From Pine Trees to Palm Trees

We left Railroad Flat, CA on March 24 for Hanford, CA. It was a narrow, twisty drive - one which we will do again on two wheels. The road was perfect - for bikes! A truck and trailer - not so much! Along the way we ate at a little diner called the Airport Inn at Mariposa, CA. It was a diner and bar, smelt of cigarette smoke, dark and small, but the food was awesome.

We arrived in Hanford, CA on the 24th to stay with a friend we met at a SabMag ride a couple of years ago. We had met Raquel once before and she invited us to stay at her house when I contacted her to tell her we would be in the area. When we got there she had a room all ready for us. We had planned on staying in the trailer, but she was all set up for us. That's one of the best things we have discovered during our adventures. We share a common bond - motorcycling - which allows us to meet people either on the road or on the Internet - who we would probably not meet otherwise. They open their houses to us, feed us, entertain us - or allow us to entertain them - acquaintances turn into good friends, some of whom turn into great friends. They share their lives with us. We get to experience things we would more than likely not experience on our own.

For example, on Friday Raquel took us to Hearst Castle in San Simeon. We would not have visited it otherwise. We had heard about it, but that was about it. It was a nice ride there, stopped at the spot where James Dean wrecked his car, got to see some California coast line, and spent a few hours at Hearst Castle.

http://hearstcastle.org

We had a most excellent lunch at the Main Street Grill in Cambria.

http://www.firestonegrill.com/main-street-grill

After the ride home we had ice cream at a local ice cream shop with Raquel and another SabMag friend, David.

https://www.facebook.com/Superior-Dairy-127202640655119

That was a first for Jim - the servings were so huge he was unable to finish his desert. He may never live down the shame.

On Saturday we did some more riding with Raquel and Ruth Ann, then had a most excellent dinner with David and his wife, Alice. We ran into some snow along the way and saw some beautiful scenery.

On Easter Sunday, we went for breakfast and a ride with Raquel and David on some MOST EXCELLENT roads. The weather was perfect, the roads were perfect, and the company was perfect. After the ride we went to Zaytoona's, a Mediterranean restaurant.

https://www.facebook.com/zaytoona.hanford

Another first for us. With a little help from our friends, we had a wonderful dinner.

Monday morning after breakfast Raquel took us to the Monday flea market where a person could find almost anything imaginable. We left for the Death Valley area after that. It was a windy drive, but we made it to Boulder Creek RV Park around 6 p.m.

http://www.bouldercreekrvresort.com/

Tomorrow we plan to do some local sight seeing and hiking.