Our second trip to see the poppies

A few years back, Eric tried to give Carol a surprise trip to see the California State Poppy preserve to see poppies in bloom. That year turned out to be not such a great year for the bloom and as a result, the surprise ended up to be kind of bust because it was such a poor water year. Also, the place where we choose to stay, in 'Lancaster' was a bit disappointing because of the unending wind.

This year however, with the weather being a much wetter winter, we thought we might have more success at seeing some poppies in bloom. Also, we thought we might change our accommodations and hopefully stay in a place that might be a little less windy. So, this year, instead of traveling straight to Lancaster, we thought we would stay in Bakersfield.

Though we have stayed in Bakersfield in the past, we thought we would try an RV park that we had never stayed at before. We stayed at the 'River run RV park' in Bakersfield. This RV Park is right next to the Kern river and was a wonderful place to stay. The park is about 10 years old, and has all of the modern immunities such as well equipped Laundry Facilities, a club house, store and swimming pool. The park is run by a husband and wife team and they are doing an amazing job with the park.

On our first full day on the trip, we made a run out to the Antelope valley, home of Lancaster and the poppy fields to check out the reserve. On our drive out there, we drove over the 'Grapevine' an arterial road from Bakersfield to Los Angeles. And for these veteran 'Grapevine' drivers, we were admittedly a little surprised as to how green the hills were leading up to the Grapevine.

Once we got to the reserve, the day was a little cold and windy, but we had a much better opportunity this time to check out the flowers. Though, the cool wind kept the flowers still somewhat retracted, there were a lot of sheltered areas that gave us an chance to check out these beautiful flowers.

Reports were that the eastern part of the park, had the best blooms, and that report was correct.

Though our first full day was full of driving from Camp to the Antelope valley, we took a little slower pace on our second day and included some time sitting and relaxing outside and enjoying the warm sunshine and cool breeze. This really is a beautiful park with a great location, especially if your sight is one to back up to the river.

On this second day, we did run into Bakersfield to check out the old part of town and to grab a bite to eat at a 'Woolworths' Luncheonette. This particular dining establishment was part of an old 'Woolworths' store back in the mid-1900's but was closed when the chain closed down. However, someone reopened the Woolworth's luncheonette as a unique dining experience. It was great, because we got to sit at the counter and enjoy a 'Burger and Fries' together. It was the first time Carol got to sit at the 'Counter' of the luncheonette.

The rest of the old Woolworths, was converted into a massive 'Antique Mall'. Even to be found in the 'Antique Mall' was some great treasures to be found. We had a great time on our trip to see the Poppy's and Bakersfield. We will definitely return here again.

Safe travels everyone!

Eric and Carol Anderson