Back To Our Roots

---

During the early phase of creating freeway systems, Cal Trans learned their mistakes in freeway design from the Pasadena Freeway and for many years designed and maintained fantastic systems, that were user friendly. Ah not so now, what we faced was a jumbled mess of lanes, off ramps, clover leafs and a huge amount of commuter frustration. As you exit the bridge you are in the town of Raymond and soon see signs for Burkley and Oakland which are either merge to the right and then immediately exit on the left or take the middle and then either extreme right or left.

Now we did not program the GPS and opted to use the map, I don’’t know if it would have been easier to use the GPS but the time allowed to make these route decisions was not much and I fear listening to the GPS would not have given us enough time to merge.

Merge is a good word, you put on your signal and immediately the cars behind you speed up and sit on your rear bumper. No way are they going to let you get over into their lane and let you in front of them. The freeway at times was 8-10 lanes which whenever they felt the need, ended a lane at almost light speed. So merging was an essential if one did not want to end up merged with a concrete bridge support. I am sure a lot of Burkley, Oakland residents still remember the friendly hand gestures both my brother and I waved at them as we bobbed and weaved through this snarled mess. Soon you find your ultimate route and settle down to a dead stop, this is how we spent the next hour or so, crawling along a few miles per hour. However this was not a great loss, we did manage to get a close up look at BART which runs down the middle of the freeway. The cars do show the effects of being in the San Francisco area , they are rusted and their white paint is now a clouded grey with rust streaks.
It was at times almost empty and sizing up the amount of private cars exiting a particular exit and the convenience of the stop BART made, I was amazed that more did not ride this system. There are also buses sharing the same name that have dedicated lanes, much like the diamond lanes provided to two or more rider cars. We are passing through the town of Livermore which from the freeway is as far as one can see, condominiums, houses and strip malls.

It is not until the outskirts of town that we start to pick up speed and the barren hills sprout large white windmills. Hundreds of these dot the hillsides, ever turning from the constant wind blowing in from the bay. Basically a free way to collect electricity, these large mills met with a lot of controversy, especially from the “greenies,” who shouted everything from endangering birds, to noise pollution and defacing the landscape, they lost. There is no evidence that these post any threat to flying birds and the whoosh of the turning blades unless you are standing directly under them is non distinguishable. There are also hundreds of these wind mills in the Palm Springs/Desert Hot Springs area in California.

The hills are now barren of any trees or shrubs, they have a sparce covering of a grass type weed. This type of growth is what the cattle ranchers us to free range feed their cattle. We turn south onto the I-5 and notice on our left, the amount of growth this area has experienced since our last trip through. Where once were vast areas of nothing but dry arid land are now cities and factories almost running into each other making it seem that it’s one large town. We stop at a rest area to let the dogs out and stretch our legs. There is no grass, just rock and gravel since water is at a premium. This area has been in drought conditions for years and it shows. Only colors of brown, or bleached tan are in the landscape. Our light is vanishing and so are the cities and towns, we now travel past Fresno the last large town we will pass before we turn off on Highway 41 and head towards Paso Robles.

The ramp is almost totally dark and the road a small two lane country type road. It winds up and around through the low lying hills, not allowing you to see anything beyond your headlights. We wonder is this is the original route our parents took almost 55 years ago. It’s funny I don’t remember all these turns. At times we come to cross streets and soon start to see more traffic and many semi trucks. We need to go about 100 miles or so before reaching Paso Robles, our home as children. Soon the signs say that it’s about 5 miles away and we set the GPS for the nearest RV park. Before this trip my brother researched the area and noted that there were two parks, one around the airport and the other in the middle of town. Now remember it is totally dark, and the GPS gives you sort of a count down to your ramp. It says 3/4 of a mile, ½½ mile, l/4 mile and then goes into feet, so when it says turn here and you see nothing what so ever we did not turn but continued on until we reached the start of the town and a traffic light. Reading over the map and the directions he had taken before the trip, we knew we needed to turn where it said, but there was no marking, we could not even see where a street would be.

We turned around and slowly made our way back towards the intended turn, the only marking for this turn which by the way is also the road that leads to the airport, was a small 12 inch square sign with a picture of a plane. We turn and find ourselves on a narrow road heading towards a few lights which turn out to be our RV Park, perhaps the biggest surprise of our RV adventures.

It is the Wine Country RV Resort, and we pull in and check out the available spaces. They have a night person and he soon directs us to our pull through space. From the street lamps, to the names of the streets, Merlot, Chardoney, etc. and the cement pads you park on, to the grassed area I do think we are in for a real nice stay. We wake to a clear sky and temperatures in the 90's with a light wind. This park is more like a resort. There are club houses, both on the bottom and the top, the office features an assortment of wine , wine gifts and other assorted goodies. They are affiliated with the winery down the street and offer tours of that and the others in the area. They also have gourmet dining with private wine tasting. My kind of place!

