Here There and Everywhere

Sedona to Bakersfield, A Long Day’s Drive

We made a big mistake staying in Sedona as long as we did – we want to stay longer. But we have an incentive, we are on our way to another long stay, Yosemite. I’ve never been to Yosemite – we lived just hours away, in Monterey, CA, and I wanted to see it, but we had lives, obligations, and a young child. Now – we don’t! Time for another dream to come true.

But first, there is a price to be paid. A long journey, much of it across desert.

As it turns out, it is more interesting than we thought. There are forests, there are trading posts, and wind farms. There is a little town on the Arizona – California border called Needles, where we stop for a very lackluster lunch. There are long rural roads in California full of trucks hastening to get to where they need to be.

Shortly after we arrive in California, we encounter another Security Stop:

Driving has been pretty laid back so far, but it changes as we get to California. I know nice people who live here, but the drivers we encountered were all “Me first!”

We totally missed our hotel in Bakersfield, had to stop at the airport and call to get directions. A mere seven minutes away, if you know the right way to go, LOL.

Along the way, we started getting strange extra charges for $3., $7.00 from the hotels. When we got home, AdventureMan checked. It was for these waters.

We are Elite status, and in many hotels they provide us water as a benefit. We assumed these were that kind of water, the water has a tag that says ViP water, but if you look really really closely, you will see that it is not VIP but Very (line) Pure water. I think that’s kind of cheesy. Give free water or don’t put water in the rooms. I consider this deceptive.

All in all, not such a bad day, glorious weather, interesting sights, not bad at all until arriving in Bakersfield around rush hour.

April 24, 2015 - Posted by intlxpatr | Adventure, Customer Service, Geography / Maps, Hotels, Road Trips, Travel | Bakersfield, CA, Needles, VP Water