I love this view... 5 freeway, headed north. Blue skies, whispy clouds... and the music is cranked up! Let's get this show on the road. I'm headed north to meet some family for our annual time share week. The 2010 vacation will eventually take me to Lake Tahoe. But tonight? I'm crashing on the couch of a friend from junior high... thank you Heather! You're the best!
The car was packed the night before. First, a half-day at work and then I got on the road about 10 am. Not bad...
Driving north on 5 from San Diego you'll go through Camp Pendleton and then past San Onofre nuclear power plant (seen above - although our family has many other names for this landmark), then through the beautiful San Juan Capistrano and up into Los Angeles. Just north of Los Angeles you'll head into the hills... oh, I can't wait to drive through those rolling hills.
But first, you can count on me running into some major traffic through L.A... even at 11:30 am. Grrr...
This is the approximate location I vowed to NEVER EVER again take the 5 freeway through L.A. There are so many other freeways to go norh on - WHY, oh why, did I insist on this parking lot?!
Never again will I have to see this truck... may as well take a picture of it...
Now, THIS is more like it... let's get a move on...
And, yes, everytime I drive these parts I ALWAYS stop at the In 'N Out in Santa Clarita. No question about it. It's what you do on road trips!
And here is where the rolling hills start... up, up, up... (or is THIS considered a mountain?!)
wow... the beauty... what a beautiful day...
... and then we descend to head into the southwest portion of the Central Valley. This is a part of California that is near and dear to my heart. Sometime in the early '70s I was born in Fresno, Ca. (My apologies - I will not disclose the year in such a public location.)
There are fields and fields of all sorts of livelihoods...
Driving through this part of California makes me proud to have learned the importance of hard-work and an honest days' wage. And yet, my hard work is NOTHING like what these ranchers and farmers and growers experience every day... I'm so thankful for living in California, for being an American citizen... and for being allowed the freedom to take a drive like this.
It's such a rush...
And then I see the signs for Fresno/Clovis and get off of the freeway... time to roll the windows down again and enjoy the fresh air.
So looking forward to catching up with my friend Heather... seeing how her 3 kids have grown and spending family time with them.
I just wish my hubby could have come along on this trip with me... he had to stay home at work. But that wasn't going to prevent me from this long awaited trip. Thanks honey - for understanding. (Plus, you'll appreciate my cooking all the more when I come back. Until then, the mexican food joint down the street is appreciating your business, I'm sure!)
life is good...
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