<– Day 34 – Apr. 22nd: Old Town Sacramento | OVERVIEW | Day 36 – Apr. 24th: ‘Tire’d of Reno –>

Southern end of Lake Tahoe.

Reno was our goal on Wednesday, but not before a few stops along the way.

Wednesday’s drive from Sacramento through the beautiful Sierra mountains to Reno, Nevada.

We started by taking I-80 east, turning off at Auburn, then following highway 49/193 as it wound into the Sierras towards Georgetown, the western gateway to the Rubicon Trail. The drive is delightful, with trees, valleys and mountains all around. Many of the turns are tight and slow, but we weren’t in a hurry.

This huge statue commemorating the Chinese is much taller than the rail car behind it. Cool sculpture!

We knew we’d arrived at the right location when we spotted a “Jeep Jamboree USA” building. We hopped out and peered in the windows. Nobody was home, but there were several vehicles, including Mark Smith’s green CJ-3A and yellow Jeepster. We would have taken photos, but the glass was kind of dark.

Me looking in the window at a CJ-3A and Jeepster housed at the Jeep Jamboree USA building.

As we pondered the vehicles inside the building, a truck pulled up near us. The driver got out and he too peered into the windows. We got to talking and it turned out he was a retail rep for YETI coolers named JD Holt. He handles the area south of the Oregon border all the way to Bakersfield. He explained that YETI is trying to penetrate the Northwest better. I explained that sounded like some of my readers would appreciate. After some discussion, he told me he’d set me up with a cooler at good price so I could test and report on it. Sounded like a deal to me, so we’ll be arranging that after we return home [Ed Note: I never did hear from him … we ended up buying a Bison Cooler, which has since changed company names].

JD telling me about the YETI coolers.

Close up of the YETI.

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<– Day 33 – Apr. 21st: Tom, Paty, Sparky, Bill, Lucy, Snoopy, Charlie, Linus, and More | OVERVIEW | Day 35 – Apr. 23rd: Over the Sierras –>

Given the public can climb into this old Ford, it was still a pretty nice car!. They even let me jump into it!

During the spring of 2013 my son Karson visited Old Town Sacramento and said it was a great area of the city.  Ann and I didn’t know for sure what to expect when we arrived there today, but we came away pleasantly surprised.

Today we drove from our Sacramento motel room to the California Auto Museum, then to Old Town Sacramento.

We began the day at the California Auto Museum located just a little south of the Old Town Sacramento area. Much of the museum’s collection came from Edward Towe, a Montana banker who assembled a large collection of Fords in Deer Lodge, Montana (some of his collection is still there at the Montana Auto Museum). That explains why many of the early vehicles and artifacts are related to Ford.

I felt like the museum started strong, with some good explanations and backgrounds. The exhibit is organized on a timeline, starting with some very early Fords.

This is a good display of how Camp Curry at Yosemite began. It started as a tent camp in 1899 by David and Jennie Curry.

A pretty static display more typical of the arrangement of the early vehicles at the museum.

The demonstration of how/why a ring and pinion developed was particularly well done. There was a video (see below the picture of the R&P machine) of the R&P and played above a hands-on example that people could spin by hand. Well done!

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<– Day 32 – Apr. 20th: A Sunday Drive to Santa Rosa | OVERVIEW | Day 34 – Apr. 22nd: Old Town Sacramento –>

Apparently, Snoopy can be a little frisky sometimes!

Fun day today! We met some great people and had a beautiful drive through the Sonoma and Napa areas.

We drove from Santa Rosa to Sacramento on Monday.

The morning began with a trip down to Tree Line Teardrop Trailers in Petaluma where we met Tom and Paty Perkins. You can also find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TreelineTeardrops.

Tom had contacted me a few months ago about finding a flat fender. He’d explained that the first vehicle he’d driven was his dad’s CJ-2A. So, he was interested in finding another one. As we exchanged emails, I learned he was building teardrop trailers. Fascinated by them, we agreed that Ann and I would stop by during our trip.

Paty and Tom quickly made us feel at home as they showed us the two different trailers in their driveway, one an off road version and one a lightweight (700lb) road cruiser that was being picked up by the new owner that day. One look at both of the trailers and it is easy to see how well made they are. This reflects Tom’s background in construction and finish work. Both Ann and I were very impressed, from the quality of the workmanship and materials, to the choices in stove top (high quality, sturdy, high btu burners) and portable fridge (ARB). Each trailer is built to order by Tom.

