Placentia -Santa Nella First day of Road Trip 04-19-13

First day of my Road Trip to Washington state. It was 82F at my house when I left at 1:30pm and even hotter when I drove through Pasadena on the 210 Fwy. I always run my A/C to counteract the air pollution, but today I turned the thermostat down to counteract the heat! However, the traffic wasn't bad, so it only took 5-1/2 hours to Mary and Joe's in San Juan Bautista. Joe came home from the hospital today - he is so happy to be at HOME - and Mary is happy to have him. He is very pale and thin, but is eating better. I was only there for about thirty minutes and then headed back to I-5, I'll stop longer on the return trip in a couple weeks.

Because of the drought there have not been a lot of wildflowers blooming this year. But I spotted these patches high on the tops of the mountains as I drove the Ridge Route today. They are too far away to identify, but the color makes me think they are California poppies. Click on the picture for an enlargement. I did see quite a lot of wild mustard as I drove further north, but nothing like the fields and fields in a non-drought year. .


Then I saw this view. What on Earth? Looks like something wrapped up in tubular plastic packages. The shape reminds me of the TCQC quilts wrapped on stuffies and covered.

 

And then there was this view. What?

Finally a side ways view - they are fruit trees (peaches?) covered with netting. To keep out the birds? The brown post in the middle is a fence post, but there must be fasteners to keep the net on the trees when the wind blows..

Looks like this farmer needs to so some staking or attaching or his net will blow away.

When I drove up into the hills on the winding road to Mary's the llamas were grazing at the "llama farm" along the way.

  

They have quite a herd now - white, beige, brown and multicolored.

They seem very curious and usually look up if I slow down as I drive past. Guess the Aussies would call them "sticky noses" - I like that expression over "nosey".

Two long driving days ahead because I didn't get away on Thursday. I'll stop and walk around every couple hours and, of course, I will have two more motel nights. Tonight I am Holiday Inn Express in Santa Nella - 45 minutes from Mary and Joe. I didn't stay with them because it would just make more work for Mary - laundry and all. And I might just get away early - not my usual "style" - I have set my alarm!

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