Before leaving Carmel, we decided to have Easter lunch at the Black Bear Diner across the street. It had a big parking lot so it was an easy choice. We also heard the food was good. We all ordered breakfast and, wow, the food portions were huge!!
Last night, our stopping point was Lost Hills, CA. The hotel boasted “high speed internet” and “4 out of 5 stars”…somehow, they need to re-evaluate that rating system. But, then again, it is Lost Hills, CA – a stopping point west of Bakersfield pretty much in the middle of nowhere. I was never able to connect to the “high speed internet” so email, blog and work didn’t get completed last night.
This morning, we were out and heading East across the Mojave desert. It was really beautiful as we traveled along Highway 46 toward Barstow. There were well planned orchards and fields – a stunning contrast of green against the brown landscape. We climbed in elevation from 400 feet to 4047 feet in just a few miles and the terrain changed to huge rolling hillls. We reached the Tehachapi Summit and entered the “world wind energy capital” according to the sign. Windmills were everywhere, on every hill surrounding us. As we started down the summit, the terrain changed DRAMATICALLY – gone was the green and now we were entering the Mojave Desert!
We pulled over in Barstow for our last California visit to “IN n OUT Burger.” This is one of our favorite west coast burger joints and, as we head east, we won’t be able to find another one. After eating, we picked up Interstate 40 East and saw the sign “Wilmington, NC 2,554 miles.” Now, that’s encouraging!
It was a long drive across California but we leave the state with great memories of incredible audiences, wonderful technical crews, beautiful theatres and pleased hosts!
Tonight, we’re in Kingman, AZ…and now Cindy’s allergies are going crazy. Poor thing – she’s really miserable! I’m off to find some medication!!