Headed out to a place Ann found in the town to get breakfast at around 10.15am. Got there. There was a queue. They didn't seem to have much stuff that we wanted. Decided to go back and check out and find something on the way to our next destination. Checked out dead on 11am.
After around fifteen minutes we stopped at Nelda's Diner in Lake Isabella.
Had brunch. It was decent. Service was really good. It was really busy. As I said earlier in the trip, follow the locals. I had a milkshake made entirely from ice cream. I don't know if you've ever tried to drink ice cream through a straw but it is bloody hard work.
Left and headed towards Bakersfield. The drive through the Sierra Nevada range continued to be spectacular. Like yesterday we didn't realise it would be such a great drive. Stopped to see the Kern River as we drove alongside it. It is still flowing fairly fast.
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| Lovely interlocking spurs |
Arrived at Bakersfield and stopped at a Walgreens to pick up a couple of things. Seemed a bit of a dodgy area. The restroom in the store is locked and you have to ask for it to be opened.
Then headed north. We made a quick stop at McFarlane to see the high school. No other reason than we like the film 'McFarland, USA' which is based on a true story at the school. Unfortunately it was filmed elsewhere so we couldn't see any locations.
Continued north to Visalia. Stopped at Walmart to pick up our last lot of food. We have two nights left in the US, both at a small cabin which is self catering. Its location will make it expensive to eat out, so we got enough for our breakfast and dinners. Receipt was checked on the door as we exited again just like it was in the last Walmart a few days ago. Must be a great job, highlighting receipts all day.
Then headed the small distance north east to Three Rivers and our cabin passing lots of fields of orange and lemon trees. Arrived here: Sierra Vista Casita.
Unloaded everything from the car, and I mean everything. We are in bear country again. The notes from the owner state there is an active bear in the area. I don't know if that means an active shooter bear (from the 2010 blog) or a bear that likes fitness. Bears have a good sense of smell and there is a long list of things not to leave in your car in case the bear tries to get into it, hence we just got everything out.
Read the quote 'A fed bear is a dead bear'. Once the bear realises it can get food in human areas it starts to actively seek it out and then will become aggressive and will 'have to be shot'. We don't want to be responsible for dead bears.
Watched out the window for a while trying to see if a bear appeared doing star jumps, but nothing to report.
Ate dinner and watched a slightly bizarre film on Netflix. Now think there is a cricket in the cabin as it is chirping really loud. At least it isn't a bear doing squats.
One more early get up tomorrow to make the most of our location.
States visited - 4
Bear watch - low
