It was bittersweet to leave Mt. Shasta.....but, it is a memory indelible in my mind forever.....it was a life gift!
We made room for Linda in the car to travel with us down the state and sometimes the coast of California on our way to San Diego....their home on Coronado. It gave us a few more days to be together while driving on Interestate 5 to San Diego. We had planed to take that 12 -15 hour trip with two nights out and three days traveling. Phil wanted to go to Monterey Bay and Pebble Beach Golf Course. He also wanted to go to the Sequoia National Forest, but, we determined we didn't "have time" to do too many of the things that California offered on our trip down. But, Linda would tell where they would go and where Diane had been and lived and had friends along the way...and it was good for me to put those places in my mind.
Diane graduated from USC / Santa Barbara (University of Southern California) with a degree in biology. Linda and Jim made many travels to that area during that time.....and Diane made many friends who still live in the area.
When Linda and I were in our later teens, a young singer became well known for her music with Burt Bacarach......Dionne Warwick. When I was at Ball State, I was able to see Dionne Warwick perform and once (not too long ago) Linda and Jim were able to see Burt Bacarach perform.
So, with many cities and towns having the prefix "San or Santa" (meaning masculine or feminine of "Saint")..... We would break into song.....singing "Do You Know the Way to San Jose"
LYRICS by Hal David - MUSIC by Burt Bacarach
Do you know the way to San Jose
I've been away so long
I may go wrong and lose my way
Do you know the way to San Jose
I'm going back to find some peace of mind in San Jose
L.A. is a great big freeway
Put a hundred down and buy a car
In a week, maybe two, they'll make you a star
Weeks turn into years
How quick they pass
And all the stars that never were
Are parking cars and pumping gas
You can really breathe in San Jose
They've got a lot of space
There'll be a place where I can stay
I was born and raised in San Jose
I'm going back to find some peace of mind in San Jose
Fame and fortune is a magnet
It can pull you far away from home
With a dream in your heart you're never alone
Dreams turn into dust and blow away
And there you are without a friend
You pack your car and ride away
I've got lots of friends in San Jose
Do you know the way to San Jose?
L.A. is a great big freeway
Put a hundred down and buy a car
In a week, maybe two, they'll make you a star
Weeks turn into years, how quick they pass
And all the stars that never were
Are parking cars and pumping gas
I've got lots of friends in San Jose
Do you know the way to San Jose?
Can't wait to get back to San Jose
I read on google that Dionne Warwick didn't care for that song, but, she won a Grammy for that song. San Jose meant something special to Hal David who wrote the words as he was stationed there while serving in the navy.
Anyway.....we would start singing it often as we traveled down the highway heading to San Diego....Just a little 'memory lane' time....
We began being in an area that produces nuts, and veggies and fruits...Southern California, the area that feeds the world....
Piles of nuts....
Our first night we stayed in Salinas, California. We were hungry.....we thought that salmon and Mexican food sounded good....so, Phil checked for restaurants in the area that offered that kind of fare and he ended up finding the perfect little restaurant in Salinas!......Oscar's 'Golden Fish Seafood Restaurant.' It is located on Main Street in Salinas....you have to go!.....if you are ever in Salinas!!
The next day,our destination was Monterey Bay and Pebble Beach.
There is a 17 mile drive around Monterey Bay that is a State Park. It takes you to the coast of the Pacific Ocean. It was a very overcast day that morning, but, we were able to walk the shore of the Pacific Ocean...there were many "islands" of rock that housed the seals. It was very pungent!
We then drove to our last 'Point of Interest,' Pebble Beach.
The iconic cypress....that is shown many times when you are watching golf at Pebble Beach on TV.
It was a great morning....a beautiful spot, a lot of visitors. We were able to eat in the Pebble Beach Golf Club for lunch. I think we all had the Crab Salad? I have tried to copy making that salad from the visual once we were home......it was a pretty good try!
Southward.......one more night out and then Coronado!
We stopped at a Holiday Inn Express (somewhere?) and believe it or not we had a McDonalds!! For our late night supper.....even, Linda ate a McDonalds.....it is called "desperation" eating! :-)
Linda ordered her Big Mac without the sauce and with extra lettuce! She is so good! :-)
Next day.....Coronado Bay and Coronado Bay Bridge.....it is a tall one!
Linda and Jim's views from their apartment.....
There is always some type of boat / ship activity. One never gets bored looking at that view!
We arrived late in the afternoon. Sometimes it is difficult to find a place to park to keep your vehicle in a spot for several days. But the complex allows for guests....if you have a sticker in your windshield. We were fortunate to have a parking place close to their apartment.
A personal moment.....
I guess it was the culmination of being in Coronado with Linda and Jim....but, Linda and I became emotional......that I was finally there!....after 23 years of being in Coronado the last time in 1991.
We brought up our final things of goodies to be delivered....a rag rug....a vintage clock....a corn crib slab from our corn crib on the farm as girls....that I had painted the words "corn crib"......(shop art)
And with every unveiling there were more tears....
It was good......
We enjoyed the views and got familiar with the apartment...did a little unpacking....walked to a restaurant on the bay and had pizzas and an ice cream espresso......
More bliss.....
One of the things I wanted to do was eat lunch at the Hotel Del....we enjoyed the shops in the hotel. We met Jim and our niece, Barbra there for a great lunch by the Pacific Ocean.
L. Frank Baum, the author of the "Wizard of Oz" had a summer home for many years in Coronado and wrote Oz stories from that location. There was a shop in the hotel that featured "Wizard of Oz" items.... Our granddaughter was a Munchkin in the school production of the "Wizard of Oz" and, I had to find a trinket or two for that memory.....
Hotel Del Coronado
It was a great California Road Trip!......
Journey Mercies.....
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