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One of the many things I had on my list of "must do's" whilst over in the US, was to go to a proper Hicksville diner, and have coffee, waffles and a piece of pie. Last night I went over to the diner and discovered the joys of Santa Maria - for Santa Maria appears from what I've seen of it yesterday and today to be true "Hicksville, USA". Everything about the place, from the decoration (strange pictures of babies dressed up as vegetables and teddy bears... 'nuff said), the "your sure talk funny" greeting, to the waitresses outfits that could have walked into Happy Day's and not looked out of time. A truly strange experience.
I had my waffles - with maple syrup - my coffee, and read a book. I was waiting for the comment, but it never arrived. It did attract a lot of stares. The waitresses however took it in turns to come over and serve me, and a strange surreal ritual began. Maybe you shouldn't thank the waitresses, but everytime I did for filling the coffee or whatever, it became a battle, with me thanking them, and them returning a salvo of "No, thank*you* very much". I didn't press the issue, and decided that it was probably for the best not to take it any further.
Waffles eaten, I looked in the San Jose paper, and read about the local news - this was a major culture shock compared to LA, Long Beach and Palm Springs - this was an area of god fearing people, with their leanings just a *little* right wing. I finished the paper, and decided the best thing would be to go to the cinema for the evening, then call it a night. The paper said they had Episode 1 on, so I set off to find it. Now, this was either the smallest cinema in the history of the world, or it was hiding behind some other building, because I searched up and down Broadway, but I did not find the Edward Cinema. I gave up, returned to Cruella's home, and settled down for the night.
I woke up bright and early to the sound of next door putting the telly on full blast - I glanced over and saw it was only 7am... I had planned to sleep in a little longer before setting off, but I decided that I may as well get breakfast and head off before the sun got too high in the sky. I went back over to the diner for breakfast - and this time it was a true "All American Breakfast" - 2 eggs, sunny side up, bacon, sausages, and pancakes with maple syrup. Very nice and filling, and once again the waitresses fought over serving the strange person who "talked funny".
Onto the road, and I programmed the Neverlost. The Neverlost got confused and kept on resetting itself. It didn't know that Santa Maria existed, and couldn't work out where it was - it wasn't even thinking we were in a hotel - as far as it was concerned this was flat earth time, and I was over the edge. I got onto the 101, a change from the Pacific Highway, as I had a lot of miles to cover. The change to inland gave a whole new view of California - gone were the coasts and cliffs, and in there places were mountains, cattle ranches and vineyards... Mile after mile of vineyards. I kept plugging away on the road and I was making good time, with very little traffic to speak of on the road.
After the best part of 100 miles, I pulled into a rest area, in a place called Camp Robert. I had a water, which I was now very pleased I'd bought in Santa Maria, and had a little wander around. I saw a couple of ground squirrels, and some birds, and got a good lungfull of fresh air. Then it was back into the car to continue down the road. I was getting a little bit peckish, and saw a sign saying that the next turn off had a McDonalds, a KFC, a Burger King and a Jack in the Box. The latter I had never experienced, and decided to give it a try. Some things are best left unexperienced, I've now decided.
After the best part of 200 miles through beautiful terrain, I arrived in San Jose. I wasn't prepared for the place, and was amazed at just how beautiful a city it is. A wonderful collection of older collonial buildings, and newer ones built so as not to distract too much. It was also carnival time in the city. I found the inn, checked in, found to my delight AC and a fridge... I then went out to explore San Jose, and pick up the local papers to see what had been going on, and saw the police patrolling the streets on horseback. It seems a remarkably nice place, and one I am looking forward to spending the week in. The Convention Centre is about 2 blocks away, and within very easy walking distance. I'm planning to go out for another little explore this evening. |