Perhaps the best selling point was how easy it was for Ann to climb inside. The doorways are wide and even with Ann’s bad knee and brace, she had no problem slipping inside. So sold is Ann, that she’s reviewing each trailer option as I type this.

Thanks to Tom and Paty for sharing the trailers, the bees, the chickens and more!

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<– Day 30-31 – Apr.18th-19th: Bay Area Fun | OVERVIEW | Day 33 – Apr. 21st: Tom, Paty, Sparky, Bill, Lucy, Snoopy, Charlie, Linus, and More –>

Today we enjoyed a relaxing morning and afternoon with Ann’s cousin in Belmont.

Sunday’s trip to Santa Rosa

On Saturday, we’d planned to visit downtown San Francisco some more. However, after hearing that officials were warning that the city was extra busy and that driving downtown was going to be crazy, we chose to take a quick trip into the city to get Ann’s mother something and return to the housetop spend more time with my friend Jack.

Today after visiting with Ann’s cousin and her family, we drove north to Santa Rosa. Except for narrowly avoided some jerk who almost hit us, the drive was pretty nice. We landed in Santa Rosa and were surprised to see Peanuts Character Statutes along some of the city’s streets. We didn’t have much time to explore the city as much was closed Sunday.

Ann’s selfie with Lucy

A little research informed us that Santa Rosa is home to the Shulz Museum. We’ll be exploring that tomorrow after meeting with Treeline Teardrop Trailers in Petaluma. We have a couple additional stops before we head to Sacramento on Monday evening.

<– Day 30-31 – Apr.18th-19th: Bay Area Fun | OVERVIEW | Day 33 – Apr. 21st: Tom, Paty, Sparky, Bill, Lucy, Snoopy, Charlie, Linus, and More –>

<– Day 29 – Apr. 17th: Revenge of the Sushi | OVERVIEW | Day 32 – Apr. 20th: A Sunday Drive to Santa Rosa –>

We found a bunny at Monopoly in the Park in San Jose

Happy Easter Everyone! We found this bunny especially for the occasion!

Our drive from Santa Cruz to Pacifica on Friday.

On Friday, having rid my body of the wicked sushi curse from Scotts Valley, Ann and I left Santa Cruz for San Jose using the notoriously dangerous Highway 17. When I lived in the Santa Cruz area I drove this highway regularly and I can attest to the danger.

Fast speeds + narrow lanes + no shoulders + lots of mountain curves = dangerous highway.

Not only did I witness multiple accidents, but several times I came close, really close, to being involved in an accident myself (while going the speed limit). In each case there was a car broken-down and sitting in a lane of the highway near blind curves.

I learned that avoiding rush hour traffic on Highway 17 is one sure way to increase the odds of making it over the summit alive. On this day, I kept my ‘alive’ streak intact.

Woz way in San Jose named for Steve Wozniak of Apple fame.

Our first mission of the day was to locate the world’s largest permanent monopoly board at Monopoly in the Park. We found it pretty quickly, just off ‘Woz way’ (named for Steve Wozniak of Apple fame). We quickly discovered one downside to the monopoly board’s location. No close parking. Here are some pics once we trekked over to the board, which was smaller than we expected, yet still very fun.

The next stop was the Pez museum in Burlingame, north of San Jose [Ed Note, the Pez museum closed in July 2019]. I can’t remember why I had an inkling to search for this bit of oddness, but it proved worth every dollar we spent on it ($3/per person). Much to my surprise, Ann knew about some of the Pez history, as Pez originated in Linz, Austria, where one strain of her family originated.

The owner and museum guide.

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<– Day 28 – Apr. 16th: Artichokes and Sushi Boats  | OVERVIEW | Day 30-31 – Apr.18th-19th: Bay Area Fun  –>

I had big plans for today — a trip out to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, a walk through downtown Santa Cruz, and an excursion to the Mysterious Mystery spot.

Alas, all that was put aside as I wore a path between the bed and the toilet. Was it the sushi or the artichokes? Who knows, but something didn’t agree with my stomach this morning.

