Roadtrip to Fresno
Tom’s Dad and step mom live in Fresno and we love to go and visit them several times a year. We always leave early in the morning and stop off for breakfast in Gilroy and today was no exception.
The first part of the journey is south on 101 and at 6 in the morning there is very little traffic around. It was just beginning to get light but it was smoggy, probably due to the fire up near the Henry W Coe State Park just east of Morgan Hill. It was been raging since Tuesday and on our journey today we saw lots of activity in connection with the fire fighting efforts.
From Gilroy we took 152 east towards Pacheco Pass. Gilroy is the ‘Garlic Capital of the World’ and the pungent smell of garlic is strong today. Over the last few years we have noticed how much this part of Gilroy has been built up. Each time we pass there seems to be a new retail establishment. Just past the Gilroy Foods and the source of the garlicky aroma the road becomes a two lane highway and soon the town is behind us and the scenery becomes rural.
The first fruit stands appear but at this time of the day they are all closed. We pass two wineries on our left, Mistral and San Ysidro, but I don’t think either produce their own wine or have tasting rooms. Then we pass small farms with cattle, goats and horses grazing and soon we are into the foothills. On the right we pass a large lake but rarely do we see many wildfowl on it. One of the farms has put up a large, hand painted sign which says ‘Thank You Firefighters’.
The first signs of roadworks appear. It looks like 152 is to be widened to four lanes and work on the 152/156 interchange has started which should reduce the notorious bottleneck at that particular junction. Just about here the highway opens up to four lanes and as we start to climb an extra lane is added.
Casa de Fruta is on our right. We used to stop for breakfast there but became disenchanted with the food in the restaurant. Tom remembers the greeter who flipped coffee cups but those glory days have passed. There are many attractions there though ranging from a childrens’ zoo, an interesting display of fruit, vegetables, nuts, etc for sale, a wine store, camping, motel, gas station, RV Park plus much more. At the moment they are holding a Renaissance Fair which runs until October 14.
Just past Casa de Fruita on the left is a mustering center for fire fighting effort with an assortment of helicopters waiting to get to work.
September 12 2007 | Special Places | No Comments »
