A timelapse of driving the coach 238 miles from Thousand Trails San Benito Preserve to Orange Grove RV Park in Bakersfield, California. Now with music! Let me know if you prefer the silent timelapses, or with music.
Author: David
Travel from San Benito to Bakersfield, CA
We departed Thousand Trails San Benito Preserve, and headed to Bakersfield, California.
The map route; a six hour drive in our coach:
Heading into the hills along the CA-152 freeway:
We followed a couple of car carriers transporting Teslas through the pass:
Another couple of views of the very empty San Luis Reservoir:
A stop at Love’s for some diesel and DEF (and cleaning the windshield!):
Paladin spent most of the trip on the kitchen counter:
He seemed more relaxed about it than previous trips:
A rest stop between two other RVs:
A nice thing about a motorhome is we can easily make lunch (and use the bathroom) while at a rest stop:
I put Paladin’s dash bed on the kitchen counter, so he’d have a more comfortable place to sit; he seemed to appreciate that:
The I-5 freeway was primarily populated by big rigs:
Bakersfield city limit:
The Orange Grove RV Park campground entrance:
Stay tuned for a timelapse video of the journey today (with music this time!), and a tour of the campground tomorrow.
Food: The 19th Hole Booze & Food in Tres Pinos, CA
A dinner while at San Benito Preserve, also in Tres Pinos, California: the 19th Hole Booze and Food steakhouse and saloon, apparently founded in 1883:
I had a margarita, and a delightful steak, loaded baked potato, veggies, and garlic bread:
Video: timelapse of driving from Carmel to Big Sur
A silent 8x timelapse of driving our truck down the California coast from Carmel to Big Sur.
Driving down the coast from Carmel to Big Sur, CA
We took a drive down the California coast, via Carmel down to Big Sur, just for fun.
Monastery Beach, Carmel:
Ocean:
Bixby Creek Bridge:
Point Sur Lighthouse:
On the way back, we noticed a Giant Artichoke in Castroville, CA:
A map of our route; we went there and back basically the same way:
Clear sewer hose extension
A handy little addition to the wet bay of the coach: a clear sewer hose extension, attached below the sewer valves.
This enables me to better see the water draining from the black and grey tanks; the other end of the hose has a clear portion too, which is also useful, but this lets me see the water before it drains the length of the hose:
Here it is in context, draining the grey tank (from the sinks, shower, etc):
Exploring route from San Benito Preserve to I-5
Having seen how narrow and windy the most direct route was from the Thousand Trails San Benito Preserve campground to our next stop in Bakersfield, we decided to explore an alternative route that involved a little bit of backtracking up to Hollister, but made up for that via the speed of the I-5 freeway, and an easier drive. We enjoy twisty roads in our truck, but not so much with 60 feet of coach and toad.
So we took a drive in our truck along the first part of that route, past the San Luis Reservoir. Which was looking distressingly empty; according to the map, all of the flat plain in these pictures was supposed to be covered with several feet of water:
After reaching I-5, and satisfying ourselves that it was a much easier route, we stopped for gas, and visited a nearby roadside stand selling dried fruit and nuts and such; now we’re well stocked for snacks:
Then we headed back home via Little Panoche Road, Firebaugh, CA:
The route:
Food: FlapJacks Breakfast & Grill in Tres Pinos, CA
For one breakfast while staying at San Benito Preserve, we went to FlapJacks Breakfast & Grill, a breakfast restaurant in Tres Pinos, California (20 minutes away).
My breakfast was a bacon, ham, tomato & avocado scramble, with a side of country potatoes and flapjacks / pancakes. Very tasty:
Outside:
Monterey Bay Aquarium
We visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
The aquarium had timed entry tickets, with a very long line to get in, and having to show ID and vaccination card (the first time we’ve encountered that):
We enjoyed exploring the various exhibits, starting with a feeding of the sea otters:
Lots of fish exhibits:
Fascinating jellyfish:
An impressive 90-foot window on the open sea exhibit:
Sea birds:
Octopus:
More fish:
Interactive exhibit:
Sea birds:
Food: Sly’s Refueling Station in Monterey, CA
We went to Monterey Bay, California to visit the aquarium (see tomorrow’s post). Beforehand, we wandered down to the Cannery Row area, and grabbed some overly filling lunch at Sly’s Refueling Station on the wharf.
We started sharing clam chowder fries:
I then had a BLAT sandwich and more fries, plus a margarita:
After lunch, we went out the wharf; here’s a nearby monument:
Part of the wharf:
Monterey Bay:
Cannery Row:
