The more observant among you may have noticed that the tite of the blog has changed from A Brit in LA to A Brit in California; this reflects my move from Los Angeles to the north of the state. Since A Brit in Solano, would mean little to those not familiar with US counties, I have changed it so that it covers both my previous and current location. The URL (web address) remains unchanged.
Golden State Freeway
I have just driven 360 or so miles, in my wife’s car, North up the state of California; most of that distance on a single road, The Golden State Freeway (Interestate 5) I am writing this in a motel in Oakland, waiting to pick up my new car and my wife from the airport.
As a geek Living in Los Angeles one forgets that in addition to entertainment and hi-tech California has a major agricultural industry. California’ agricultural revenue is over twice that of any of the other forty-nine states and is the world’s fifth largest supplier of food and agricultural produce. Driving up the freeway, with the cruise control set at 75mph, brought this fact into stark focus. For hours, all I saw on either side of the road were orchards, vineyards, cattle grazing, and citrus groves; apart from the occasional rest stop offering fuel, fast-food, and vile coffee. Road signs showed the distances to San Francisco and Sacramento, roughly equidistant and counting down all too slowly from 300 miles; no other town seemed worthy of note and nothing that could be mistaken even for a village could be seen.
It is this seemingly endless distances that make flying such a popular option, especially as the seven odd hour drive to Sacramento takes fourteen hours on the direct express train.
