After a short stop in Bakersfield, we made it to the Pacific Coast

We left our overnight stop in Barstow and made our way west toward the fruitbelt of Bakersfield, passing through a huge windfarm in the mountains.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were several RV Parks in the Bakersfield area, and the Orange Grove RV Park was the first one we came to.  The park looked neat and well-kept, and was in a quiet agricultural area, so we went ahead and paid for 2 nights. 

Later, we drove by a couple of the other RV Parks . . . our choice was a good one. 

We didn’t have much on the agenda for the weekend, other than laundry, and mass on Sunday . . . so we spent most of our time relaxing . . . we needed it after all of that hiking in Utah!

 

With temperatures in the mid-80s, we spent both afternoons at the pool.  The water was a little chilly, but it was refreshing!

They also had a vehicle washing area, so Nicolas was able to wash both the truck and the car!

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, it was a nice RV Park, and the fulltime residents that we met were very friendly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were orange trees everywhere, but unfortunately the season was over and most of the fruit had already been picked.  Most of the oranges left on the trees wasn’t any good.

We did have one interesting encounter while we were there.  Tom’s family has always known that they have distant cousins in the Bakersfield area, with their last name spelled slightly differently than ours – Giumarra, instead of Gimmarro.  The story was that they used to be in the wine business, but now were just in produce.  Back in Michigan, we would often see grapes from Giumarra Vineyard.

 

So, as we were getting off the freeway at our exit, we were surprised to see this off to the right.

 

 

 

Nobody was around on the weekend, so we drove over on Monday to see if we could meet any of the Giumarra’s.

George Giumarra was in the office, and he was gracious enough to talk with us for about an hour.  We’re still not sure of the family connection, but we did have a nice visit!

After our visit, we finished packing up and continued our trek west toward the Pacific Coast.  Our destination today was Pismo Beach, and it was just a short 145-mile trip through the agricultural district,

across the desert,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

over the mountains,

and into the ranching country of the central California coast.

We arrived at the Pismo Coast Village RV Park,

and got squeezed into our site.  It was a little tight, but I guess Tom is getting better at backing in, since it didn’t take him long to have the RV parked in our site.  After getting set up, we had a quick dinner and then Tom and I took Casey for a nice, long walk around the RV Park and on the beach.

 

It was windy and a little chilly, but otherwise a beautiful evening for a walk on the beach.

 

It’s really nice to be back on the beach again . . . I think we’re going to enjoy our travels along the coast!

 

As we walked, we watched a sailboarder gliding back and forth across the waves, and enjoyed the view of the setting sun.

A beautiful way to end the day!