A California Crossroads (Fall 2024 Western Adventure)

(I'm documenting our latest trip through several blog posts for my future reference. Feel free to read along, or if you're not interested come back in a few days.)

At this point in our trip Hubby Tony and I had been traveling for a week and a half. There were four days left before we flew home from Las Vegas early Thursday morning. Monday was back to work/back to school for the kids and grandkids, so Tony and I decided to break the eight-hour drive back to Vegas up into two days. After walking to school with Grandsons Jay, Dee, and Ell we packed up the car and got on the road.

There are two passes over the Diablo Range mountains close to the San Jose area. The fastest one between the Son Brian and Son Tony's houses is the Altamont Pass, but our route took us over the more southern Pacheco Pass. We got off the highway at Gilroy, which calls itself the Garlic Capital of the World. The road had quite a few produce stands. Even though it was really too late in the year for local produce, we stopped at one. The packages they were selling were too large, but they also had garlic ice cream. I had it on a previous trip, but couldn't resist another taste.

Chocolate and a hint of garlic

After some discussion of how much ground we wanted to cover the first day of driving Tony and I chose to stay in Barstow, which is a city along Route 66. Unfortunately, we found out that on Monday many of the historic things were closed, but I enjoyed seeing the series of pedestals topped with classic cars along Main Street.

For dinner Tony found a great soul food restaurant. The food was served cafeteria style, and a plate consisted of a main dish, two sides, and a cornbread muffin. I couldn't decide if I wanted pulled pork or rib tips, so the associate gave me a sample of both. He also offered a sample of the oxtails. Farther down the line, when I asked if he liked the cabbage or collard greens better he gave me another sample.

The generosity continued once we were sitting down. First the manager came by with a side of ribs for Tony and I to share, and later he brought a small bowl of sweet potatoes for each of us. I had trouble finishing all the food, and there was certainly no room for dessert! I practically waddled across the street to our hotel.

After breakfast the next morning we stopped at the store to buy grab and go sandwiches for lunch and headed east for the last part of our adventure.

To be continued...