second leg, an 83 mile drive to Borrego Springs for a new business appointment at noon. Borrego Springs is out in the middle of the desert and it's not all highway driving. The last leg into town is a winding mountain road that descends into the valley where the town is located. I made it on time, but didn't have much of a cushion.
I spent another hour there before heading out on the third leg - 31 miles back through the desert and up the winding Hwy 78 mountain road to a camp in Julian. Got there in time to grab some lunch before the 3pm meeting. Much prettier country than Borrego Springs, but camp renewal meetings always involve a lot more work.
And the day wasn't done. After a 90 minute meeting it was time to head for the fourth leg - 46 miles to Campo, right on the Mexican border where I had a 7:30 pm meeting with a church board. For the record, there's almost no place to go in Campo for dinner. No fast food places, no restaurants that I could find...nothing.
My meeting with the church board only took about 30 minutes (I wasn't the only agenda item) and I was finally free to start the final leg - 126 miles back home. I think I got there a little after 10pm.
It looked like a great adventure when I first planned the trip, but by the time I got home I resolved never to try that again.