Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Wanderings

My Prince Charming and I just returned from a short vacation. We flew to Ontario California, rented a car, drove 2.5 hours to Bakersfield. We spent the night and the next morning boarded Amtrak for Oakland California. Sounds like a lot of work doesn't it. We had a blast. Or at least as much of a blast as two old people can have. We like to take vacations where we "wing it". No plans, just a destination and a rental car. Last year we went to San Diego and rented a small two seater convertible, but I digress. On Amtrak (which we loved) we got to see the California country side. It was not a pretty site. We saw nothing green. We saw a lot of poverty and junked up back yards. Arnold really needs to clean up his state. We saw a lot of gang grafitti on the back of concrete fences surrounding very nice homes. We saw a lot of dairy farms. They differ greatly from Illinois dairys. There is no green. The cows are in big buildings with just a roof and support poles for the sides. There is no weather to worry about in CA. The farms were much bigger than we are used to seeing. I thought about the commercials on TV about the happy cows in CA. The ones where the grass is green and the cows are grazing. First, anyone who knows anything about dairys knows that you don't allow cows to graze. Their feed is very controlled by a nutritionist. They aren't in fields they are in sheds. They sleep on sand to protect their udders. Those commercials, while very enteraining, are totally false.
Once we arrived in Oakland we had to get a taxi to the airport to pick up our rental car. It was Sunday and they were the only ones open. It cost us $30 plus tip, for a trip that was six miles long. From there we headed north. "The Farmer" wanted to see CA farm country. We drove for several hours, stopped for the night, then the next day drove another hour. We went to a place that he was told was farm country. We saw nothing. At least nothing that we are used to. So, we drove back to San Fran, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge (in the fog). We stopped took pictures and drove on. We then went to San Jose to see the Winchester house. That was neat. I had seen it on TV several times, but it is just not the same as seeing it in person. We then went to Half Moon Bay to spend the night on the beach. It was cold so there was no walking on the beach for us. The next day we spent in San Fran. We went to Pier 39 and enjoyed that very much. We went to Fisherman's Warf and didn't see what the big deal was. We drove down Lombard street and enjoyed that. We had lunch on the Pier. I had clam chowder in a bread bowl and a glass of water, the Farmer had a personal pan pizza and a glass of water it cost $33 not counting tip. I nearly had a heart attack. After more sightseeing we headed back to Oakland to spend the night. We found a great hotel on the bay, it was really pretty. The next morning we flew home. All in all it was fun. The best part for me is hearing the Farmer say, after seeing something on TV: We have been there. I say, yes but only because I made you go.

1 comment:

Darla said...

It sounds like you guys had a great time! Glad you enjoyed it!