It’s been quite a while since I’ve driven a decent distance late at night. I used to do it ALL the time when I was younger. Primarily, being young with a driver’s license and a car just pushes you towards going out and doing anything and everything with friends. I can’t count the times I drove so much and would be out so late, I’d be so damned tired driving. Not OF driving, just… tired. Falling asleep, almost. It sounds bad and dangerous, and there may have been a few times where it really was.

The husband and I drove up to my parent’s house for our weekend (which consists of Monday & Tuesday right now) so we could attend the anniversary of a special weekly theme night at our bar here in LA. I didn’t get off work until 10:30pm, so we didn’t actually start heading up until 11pm or so. I took to driving since the husband was up early this morning for work and I slept in way too much.

It was pretty amazing driving so late up the 5/405 freeways and going through the various scales of cities along the way. The way the city lights are still bright as hell, but not as bright as they are earlier in the night. There’s something about the hours between midnight and dawn that puts a significant quiet on everything. You can still sense the bustling life of the cities after dark, but there’s a subtle change that I can feel even when driving around LA late at night where things go just a bit more silent.

There were certain emotions/memories I felt driving through the hills between San Diego and Laguna Hills. Then, reaching Irvine was a different set, next was the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach. And of course, up over the hills that separate the San Fernando Valley (home) from the major Los Angeles area and driving down, seeing the signs for the 101 interchange.

None of this was without music, of course. A decent mix of songs that just fit for night driving – though, not all on playlist or CD. Putting together a deliberate mix of night driving music has alluded me for quite a while. Those perfect mixes are pretty accidental – considering some may come off of a movie soundtrack, a mixed CD from a friend, or the radio. If you change over from one source to another, looking for an appropriate song or sound to fit how you’re feeling or your surroundings, you risk ruining the flow of how it all comes together in the first place.

Tonight, though I had some angry & melancholy emotions floating through me from time to time, was just right.