Change in Plans...

---

Geo: 38.2988, -122.285

We were only to be in Kings Canyon for one night, and today was our day to drive south to Sequoia National Park. The road connecting the parks is called the Generals Highway, and the distance is only about 25 miles...at least as the crow flies. We'd been told the day earlier, by a ranger, that the road was closed by snow and had little prospect for opening any time soon. Much of the road crosses Forest Service land, vice Park Service, and they do not make snow removal a priority. The only other way to reach Sequoia would have been to drive back down into Fresno, in the San Joaquin Valley, and then down and around, coming up from the south. Even going that route, there was no guarantee the road would be open all the way. Armed with this knowledge, we were able to cancel our lodge reservation there, and extend our upcoming visit in Napa. So after chipping a good 1/4 inch of ice off our car, we ate and drove west and north. In under an hour, we left feet of snow and hit the heat of the valley. It was not much of a drive -- scenery-wise -- as it was highway and LOTS of traffic. The sad state of California economics is CLEARLY evident in the horrible condition of their highways. Many Californians with whom we spoke lamented several years of neglected road work, and it is very obvious. The poor roads and alarming amount of traffic cemented our preference for "points East," shall we say.

Our primarily goal this day -- other than reaching Napa Valley -- was a visit to the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield. Anticipation of the visit helped Anna endure the longer-than-usual car time. We were not disappointed in the tour, and as you can see in the pictures, they do make some jelly beans....on top of lots of other candy, which surprised me. There were a bit too many homages to Ronald Reagan in the building for my taste, but I was able to look beyond that when afforded the opportunity to taste more than 50 flavors of jelly bean. This did, unfortunately, include a special line of "unique" flavors, to include ear wax, vomit, skunk, baby wipe, and centipede. They are meant as novelties, but ever since getting a vomit-flavored one in a blind taste, I've been circumspect of eating ANY!

Our hotel, along the Napa River in Napa proper, was a short drive from here, and we were checked in and on our way to dinner by 6:00pm. We had a truly stupendous meal this evening -- best of our trip -- at an Italian Restaurant recommended in several of our guide books. All three of us universally agree that this meal was our culinary zenith in California, and watching the sunset over the restaurant's orchard was icing on the cake.

---

Photos

The Entrance to the "Generals Highway"
This is the road we were supposed to take to Sequoia National Park, but it was closed because of snow. We would have had to go all the way around the park to reach the southern Sequoia entrance, and it simply would have taken too long.