Friday, May 22, 2015

Day 3 of our Oregon-Washington trip

The trip from Salinas to Vacaville, CA, where we stayed on the third night was shorter, than the first long day from Orange County to Salinas, CA  When we stayed in Salinas, CA, at the Residence Inn, we learned that, because I am a rewards member, I can request certain rooms, such as being on the highest floor available, so we don't have to deal with the feeling that the people above us are going to come through the ceiling.

We left Salinas, CA, but not before seeing the John Steinbeck house, which is beautiful.

John Steinbeck House
The John Steinbeck House is a historic house restaurant and house museum and is located at 132 Central Avenue in Salinas, CA.  The house was the boyhood home to the author John Steinbeck.  The home is a turreted Victorian building in downtown Salinas, which has been preserved and restored by the Valley Guild, which is a non-profit organization.  The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.  Fixed menu lunches are served Monday through Saturday, and the house is open for tours during the summer on Sunday afternoons.  We were fortunate that when we stopped, there was a man working on the house and he allowed us to walk through the house.  We got sort of a tour, which was interesting.

From Salinas, we drove north and stopped in Gilroy, CA for lunch.  Gilroy is well known for its garlic crop and as you drive north on 101, there are times you can smell the garlic as you drive along. Gilroy has the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival, which features serious garlicky foods, including garlic ice cream. Gilroy's nickname is "Garlic Capital of the world".  Gilroy also produces mushrooms and a boutique wine production is a large part of Gilroy's western portion.

Hoey Ranch in Gilroy, CA

Wall art in Gilroy

Wall art in Gilroy, CA

Wall art in Gilroy, CA




8 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Me too! Thank you Rachel! Wall art is one of my favorite things to photograph.

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  2. Being able to smell garlic while you drive along is a LOT of garlic!! The Garlic Capital of the World is a spot I would not have guessed to be in CA - maybe Italy? But garlic ice-cream...now that is something you don't hear about every day!!
    Natalie, The Educational Tourist
    www.theeducationaltourist.com

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    1. Natalie Tanner, thank you for the comment and yes, that is a lot of garlic!

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  3. I love the smell of garlic, but I can't say I've ever smelled it driving through a place. It would be fun to gastronomically explore that town! :)

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    1. Thank you Tracie Howe for the comment! I hate to say how many times I have driven along 101 and did not stop in Gilroy. It was fun to explore the town and outside the town, as well. Outside of Gilroy was where we found the barn with antiques.

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  4. I've wanted to go to Gilroy. Does it really smell like garlic up there?

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    1. Eydie Stumpf, at times it does smell like garlic. It was a fun adventure!

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