Garcia's Taqueria | Castle Air RV Park

Part Eight: All Roads (Eventually Must) Lead Home

Merced, California - It's getting closer, but we still remain on The Far Side of I-5. Our drive today from Lake Tahoe to the San Joaquin Valley was one of the prettiest of our trip! The Sierras are so pretty this time of year - wild flowers are carpeting every inch of every sunny spot! We drove through huge, deep green meadows, with little streams and ponds. It was a tough road for Goldie, but my driver handled the curves with his usual skill (with the help of the exhaust brake).

We didn't stop until we had arrived in Sonora, California, where we parked and had lunch at Garcia's Taqueria (145 S Washington St). It was a fun joint, upstairs above the street - manned by a crew of young men. Garcia's Taqueria served a mean chicken taco and it was delicious, but not delicious enough to rate on my Top Three of The Trip. After a stroll through the touristy streets of Sonora, we started up the diesel and headed towards Merced. Our guidebook told of tours offered at the Hershey Chocolate Factory in Oakdale, so we stopped. However, tours are no longer given of the facility - but you can stop at the gift shop! The gift shop door held a sign explaining why tours are no longer available: due to the terrorist attack on September 11th and heightened security, the public is no longer admitted to the factory. Hmmm. What are they really doing in there??? It's chocolate, people!

The crops are literally bursting off the vines here in the San Joaquin Valley. Fruit stands are everywhere, so we had to stop and check it out! I found an apricot pie and since I had never tried an apricot pie, thought it worth investigating. (It was delicious!) There was every sort of fruit and vegetable for sale - including adorable baskets of baby vegetables - but we only purchased nectarines and plums. We passed an old corner store, long-closed, with a faded sign reading: "We don't know where Mom is, but Pop's in the cooler."

And so we arrived in Merced - staying at our usual spot at the air base. Everyone was at Mom's for dinner. Billy cooked salmon on the grill and made a Thai noodle stir-fry. We also had a tossed salad, a fruit salad, bread and apricot pie!

RV Park: Castle Air Museum RV Park

NOTE: We will spend a few days here with family... catch us down the road...