Harris Ranch, some "firsts" and home 09-22-13

This was a very fast trip up to San Juan Bautista to see my friends Mary and Joe.  I haven't been up there for months and I have missed them.  Joe is going in for surgery in the morning and I had to give him a hug..  or two!

I slept well at Harris Ranch.  Generally it is very quiet there and it is far enough off I-5 that the traffic noise does not disturb.  It was a little more than 4 hours home and the traffic was very light until I was in the LA Basin.  Unusual for me, I was on the road at 8am and it is Sunday, so I sailed along trying to keep it under 90mph.    The speed limit is 70mph and, although I am known to have a heavy foot, I try to keep it about 75mph - I know from experience that 80 is a ticket!

This is a first.......

I wasn't quite sure what this installation is in the far corner of the parking lot.  In fact, I thought at first it might be some far out art installation - why would refrigerators be out in the parking lot?  Of course, they aren't refrigerators at all and the U shaped openings are not for cows.  This is a Tesla recharging station, about half way between civilization in LA and civilization in San Jose/Oakland.  So, it is entirely practical. 
 

There are those four stations and then three more along the edge of the lot.  I supposed that eventually six stations might be needed at one time to recharge all the electric vehicles on the road.  They aren't just for Tesla motor cars.
 

Nice shot - beside the downward loops, I love the shadows on the ground. 

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Another first - the first time I have seen a fat, old trucker in cutoff overalls.  Wasn't a pretty sight!
 

  
I still have my fancy birthday dice on the rear view mirror and think I will leave them there until next weekend.  A month of celebration - how did I get so old?   Anything hanging on the mirror that obstructs the driver's view is illegal - and a ticket, but the dice are so fun and colorful. I figure for my birthday I might be able to talk the cop out of ticketing me.  Worth a try.   This picture is somewhere near Buttonwillow, CA, on I-5.
 

 
Quite heavy monsoon clouds over the mountains.  I-5 goes over the top and is variously referred to as the "Ridge Route", the "Grapevine", "Tejon Pass".  The minute one arrives at the bottom of the grade on the other side there is traffic. 
 

Almost to the top.

One more first for the day - for the first time I paid over $4/gallon for the cheapest gas.  Most stations were $4.30 (and up), but way off the highway in Kettleman City is a Valero selling it for $4.07.   When the price went over $2 we wondered how high it could go.