November 16 – December 31

In early November I received the cortisone injection and it did, over time, reduce the amount of pain and discomfort in my hip, but not entirely, as can be the case sometimes.  With the deadline approaching to pay the balance for our planned trip to South America, I continued to wonder if the general period of effectiveness for cortisone, roughly three months, would last through the full month of our trip in January. 

Eventually, the decision came easy as at the end of a bike ride down the coast, I needed to walk through deep sand to traverse from one bike path to another which aggravated the heck of the hip, convincing me that delaying our trip once again would be in my best interest.  Also, it would enable me to schedule the replacement surgery for after the beginning of the new year which would, hopefully, enable me to get on with my life. 

We made plans for a twelve-day road trip that would start in Oakland with the kids where we would spend the weekend before Thanksgiving, then cross the Sierra Nevada to Highway 395 and head south to Bishop where we would spend the night before continuing on to Henderson for Kim and Marty’s annual Thanksgiving celebration. 

On the way to Oakland up the I-5, we stopped outside of Bakersfield for gas and it being our only opportunity to eat, grabbed lunch from the Tacos El Chikilin #2 food truck parked in the lot.  We split a Quesadilla with rice and beans and two carnitas tacos, way too much food for us to consume then so we ended up with a good-sized lunch to take with us.  Overall, the reviews for this truck aren’t great, but we were completely satisfied with the food we consumed. 

We arrived safely in Oakland and after a quick bike ride the next day, we all picked up Gemma at her day care center for drinks and snacks at a favorite downtown Oakland bar, The Kon Tiki.  We’ve been here before and never disappointed, always look forward to a return visit.  We consumed a number of their  exotic tiki drinks, including a Saturn (a Gin-based cocktail with Lemon Juice, Passionfruit syrup, Orgeat, and Falernum), a Port Light (Lemon Juice, Passion Fruit Syrup, Grenadine, and Bourbon with crushed ice) and of course their infamous Virgins Sacrifice (tequila, mezcal, passionfruit, pineapple gum, and tincture of rum-soaked chili) along with happy hour hot dogs, grilled cheese, Brussel sprouts and delicious fries, enough to send us happily on our way.

The next day, Friday, Joanna, and I took Gemma to Oakland’s original theme park, Fairyland.  One of the earliest “themed” amusement parks in the United States, it includes 10 acres of play sets, small rides, and animals along the shore of Lake Merritt.  The park is also home to the Open Storybook Puppet Theater, the oldest continuously operating puppet theater in the United States.

Fairyland was built in 1950 by the Oakland Lake Merritt Breakfast Club, a local service club. And was immediately recognized nationally for its unique value, and during that decade it inspired numerous towns to create their own parks.  Walt Disney toured many amusement parks in 1950, including Children’s Fairyland, seeking ideas for what turned out to be Disneyland.  He hired the first director of Fairyland, Dorothy Manes, to work at Disneyland as youth director, in which position she continued from the park’s opening until 1972.

The original sets included Pinocchio’s Castle, Thumbelina, Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Merry Miller, The Three Little Pigs, Willie the Whale, and several others.  In 2008, Fairyland opened Aesop’s Playhouse, a dedicated children’s theater funded by Oakland City bond measure DD.  It is a Greek theater-style outdoor amphitheater seating 215 people where in a long-standing tradition plays are put on by local children ages 8–10.  We spent from late morning to early afternoon there, Gemma captivated by the uncomplicated nature of the attractions, her only disappointment being that she couldn’t get a ride in on the small gauge railroad as the lines were too long. 

We spent the weekend hanging out at the house and on Monday took off east towards the Sierra Nevada’s, hitting highway 50 in Sacramento towards Lake Tahoe.  We stopped at a Denny’s in Placerville for a big breakfast, a veggie omelet for me and one of the chains incredible pancake creations for Joanna.  A large amount of food that would easily hold us over until dinner later in the day. 

The drive that day was memorable, roads clear of snow and blue-sky vistas appearing around every curve.  We skirted the lake going through a congested South Lake Tahoe and eventually turned on to Highway 395 near Carson City, heading south to Bishop, our destination for the night.  We’ve plied this highway many times, spending time in Bridgeport, Lee Vining, Mammoth, and many of the towns south. 

South of Bridgeport we stopped at an overlook for Mono Lake and were greeted with a spectacular meteorological phenomenon, the entire valley covered in a soup like fog extending from one mountain range to the next.  As we passed through the fog and entered Lee Vining, the skies cleared and presented us with a view that would follow us for the rest of the day, the Sierra’s to the west covered in snow, contrasted against a deep blue sky.  It was breathtaking and not often witnessed by us. 

Our lodging for the night in Bishop would be the Best Western Bishop Lodge, an older two story property that has been well maintained.  Around dinner time we took advantage of a well-reviewed joint across the street, the Pizza Factory.  Along with a couple of beers from their decent selection, we split a Veggie Pizza (Black olives, fresh mushrooms, onions, green pepper, and fresh tomatoes) that we added sausage to.  It was very good and large enough for us to take a couple of slices back to the room for transport in our cooler the next day.  We’ll cover that drive and the rest of Thanksgiving in our next post. 

Links

Tacos El Chikilin: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tacos-el-chikilin-bakersfield

The Kon Tiki: https://www.thekon-tikioakland.com/

Fairyland: https://www.fairyland.org/

Best Western Bishop Lodge: https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotel-rooms.05340.html?iata=00171880&ssob=BLBWI0004G&cid=BLBWI0004G:google:gmb:05340

Pizza Factory: https://www.pizzafactory.com/bishop/