Our original plan was to stay on the road a few more days and travel into Arizona and the Grand Canyon. However, 16 hotel rooms, one campground, and 3700 miles later, we voted to head into California and save Arizona for a separate trip. We realized that we had seen so much already that we simply wouldn’t appreciate seeing more amazing things until we got off the road and refueled our capacity to absorb the beauty of the world around us.
After a good night’s rest in our free posh hotel room, we hit the road with a 9 hour drive ahead of us – the longest one of our trip. The first half is through the miles and miles of desert.
Mojave Desert, California
After a few hours of sand and shrubs, I started to wonder if we were really headed towards fruit and vegetable heaven. Eventually the desert did end and we made it into the rolling hills and agricultural valleys of California.
California Rolling Hills
Rose fields near Bakersfield
Sunset over a bridge on Highway 12 (with bug remains on windshield)
The sun set on our journey as we arrived in Fairfield on Friday evening, October 17th. We were pleased to see that the Vegas-Fairfield drive can indeed be done in a day, as long as one stops half-way to eat a giant burrito in Bakersfield.
Our first morning in California I headed straight to the local farmer’s market, only a couple minutes from our new temporary home. I am enough of a vegetable geek that I started taking pictures before picking out my produce.
Larry's Produce, Fairfield, CA
Affordable Plums!
Quiz: What would this cost at Whole Foods?
For those of you who appreciate fresh, affordable fruits and vegetables, please don’t feel bad when I tell you what the vegetables in the above photo cost. The total for everything in the photo was $25.55.
So we made it to our abundantly sunny destination and it is even warmer, yummier, and more affordable than we expected. Thank you to all of you who took the time to read these entries. I hope you found at least one thing in all these words to insprire the traveler in you! Please check back soon for more posts as we explore our new horizons.