I felt much better by the afternoon. We even made it to dinner the Santa Cruz Diner for dinner (though I had breakfast), which has appeared on a number of food shows.

That’s a mural inside the restaurant. Ann was concerned the mermaid might get her! BTW, she is the understanding wife who hadn’t combed her hair yesterday. She’ll do anything for a photo!

Tomorrow, our plans to locate the worlds largest Monopoly board, visit the Pez Museum, and visit with Dan and see his Traveller will still occur.

One thing I did have time to do today was plot the remainder of our trip. The top is cut off, but I’ll provide that later on in the trip.

<– Day 28 – Apr. 16th: Artichokes and Sushi Boats  | OVERVIEW | Day 30-31 – Apr.18th-19th: Bay Area Fun  –>

<– Day 27 –Apr. 15th: Strolling Monterey  | OVERVIEW | Day 29 – Apr. 17th: Revenge of the Sushi –>

World’s largest artichoke in Castroville

Monterey was our launch point today. Before we headed north, Ann submitted a request to re-photograph the western side of Fisherman’s wharf. It took a few wrong turns, a couple mistakes, and dumb luck to find a good spot from which to take the photos she wanted. That’s where we discovered a memorial to Father Juniper Serra (he was news to me) who was responsible for forming a variety of spanish missions along the coast of California. Unfortunately, he’s seems pretty forgotten in his current spot on Monterey.

A hazy Monterey morning.

With photographs snapped, we continued toward our second goal, Castroville.

Our drive from Monterey to Scotts Valley, Ca, on Wednesday.

As we approached Castroville, the highway was lined with never-ending fields. It had been six years since I’d seen these fields, as I used to live just north of them in Aptos, California. I’d driven through the fields many times and seen folks working the fields no matter the weather. It always looks like hard work, often they are hunched over for hours. Hoodies are a popular item, as they are loose, flexible and offer sun protection. Whether hot or cold, field hands wear them.

Eventually, we arrived in Castroville. Apparently, Castroville is famous for two things. 1) it is the birthplace of Norma Jean and 2) It is the self-proclaimed artichoke capitol of the world and holds an artichoke festival every year.

Norma Jean and artichokes came together in 1948 when Norma was named the very first honorary Artichoke Queen. History would show that such an honor didn’t keep Norma from leaving Castroville nor did it keep her from changing her name to the more familiar Marilyn Monroe.

We didn’t travel to Castroville to learn more about Marilyn, but rather to find the world’s largest artichoke. The area surrounding Castroville provides 75% of the domestically grown artichoke crop. The other 25% is grown in other areas of California.The unusual thing about the artichoke plant is it is basically a weed, a type of thistle. But, a yummy thistle it is!

The town of Castroville is pretty small, so it wasn’t hard to spot a giant artichoke once when we arrived (see photo at the top of the post).

We took some photos. Then, Ann spotted ‘Fried Artichokes’. She’d never had them, so we set about having some for an early lunch. We also added an order of spinach and artichoke dip. Life was good!

Fried artichoke hearts

Spinach and artichoke dip

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<– Day 26 –Apr. 14th: Gorditas Make Me Sleepy  | OVERVIEW | Day 28 – Apr. 16th: Artichokes and Sushi Boats –>

Today we didn’t do much but relax and wander around Monterey on a mostly cloudy day. Monterey has two wharfs, one more tourist-oriented and one more local-oriented. We started at the latter by grabbing some clam chowder at the Sandbar & Grille Restaurant. The chowder tasted good, but had a too many potato chunks and too few clams.

After lunch we got on our tourist vibe with a walk to the other more notable wharf.

The ‘tourist’ wharf even had an unofficial greeter:

It doesn’t look like his fishing is faring to well.

Visitors strolling the wharf.

At the end of wharf Ann got busy with her camera, so I got busy photographing her.

As we left the wharf I decided to see if YELP could find an interesting ice cream place. Sure enough, YELP found Kai Lee Creamery in Pacific Grove. So, we headed west until reaching the cannery row area, with some recognizable places.

Kai Lee Creamery was started six months ago by Butch Adams who had no experience in the industry. His goal is to make ice cream that is organic, gluten-free, non-soy, all-natural, vegetarian, and handmade.

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