I went to California ("home") on Monday. Drove there by myself. I made it there in about 6 hours. It's really easy to get there: I-10 west to Beaumont Avenue which takes you on a winding road thru Hemet, Winchester and Temecula which finally lands you on the I-15 south which goes for 30 min. then you split off at the 78 west toward the coast. My parents live in Vista. They have the perfect little house with an ocean "glimpse" which means if you stand in the middle of their street on an impossibly clear day and squint to the west, you can sometimes glimpse the tiniest blue triangle of ocean.