So our all too brief layover in L.A. was at an end, and it was on to Fresno, our next stop on this whirlwind tour of the U.S. — a farewell tour of sorts, as we were tying up loose ends in the process of declaring ourselves fulltime residents of the world rather than the U.S.

As our friend Marsha came to pick us up, we said goodbye to our friends Robin and Ed, who had been good enough to put us up for a couple of nights. And Marsha had been good enough to drive us to the Greyhound station in San Fernando, where we were to catch a bus.

Bus Journey Across California

Bus travel, we’re happy to say, is one thing that seems to have improved greatly in the past few decades. In the good old days, a journey by Greyhound (or Trailways) could be quite an ordeal, with uncomfortable seats, noisy passengers, and even cigarette smoke. Nowadays, the seats are roomier and more comfortable, the passengers tend to be absorbed in their phones, and smoking is prohibited. Even the toilets don’t smell as bad.

This particular vehicle we were on was part of the Flix fleet of buses, which are especially nice. It was a pleasant and scenic cruise over the Tejon Pass, through the Tehachapi Mountains, past Castaic Lake, and past what has been called the oldest continuously operating roadside pit stop in the nation, as Native Americans used it when their trails led through the mountains in pre-Columbian times. This pass has a rather steep grade, and in our days of touring, when we’d drive over it in the RV, we’d usually have to pull over a time or two to let the engine cool off before it got too cranky to crank.

Welcome Home, Fresno

Then it was through the fields and (rather fragrant) cattle ranches of the San Joaquin Valley, and on to Fresno, where we were to visit Kimberly’s totally cool aunt Linda..

Linda is the sister of Kimberly’s birth mother, whom she located only a few years ago; she also lived in California, and we were able to meet her and spend some time with her on several occasions before she passed on in 2021. We’re still in touch with other members of the family.

When we pulled into Fresno, it was beginning to rain. And we discovered that our drop-off point was not at a bus station — it was just on the street somewhere. It was also quite cool — in the past, whenever we’d visited Fresno, the heat caught you in a bear hug and wouldn’t let go. But this time, it was chillier than San Francisco. So we headed across the street to the lobby of a hotel to stay warm and dry until Linda arrived to pick us up.

She took us to her home in a somewhat rural area on the outskirts of the city; she also owns a smaller house out back, where we were to stay for a few days, and help take care of her adult special needs daughter Lori. And during that time, she was going to take a much-needed little getaway.

To get the groceries we’d be needing, we made an excursion to Winco, and it was once again a marvel to see the kind of huge selection of food that we used to take for granted, but which in the places we’d been living more recently, had been all but unthinkable. So we feasted our eyes on the huge banks of bulk foods of every variety, all in one convenient location, just waiting for someone to take them home.

And take some home we did. And that night, with Lori’s help, we engineered a fine home-cooked meal, the first we’d had with family members in quite a while.

3/9-10/2023