Lake Berryessa Adventure

Today, my car and I became one.

As some of my friends know, I've been a little mopey the past few days, so I decided I'd go do something other than just sit around all day. I've heard so many good things about the roads around Lake Berryessa from the Davis Motorsport Club (DMC) guys, and since I have a GPS now, I figured I'd go explore the roads out there a little, and I did just that.

I woke up pretty early, despite not sleeping until 0400 this morning. It was 1000 when I was convinced that I couldn't go back to sleep out of hunger, so I had brunch at the Segundo DC, just like old times. Had some eggs, bacon, hash browns, and a waffle. Mmmm :)

From 1100-1300, it was pretty much prep time. On my way back from the DC, I filled up with an extra 5 gallons of gas, because I wasn't about to head up there with a 1/4 tank left. Got back to the apartment, packed some snacks, drinks, and three bottles of water (all of which I finished). Once I had everything together, I snapped a few shots of my car, and I was on my way.


I know what question you're all gonna ask, and the answer is:
Yes, I went by myself.

I still haven't gotten a new camera yet, btw, so this is all off of my phone :)

Sexy.

Once I had gotten to the point where you first get a glimpse of the lake, I had to stop and snap a few shots.

Panoramic mode ftw.

I did a hell of a lot of driving, and I enjoyed every second of it. I followed the directions provided by my GPS, and ended up on Knoxville Rd on the western side of the lake. A little bit further down the road after I passed the marked destination, I stopped at a nice pulloff with a beatiful view of the lake. So what did I do?





Took hella pictures of the Camry, of course. You guys know how I am when it comes to my car :)

Mr. Lonely Driver, haha


Hella nice views out there...


Brought lots of water, a Mtn Dew,


Hot Tamales, Quaker bars, more water, haha


Kinda messed up on this panorama a little...


After debating between going back home or continuing down Knoxville, I decided I'd continue further down Knoxville Rd., and I ended up finding another really nice spot...





No lie, man, and it was freakin great. The drive to and from was insane fun. I swear, I like re-fell in love with my car, the way she pushes me into the back of my seat, the way she traverses the corners with ease. I didn't experience any understeer at all, in fact, I felt a few moments of slight oversteer, but no major traction loss like on Mt. Hamilton Rd., haha.

Anyone bring TIZ to Lake Berryessa yet?


After that stop, I continued further down, until the double-yellows eventually disappeared, leaving me relatively able to use the entire road...



I was able to hold 50-60mph throughout, while using the appropriate braking for each corner, of course. My Tokico HP struts, Intrax springs, TRD rear sway bar, and Freedom Design strut tower bar were all very helpful in every situation. For what my car lacks in power, she made up for it with some amazing handling :D

After going an extra ~15 miles down Knoxville from my original destination, I decided it was time to turn around and head back to Davis; it was already about 1530, so I'd been gone for 2 hours.


Back through the land of the double-yellows.

Just a few miles before the left turn back into Highway 128/'Super' West Covell, there's a nice little stopover spot next to a bridge, so I stopped, and took some pictures.


Wait for it... and... panoramic.

:)

As you get back on 128 and get around the southern end of the lake, there's a dam. I'd stopped in the area earlier, but not at the actual pull-over.


This is a really great spot to take pictures, by the way.


So yep, there you go. That was my day trip to Lake Berryessa. I'm sure by now you're all sick of seeing my car, haha. Can't wait till next time, when I go with DMC, maybe even invite some of the guys from ToyotaNation :) This is definitely an awesome collection of roads to drive, the difficulty is perfect, with a good balance of tight and loose corners, and there is very little traffic at all. There were times when I could swear I was the only one out there.

Driving is my favorite stress reliever, and it was definitely working this time around. I could feel all the tension seeping out of my body, through the car, and into the road. I swear, when I was up there just driving my car, pretty much aimlessly, I forgot about everything that had been bothering me for the past few days.

Driving my car brings peace to my mind, body, and soul.

-nesqu!k