Short Sleeves and Hairpin Turns: The New Normal

Milepost 1-22-14 Fillmore, CA

Part of the adventure of the traveling life is the new things we discover when we round the bend into a new town. Settling in at Fillmore, California, for the next few months, we are adjusting to some amazing differences from where we came in Michigan.

Of course, the weather is the biggest change for us. Our friends back home are dealing with sub-zero wind chills while we are perusing the local farm markets in short sleeves and flip flops. That’s part of the reason we chose this corner of the country.

Kaye checks out the dragon fruit at a local open-air farm market. Hard to find that one in Michigan. — Kaye checks out the dragon fruit and other oddities at a local open-air farm market.

Fillmore farm markets offer an abundance of varieties, but oranges are everywhere here.

I mentioned in an earlier post that a quick run to Walmart from here meant a rather frightening trip over the mountain ridge on switchbacks and hairpin turns. Today I retraced part of that route to grab a couple of photos. In Michigan our path was straight and flat.

A quick trip to Walmart requires both hands on the wheel and eyes on the road at all times.

Vehicles negotiate the switchbacks on county road 23 between Fillmore and Simi Valley.

On a side trip today, we headed north into Los Padres National Forest, but we didn’t get very far. The one-lane trail was a scary climb around sharp turns and blind corners above sheer cliffs. It sucked the courage right out of us, so we turned around – at an almost wide enough pull-off – so we could come back down. Kaye got out of the pickup and stood off at a safe distance while I made the u-turn with the front bumper almost hanging over the edge.

My biggest question about the national forest was, "Where's the forest?" No trees were evident. — My big question about the national forest was, “Where’s the forest?” Few trees were evident.

We also did a bit of exploring in town today, enjoying a very delightful chat with the volunteer at the local historical museum, who informed us about the history of the town, including stories about the old swimming hole that she used to visit with friends back in the day.

Martha Gentry talks of old trains and avocados – and everything in between.

Martha Gentry is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge about Fillmore and the surrounding area and the one who told us where to find the most respectable farm markets. She and here husband are avocado growers.

This caboose is one of a score of railroad cars and engines at the Fillmore railroad museum.

Another of the significant changes in our experience here is the presence of so much Spanish. It seems that every vendor and clerk is bilingual, and they mix it up sometimes swapping Spanish and English a number of times in the same sentence. We don’t hear that much in Michigan.

Every cashier is fluent in both English and Spanish.

So far, we are adjusting very well to our new location. Most of it is really not very hard to get used to.

Surfers wander home after a day on the waves near Santa Barbara.

See my 19-second video of the traffic on the mountain road here.

2 thoughts on “Short Sleeves and Hairpin Turns: The New Normal”

Hairpin curve photo looks like something out of National Geographic. Great photo. Hope you are enjoying the warm weather. We have had temps below freezing for several days. We burn wood in small stove on our side porch – already burned more so far than all of last winter. Looking forward to warmer temperatures.

For a girl raised in Fillmore, Grimes Grade (over the mountain to WalMart) was no big deal (and still isn’t – even though I live in Kentucky now I am home often enough to keep my skills up). Enjoyed your perspective of my home town. Funny, when I tell people I’m from a small town in California, they are baffled…seems like most people don’t realize California isn’t just San Diego, Los Angeles and San Fran – all connected and expand all the way to the each state border.