road trip
So we turn off I-5 and head east on the 152. I think that's the number. I never really pay attention to details like that as I travel by instinct. Once I've been somewhere, I can pretty much get back by intuition and land features. It must work because I used to be the navigator at car rallies and we did pretty good. Well, come to think of it, we never won but placed second once. But I digress.
The one and only town we pass through on this stretch of road is Los Banos, which bills itself as a historic venue. I don't really know the history of LB but I can't imagine it being much more than a stagecoach stop or a bandit's hide-away. I mean people, there is not a whole lot of redeeming value to this town, at least as I see it. But I'm not being fair and most likely looking at it through jaded eyes. So what can I say that's positive about this town.
Well, it has a Starbuck's. One of the busiest ones I've seen, but then it's the only one I've seen between the I-5 and Hgwy 99 (two major north/south highways in California) on this stretch of the road. That means there are most likely more road warriers than locals as we grab our fancy coffees and Chai teas to endure the flat, very straight drive ahead.
It's affordable. There are several new housing tracks in the area. I really don't know where these people work since every other town is no less than 30 minutes away at 65 mph and LB is primarily a farming community. But unless they bought under some crazy loan scheme, these residents have a home for their families and that's a good thing.
It has a Frosty Freeze. Let's get real here. Who doesn't love Frosty Freeze soft icecream cone? My husband's first introduction to this particular FF was at the impressionable age of 14 on his first trip to the ocean with his first girlfriend's family. Okay, there are a lot of "firsts" in that sentence and I'm sure the sum total is greater than its parts, but stopping at this particular FF became a regular tradition for him. Since we live in the Bay Area and he has family in Fresno, he has been taking enjoying a FF for - oh let's just say more than 50 but less than 100 years.
I'm sure there are more wonderful things I can say about LB but right now I'm stuck on FF. A large vanilla cone sure sounds good right now.
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