California
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Mrs. Orcutt’s Driveway
Once upon a time, in the dusty desert town of Newberry Springs, California, there lived a spunky widow named Bonnie Margaret McMains Orcutt. One day, the federal government decided to build an interstate that cut off access to Mrs. Orcutt’s beloved home on Route 66. “Oh no, you don’t!” she declared. “I need access to my home, and I’m not going to take this lying down!” So, what did Mrs. Orcutt do? She demanded that the federal government build her a 4-mile-long driveway so she could still reach her home. “I don’t care if it’s expensive, and I don’t care if it’s impractical,” she said. “I want my driveway, and…
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A Sonoma hill in California – the Most Famous Hill in the World
Just SE of Sonoma, CA on hwy 12 lies the most famous hill in the world. In the mid 90s, Charles O’Rear found himself driving on hwy 12 which he did all the time. He would visit his girlfriend on Friday nights and always took hwy 12. Charles was a photographer and always had his camera with him. On this Friday, this hill happened to catch his eye. It usually had grape vines on it because this was the Napa valley area. But a recent blight had damaged the grapes so the owner had removed the vineyard and just let grass grow on the hill. It had just just rained…
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Leaving California
The latest exiter is Dave Rubin. He is packing up and moving to Florida. He is not moving to take a job. He is taking his business and his employees and LEAVING CALIFORNIA. Will the state of California ever get a clue?
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The Hell that California Has Become Including an Abortion Sanctuary
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Eucalyptus Trees of California
Though eucalyptus trees are not native to California, they are all over the Bay Area. And whenever I smell a eucalyptus tree, I am reminded of California. It is one of those California smells that is burned into my memory. This is a grove of eucalyptus trees located at the trail head of the San Pablo Dam. This is very near where Deni lived in California, It is actually called Kennedy Grove. I used to work at a small farm in Walnut Creek that also had a line of eucalyptus trees on the southern border of the property. The second photo shows those trees in what is left of that…
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Flight from Buchanan Field, Concord, CA around Golden Gate Bridge and back
This is a video made by Misha Tyukin. He regularly flies out of Buchanan Field in Concord, CA and goes to various places in northern California. In this video, he takes off to the north and turns SW toward the Golden Gate Bridge. The flight goes across the Briones Regional Park, over Richmond, out over the bay by Angel Island arriving at the Golden Gate Bridge. Misha then does a few circles around the bridge while testing a new camera he has in his left wing. He gets some gorgeous shots of the bridge. Then he flies back by San Francisco on the right and Alcatraz on the left, back…
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Walnut Creek, California
This is the town I lived in during my high school and college years. It’s in the east bay area of San Francisco.
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El Taco
El Taco was my favorite Mexican fast food place in Walnut Creek. I used to love their Red Chili Meat Burrito. They disappeared from the Bay Area decades ago. This may be the very last location. It is 205 S. Tustin Rd, Orange, CA. It is not far away from Disneyland. Next trip down I plan to visit and have my favorite burrito once again. Here are a couple of photos and a video of Adam the Woo visiting the restaurant.
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McClellan Air Force Base
McClellan AFB in north Sacramento was where I was stationed during my time in the active Air Force. It was decommissioned in 2001 and is now a business park. Actually it is it’s own industrial center now with its own area code. Here is a short video about McClellan today.
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Goodbye in Her Eyes – Bittersweet California Memories
When I was young, you might have called me a nerd if the word had been in use at that time. I was a quiet person who kept to himself. In high school, I hung out with the nerdy guys, discussing the universe, our origins and the latest electronics invention. I was into ham radio and electronics. I built my own music radio station as a hobby. I was actually afraid of girls. Though I had 3 sisters, I did not know how to act around girls, though I had a number of crushes. In 1967, we moved to California in the San Francisco Bay Area. This is where I…
