Keris Stainton's Blog, page 67

Sacramento to Sonora to Santa Rosa : 15 August 2001

Drove up to Sonora – a 'wine town' set around a square. Really pretty. Did some cheese-tasting (!) then sat in the park and had lunch. Drove on to Santa Rosa – home town of Charles Schultz – and checked into the motel before going to downtown for a look around.

It's another really lovely place. Leafy, sunny, lots of little shops. Got Significant Others, so now only two to go. Burger King for tea and then bed. 

Reading: Eddie's Bastard by William Kowalski

What we did on our holidays. In pictures.

Click to view slideshow.

Sacramento : 14 August 2001

Walked into Sacramento and down towards the Capitol building which is lovely. Went to a used bookshop and I got another Tales of the City first edition. Result. We sat reading in the park for a while then went for some lunch at a cool bookshop/cafe.

We headed into Sacramento again after dinner to an English-style pub we'd read about in the guidebook. Thought it might be funny. We ordered two Budweisers and the barmaid gave them to us then asked for our ID. I hadn't taken mine because I hadn't taken a bag with me. She said I couldn't have my drink without ID. I said I'd have a Coke instead. Nope – she couldn't serve me anything. She said David could drink both beers, but I'd have to wait outside or we could have our money back. We took the money and walked all the way back to the hotel. It was quite far, particularly since we were thirsty. English pub my arse.

We're back! Back!

Yes, I know we've been back since Saturday, but it's taken me a few days to get back in the saddle. So I've got some blog posts to catch up on. I also decided to finally – finally! – sort the house out.

It's mainly because I'm trying to start a new book and I'll do pretty much anything to get out of writing, but it's also because I'm trying to start a new book and I find I can't concentrate when a little bit of my brain is fretting about the mess. I kid myself that if only the cupboard under the stairs was organised I'd have the mental space to write like the wind. It's worth a try, eh?

So I've done that thing where you open a cupboard and in trying to sort out that cupboard you end up having to sort out every single other cupboard, wardrobe, chest of drawers in the house. Plus under all the beds. And random piles of sundry crap in every room. (I started by just trying to put things in the correct rooms – there was a Guinness Book of Hit Singles on top of a kitchen cupboard! – but that soon defeated me and now I'm just trying to take something with me as I leave each room and put something in the bin on the return journey. Baby steps, baby.)

But I have at least written today. I'm belatedly trying Laurie Halse Anderson's Write 15 Minutes A Day plan. I've been reading her blog – Mad Woman in the Forest – and it's just wonderful. Recommended.

Stockton to Sacramento : 13 August 2001

Up and out of the hotel – stopping to complete a complaint card that I'm sure went straight in the bin – then all the way to Sacramento.

Got a cheap motel – after considering and deciding against the one advertising "vibrating beds" – and went to Safeway for lunch before watching Waiting for Guffman on TV.

After that we walked to Old Town Sacramento, which looks like an old cowboy town – wooden boardwalks and balconies.

Mooched around there and along the river then I got a burger in Carl's Jnr and pulled the guy who served me! (Well, he asked me out, but obviously I said no.)

Mariposa to Yosemite to Stockton : 12 August 2001

Set off on a beautiful drive from Mariposa to Yosemite. Trees and cliffs and the Merced River. You could just imagine bears fishing in there. We went to Yosemite Village, then walked (and got the bus) up to Mirror Lake, which was disappointing really because there wasn't much water and what there was was greeny-brown. From there we drove up to Glacier Point, which was amazing, looking down over the whole valley.

It took ages to get out of the park and then, when we got to Sonora, we found there was a blues festival on and everywhere was booked. We tried another ten miles on at Angels Camp (!) and they said everywhere was booked and we'd have to head for Stockton – 60 miles away.

I called and booked a hotel 10 miles south of Stockton and we drove through golden fields and a beautiful sunset, but arrived in Stockton in the dark and promptly lost the road. Eventually found downtown and, after the woman on the desk had finished rudely denying we had a reservation, we checked in, knackered. Nice big room with a jacuzzi and a microwave, so we had micro meals, cookie dough, a jacuzzi and then bed.

Visalia to Mariposa : 11 August 2001

Drove to Oakhurst, but there was no room at the inns. Well, there was one room, but it was $119! In a slight panic we drove to Mariposa, which was a really sweet little town in the Sierra Forest. The first motel we found said $75 (including tax) so we took it. It turned out to be a suite – bedroom, lounge, bathroom – and bigger than our flat. Really lovely. We asked if we could stay another night, but they're fully booked.

Went to a restaurant for dinner, then watched Fight Club with a bottle of wine and a bag of Hershey's Kisses.

{I don't know what happened to the 10th. I tried to work it out, but just got confused, so I'm just going to go along with the dates in the notebook…}

Bakersfield to Visalia : 9 August 2001

Photo from Google StreetView

Another trip to Barnes & Noble this morning before heading to Visalia. It's a really nice place* and reminds me of SLO. We spent most of the afternoon in the park (I ran through the sprinkler to cool down) then went downtown to the library and a farmers' market. Then we went to see Rush Hour 2 and realised we'd seen the set – a burnt out Red Dragon casino – in Vegas. Afterwards we went to Wendy's and I've just watched a documentary about Rob Lowe. 

* I can't believe I didn't write more about Visalia, because when I think of this trip it's one of the first places that springs to mind. I'd love to go back. There's a really lovely photo too, but I can't find it. Doh.

Barstow to Bakersfield : 8 August 2001

Another mostly driving day. We got coffee at Starbucks then, apart from stopping for petrol, drove all the way to Bakersfield. We checked into a pretty dodgy (but ridiculously cheap – $25) motel. They made us leave a $10 deposit for the towels, which are threadbare and tiny. It's next to a strip club with a sign saying 'Hundreds of beautiful girls (and one ugly one)' – sigh – and I think most of the other rooms have been hired by the hour…  Still. $25.

We went to the tourist info andDavid saw that Journey and Peter Frampton are playing here tonight and got really excited, so we went to the venue and he got a ticket. Then we went to the mall and Barnes & Noble. We came back to the motel and then D went off to his gig and I read and watched Thirtysomething. It was set in 1988 – realised I was 17 when I saw it for the first time and 30 must have seemed a long way away, but I'm 30 now. Can't help wondering what 17-year-old me thought 30-year-old me would be doing. Have to think some more about that one…

Las Vegas to Barstow: 7 August 2001

Another mostly driving day. We went to STA Travel to sort out the flights – looks like it should work out okay.

Next stop was Baker to see its big thermometer – 113 degrees!

Then on to Barstow, where we're staying in a Good Nite Inn at a truckstop. All glamour.