Hitting the Road in California

After a few weeks of planning, here I am in Los Angeles ready to start my road trip of the state’s most compelling innovators changing how we’ll live in the next decade. Thank you to everyone who submitted ideas, especially about cars, onions and manure. More on that last one next week.

Speaking of cars, here she is, the set of wheels that will take me around the state. It has some fancy National Geographic decals on it, which is probably the closest I’ll ever get to being a NASCAR driver. If you see me on the highway, give a wave. But keep your eyes on the road.

One note of disclosure. The car, you vehicle aficionados might notice, is a Jetta. And a hybrid to boot. Volkswagen is the leading sponsor of the #CAroadtrip and generously offered this car for me to drive. The content of the trip, however, is entirely National Geographic’s. I’ll be going with the wind, where good ideas and helpful suggestions take me. So please keep them coming—in the comments below and on Twitter at @NatGeoDan.

Now I’ve got to get moving. Yes, I know, planning to start a road trip at 4 p.m. in Los Angeles isn’t the wisest move. But hey, maybe it’ll give me time to think about a future without traffic.

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