Day Twelve – September 20, 2018
It’s another beautiful morning and the flowers are equally beautiful. We have a good breakfast, gas up the car and head for Los Gatos.
Along the way we are so glad we stopped last night when we did – otherwise we would miss all this!
A farm with thousands and thousands of flowers.
Almond tree groves – and almond harvesters and more almond trees – for miles.
Irrigation and dust.
Vineyards and grape harvesters.
Cattle – and livestock – and more cattle than we have ever seen in one place!
And dust.
There appears to be some areas that are burned – not sure if it is a controlled burn or some of the fires that have been happening in California.
And so much dust you can hardly see the mountains in the background.
We make our way north and find a few reservoirs and signs about water. It suddenly hits us how political the water situation has become here and how serious these farmers are about their water. Living on one of the Great Lakes has spoiled us into feeling like water is readily available. We are slowly learning how huge an effect water has on this area.
There are other signs too, more uplifting and hopeful because they represent the harvest and the rewarding efforts of these farmers.
Corn or sorghum? Not sure but there do not seem to be tassels so maybe sorghum.
More John Deere equipment here as well.
As we pass this truck, I say “he must be two tired.” Dale thinks I finally have gotten his sense of humor! Let’s hope not.
We stop for lunch at the Black Bear Diner in Los Banos, CA.
This is a really cute diner with an extensive menu – so hard to choose so our waitress helps out. Taco Salad and a cheeseburger! This salad is enough to feed four people!
Of course, there is a gift shop with lots of bear gear and some baby knee pads – and voila, these cute knee pads are in the car and ready for the grandbaby.
Gilroy, CA is the garlic capitol and we see several trucks carrying garlic. Too bad they didn’t drop any.
The traffic is everything you hear about – and sometimes more. Dale is doing a great job!
In San Jose there is a rail system! 
Not really sure how it works or where it does travels to and from – but still cool.
We arrive in Los Gatos, check into our hotel room, unpack and call daughter Trista.
Time to tackle more traffic and start up the mountain.
The roads are curvy and somewhat narrow, and we really don’t know what to expect. We find the right turn but then get lost. So, we find the right road and then still cannot find the house so we call Trista and she and Esmé go to the end of the driveway and wave us into the right spot.
We finally get to see our newest grandchild – Esmé. Such a precious little one, such happiness!
As we drive back to our hotel we are reminded of the beauty of life and how blessed we are. Weary and emotional we opt for leftovers in our room and some rest.