On to Tiburon

April 24

To the Osentons and the Bay area today. Yippee!!  Haven't seen them since last fall!  We left Bakersfield at 9:30, 62 degrees and cloudy. Days Inn was a great bargain and we had great accommodations there last night. We did have was a near disaster at Starbucks this morning!  I had left my wallet there, fortunately discovered it missing seconds after leaving, when Peter stopped at another coffee place and asked for some change. And then, seconds later, we were  back at Starbucks where I found my wallet on the floor!  Whew!!!  

We were on the road again, on I5 north through  the Central Valley, the most productive farming area in the world as long as they have water but water is a problem!  Into the hills, there was less crop farming but we did see  field after field of planted trees (fruit or almond?), some covered with netting. Signs we noted:  No water No work, Is growing food wasting water?

We found a dotted road on the map (dots=scenic) from I5 to 101:  Rt. 198 west to Coalinga, Rt 25 north to Hollister and then Rt. 101 north to Marin.  At 10 :30 and 70 degrees we put the top down!  On this route, once again, the terrain was different!  Oil rigs, rolling hills, more lush farm land and groves of trees. We passed through Coalinga and stopped for gas. Pretty up-scale town. Outside of town, heading into steeper hills, there were more oil rigs and scattered farm houses. The hills became greener and more treed as we climbed into the Coast Ranges. This is another Lou Combe motorcycle road.....he would love it!!!  Sparsely populated, very few vehicles! No service....again!  This is when we know we're on a road we'll enjoy!!  Peter was in heaven!!

At 12:45 we turned north on Rt. 25, another dotted road, toward Pinnacles National Park and Hollister. This road parallels the interstate but is a much nicer drive through the valley. Rolling golden hills, scattered ranches, another twisty, curvy road. We passed a small elementary school.....in the middle of nowhere!  It's yet another reminder that, although we're just passing through these beautiful countrysides, people do live, work and go to school here. We wondered how much time some of these elementary school kids spend on the bus each day.

A little further on, we passed more scattered ranches and a large vineyard. We interrupted an eagle's lunch as he was dining on roadkill!  More cars appeared near Pinnacles National Park where the Hollister Hills were to the west and the Diablo Range to the east. Absolutely stunning countryside!  Approaching Hollister, in Tres Pinos, we happened upon a lovely Catholic Church. Still on Rt. 25, just outside of the Hollister city limits, we arrived at traffic lights and subdivisions! We drove through Hollister, a decent-sized city and through more fertile farmland with crops growing. We stopped in Gilroy, the "garlic capital of the world."  Pistachios are also famed in this area. 

We reached Rt. 101 at 2:30. Enroute we drove through the heart of Silicon Valley, through the towns of Sunnyvale, San Jose and Mountainview. 

No fewer than three Teslas quietly passed us as we proceeded to Francine and Bill's. We arrived there a little after 4:30. After appetizers and a little wine, we sat down to a delicious dinner that Francine had prepared:  polenta, veal chops and broccoli rabe. Dessert was an orange cake using a whole orange in the making and no flour.   Fabulous!!  After 2 Games of Hand and Foot we reluctantly went to bed.