We are excited to tour this town, we left around 1950 as small children when our father was relocated to the San Fernando Valley. We have the three addresses of the homes we lived in while in Paso and hope to find them as we remembered. It was a small sleepy town, mostly almonds and agriculture and for a time during the Korean War it hosted many service men from near by Camp Roberts. The town threw a Pioneer day BBQ in the park located in the middle of town, they would roast a side or two of beef. There was a plunge on a near by hill that offered a cool retreat from the sweltering summers heat. Children could explore the near by hills and the river that ran by the town. This was the town we remembered.

We found our first two houses and they looked much like the pictures we had, of course they looked much smaller. The third place was called the projects, it offered low cost housing for the returning military and their families. There were one story and two story units offered, and we had the two story apartment. I remember that the train tracks ran by these units and that as a child was scared to death of this train. The train its self did not scare me, it was the trembling of the earth and the noise from the massive Mallet engines needed to pull these large trains up the Cuesta Grade and over the Atascadero summit. These were the large black, steam locomotives seen so many years ago, massive in height the Union Pacific engines earned the nickname Big Boys, and were considered by many to be the largest locomotives in the world. As these engines cleared the top of the summit they then began to pick up speed and by the time they passed by the projects they were going 60 or more and being pushed by the large number of cars behind they moved the very earth beneath the tracks.

These apartments are now low income units, but still are kept in good repair, we got a snap of our unit and went on to find the park. The park is still there, but the BBQ pit is gone, modern swings replace the wooden seats and concrete borders now designate the play area. Gone is the clock tower and the cafe once located on the corner. Our father lost an eye working in the Cameron Garage, we found the spot, it’s now a tire center. The town has grown and lost a lot of the charm it once had. Once it was almond orchards, truck farms and cattle. Now the main income now seems to be from the wineries and tourism. All but one almond factory has moved out. We now turned out sights to finding our brother who lives down the road in Atascadero. Twenty or so miles from Paso this is a more country type of town, small narrow canyons offer secluded houses and ranches. Deer still run down the road and munch on flowers or shrubs in the yards.

We soon find our time is up and need to pack up and head on down 101, this time going through San Luis Obispo and then climbing the summit. As you start your downward trek you soon notice that the mountains seem to be closing in, you are headed for Gaviota Pass. Here is where the advancing Mexican Army was held off and ultimately defeated by a small unit of U.S. soldiers so the story goes. The truth is that the Mexican Army was in Los Angeles, and the U.S. troops had false information that they were in Santa Barbara. For whatever reason this story was fabricated one does know. However it is a remarkable pass none the less and worth seeing.

You continue on now through a lush valley and notice on your right side a large white castle like structure, it’s the Madonna Inn, famous for its lush opulent theme rooms. Many other hotels have tried to copy this famous inn, but fall short. The new portion of 101 now by passes Pismo Beach all together. Once this road ran right by and it was only a few blocks down to the wharf and some of the best tasting clams around. You now need permits to catch shell fish, and there is a limit and certain types are restricted all together. Pismo has grown leaps and bounds since I last visited, that was during the late 60's and then you could walk down to the shore and sit on the beach with nothing or no one around. Today it’s hard to find the wharf let alone a stretch of beach you can sit on. Houses sit upon the shore and offer no access to this once perfect stretch of beach. As all things must change is an ever constant in life and so it must be that Pismo Beach is now a thriving town complete with all the fast food chains and gas stations and hotels one could use. Sadly, gone are the quaint small cafes with the waitress in her pressed black uniform and starched white apron who can pour a cup of coffee while taking your order and not spill a drop but still remember you were in sometime last year.
Continuing down we pass still more vineyards. I am amazed at the amount of vineyards in this area taking the place of the farms and ranches that once dotted the hill sides. Once small wide spots on the road, Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria now spread out far and wide on both sides of the new 101 freeway. You are again inland from the coast and low lying mountains surround you along with the never ending vineyards. Soon we see signs announcing we are nearing Buellton, home of Anderson’s Split Pea Soup. They have a restaurant allowing you to taste their famous soups, Split Pea being their most famous. They offer a full menu besides soup and a gift shop to take back memories of your dining experience. Not far up the road from the Anderson restaurant is Solvang, a Danish village nestled in the foothills near Santa Ynez and Lake Cachuma

Once you drove down a small road void of any signs of life, now along both sides are magnificent horse farms, making one think they could be in Kentucky. This once small village of a few small shops and a windmill and one must not forget at the top of the village stood the old mission church. Now this is a thriving town with all the amenities you could want. Hotel chains, speciality shops, banks and other trade stores line the street. Of course all are done in the style of Denmark and the flag flies proudly over the town square. Once a block long, Solvang now goes on for about a mile offering you some fabulous food and trinkets from this fantastic country.

Our journey through this village is over and again we find ourselves driving down the 101 freeway and approaching Santa Barbara. Once the original 101 came through the heart of this beach town and you came to a stop at the light. You could continue straight down the coast, turn left and go to the beach or right to drive to Lake Cachuma and down to Solvang.

---