California

October 15th, 2023

We stopped at the Visitors Center for the Avenue of the Giants in the Humboldt Redwoods Sate Park.  We were driving through the park but also wanted to do some hiking.   As we headed into the visitors center, they had information about Redwood trees saying that they had been around since the time of dinosaurs and that they can live over 2,0000 years old.   Some of the areas along the Avenue had never been logged.

There was a cross section of a redwood with plaques showing the rings that were in the 12002, 1300s and so on.  It really drove home the point that these trees were old and if my grandparents had driven down this avenue, they would have been looking at some of the same trees.

The woman at the visitors center gave us maps and suggestions on where to stop and where to hike. She was very helpful and every time I had a question, she would open a drawer and pull out a piece of paper with additional information.  I guess they get the same questions over and over again.   She suggested that we start with the Gould Grove Nature loop which would take us down to the river.  We headed out and had a great hike. Continue reading →

Oct 12, 2023

If you have taken a road trip between Los Angeles and San Francisco, you would have seen the signs for Pea Soup Andersen’s.  I remember seeing the signs the first time I drove up the 101 decades ago.   I am not a fan of pea soup, so I never stopped but a few years back, a couple of friends mentioned that the food is actually pretty good and not only is their pea soup wonderful, their fried chicken is delicious.  We  decided to give it a try and we loved it.

There are two locations, the original is off of the 101 and the second location is off the 5 freeway so it doesn’t matter if we are taking the 101 or the 5 freeway, we always plan on stopping. This was the first time I went to the one in Santa Nella and I was glad to see that it was almost identical to the one in Buellton, complete with the windmill, Danish bakery and gift shop. Continue reading →

December 5, 2019

Drove up to Paso Robles to the Field of Light at Sensorio.  If I drive up north, Paso Robles is a place that I usually stop.  It is wine country with rolling hills filled with vineyards and tasting rooms.  It reminds of Napa Valley before it became popular and overrun with wine tours and visitors.

The Field of Light at Sensorio is a 15 acre piece of art featuring over 58,000 lights that walk through.   We arrived when the exhibit first opened hoping to see it while there was still some light as it progressed into darkness.  As we stood in line waiting to get into the exhibit, we chatted with the other people in line.  The guy in front of us had a SLR with real film.  The girl behind us said that one of her first jobs was working in a Fotomat and yes, she did  look at all the pictures and talked about them with the other employees.  Yes, times have changed.

The event was very nice and we enjoyed walking around it.  It was due to close in January but I noticed that they keep extending it and the website is now reporting it will be open until June.  If I am in the area again, I would go see it.