An early start and our decision to drive California Highway 99 (formerly US 99) instead of I-5 gave us a great run for our other home. I-5 on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley is faster, but having driven it so many times, it is also less interesting, with far fewer towns to entice us to take a break and relax. In the '60s when I drove truck weekly from Canada to southern California, I-5 did not exist in central California. Therefore, it was US 99 providing the main north/south route in the far west. Nostalgia and love of the agricultural scenery made for a great day for both of us, but one stop made it perfect.
South of Fresno is Kingsburg, a small aggie town settled by Swedes in the 1800s. Sun Maid Raisins and Del Monte Foods have processing plants there, and the fields surrounding the town are noted for their grapes, mostly of the table variety, raisins and tree fruits. But, it's the heart of this 11,000 population town that is the attraction for us. Cute Scandinavian style shops and restaurants, with so little traffic that we could walk down the center of the street without danger. An excellent Swedish lunch, followed our supporting the local economy while preparing for Christmas. Then there were the bakeries ... satisfying Doris's lust for such things, and my desire to experience again what my Swedish mother would bake for the Christmas holiday season. Mmmm.
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| Kingsburg's Swedish bakery, restaurant and Christmas shopping. A MasterCard moment |
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| Swedes revere their coffee, so Kingsburg's water tower has been converted to an extra large, decorated coffee pot. |
Further north on Highway 99, we refueled for the last time of the trip, paying an unreasonable $3.34/gallon of diesel (x 100+ gallons), then headed directly into the sun, and into Bay Area traffic and bad roads. Our coast to coast odyssey ended at 4:30pm when we shut down the engine in front of our (first or second, I don't remember) home.
I'm compelled to end this blog by sharing some observations. So, as I sit here at the dining table, at the end of this, our last day on the road, I must say that I'm so very proud of this country. We've learned again that some of its history, even some of its present conduct is to be condemned. Yet, we have, and continue to be a beacon for most of the world that can only imagine the freedoms that we experienced on this trip. Our journey from the Pacific to the Atlantic and back again, has again allowed us to experience this country's natural, phenomenal, ever changing beauty and abundance, the latter created by this land and our people who work it to our benefit. Not surprisingly, nearly every person we met was good to us ... as Americans are noted for 'round the world. Yes, there were drivers that earned our expletives, but tens of thousands more were courteous, some unexpectedly so. It has been a true pleasure to return the favor and share the road with our fellow travelers.
Fellow travelers? The very most special ones have been Tom & Sheryl, Joleta & Tony, Bill & Ginny, Al & Debbie, all who trusted Doris and me to lead them through New England's autumn foliage for 3 weeks. What an honor. What a wonderful time all of you gave us. Thank you for being so enthusiastic, so accepting, and such good friends.
And, to a special fellow traveler: my wife Doris ... Doris, you actually stayed true to the adventure, added special requests that made the trip better, helped by driving about 1,000 of the miles and got better at it as you went along. You are absolutely the best "backing up guide", even in the dark. No one that's lived with me in a box on wheels has ever cooked as well as you (and appeared to enjoy doing it). Yes, your occasional bouts of homesickness made for some "moments", but you overcame them and stayed the course, allowing both of us to share great times to the very end of this incredible journey. Times that you would have missed ... and been missed had you left early. How great it is to look back and know that we did it all ... together.
But, dear friends and family, there is more to learn of this country. More to see, to enjoy. That's why the nucleus of our "next trip" has already been conceived. It''ll be awhile before we set out to explore and experience another part of the US, but it'll happen if we continue to be graced with good health and a zest for learning by traveling.
So this is it. The last full day on the road. I'm already beginning to think I'll miss the opportunity to share more of our travel experiences with you. Maybe not the sense of obligation that set in when I was days late in relating our travels and travails, but certainly the sharing of an unbeatable experience. Someday, I myself might even read this blog and say, "Wow, Doris! We really DID have a good time during our 2010 odyssey."
TRIP TRIVIA:
Duration: 3 months (actually 89 days)
Miles Driven: 8,527
Fuel Consumed: 1,214 gallons of diesel (Environmentalists, please ignore this data)
Average Price: $3.00/gallon
States Visited: 32
Weather Encountered: 6 days of rain, all on non-driving days); lots of driving days with strong crosswinds, regardless of our direction; one tornado watch; one light snow; most every day with sunshine. Temperatures ranged from 22 to 94 degrees.
# of Overnights Spent at Accommodation Provided By:
Walmart Parking Lots - 11 - Free, safe, easy to find; easier to grocery shop.
Elks Lodges - 18 - Always welcoming, helpful and fun. Our only complaint is that some allowed smoking.
Friends' Driveway - 2 - A special, convenient treat
Fire Station - 1 - It pays to have a cousin with connections that gives this unique opportunity.
Street - 7 - Under the autumn trees, next to my sister's. Adds class to the neighborhood.
Home Depot Parking Lot - 1 - Never hurts to ask after a long day and nothing else is available.
Motel Parking Lot - 2 - The sacrifices we have to make to join 100 high school friends celebrating a birthday! Great fun having an open house for them.
Casino - 1 - Unbelievably, we never went inside. Truly a freebie.
RV Parks - 45 - Makes half the overnights legitimate.
MasterCard Debt: Your donation will be greatly appreciated.
Treasured Memories: Priceless.
Thank you for staying with us for all these days and for reading this far. Your comments have been kind and encouraging. We hope our words and photos have brought you pleasure and incentive to travel this great land we call home.
