California Dreamin': Random California

Last weekend I drove to Walnut Creek to see my friend Summer and her choir sing. On the way, I stopped briefly in Antioch, where I lived for a couple of years while teaching high school choir. I took a few random pictures.

Between Stockton and Antioch is The Delta--lots of waterways.

There was no one behind me, so I stopped for a sec.

This was my apartment in Antioch--this building, lower left apt.
The gate is new.

Great sign, but this place was closed--it used to be a cheap Mexican
restaurant that used horrible sauce.

Like many things in Antioch, this sign has seen better days.

Antioch Bridge--you actually get some height on that thing, with some
great views on a clear day.

Sacramento/San Joaquin River

Historic Downtown Antioch

I found Antioch to be much as it was when I left in 2008...not much changes, really. People give Stockton a bad rap but I find it much more thriving and pleasant than I've ever found Antioch.

This weekend, I'm at Mom and Dad's. On Friday we drove to Stockton so I could get my mail. To avoid the traffic on Interstate 80, we took the scenic route home, and I got some cool pictures of our recent strange weather from a moving car.

(P.S. Part of the reason I haven't been very bloggy this past week, aside from posting old "Anxious Traveler" posts, is because I've had a cold, which I'm convinced is brought on by the constantly changing weather we've had. The barometric pressure in my sinus cavities is off the charts.)

That's Sacramento off in the distance.

A common sight this time of year.

We stopped to buy some strawberries.

They really really were.

Yesterday we made a quick trip to the cemetery where my grandparents are interred. We don't go often, but for Memorial Day it seemed appropriate to leave fresh flowers and a small flag.

We took the long way home. Dad got the idea to stop in Folsom for a bowl of Wonton soup at our favorite Chinese restaurant. Mom and I were delighted.

This is where Grandma and Grandpa lived, as long as I knew them.

"One-stop shopping!" I cried to Mom and Dad. We all got a laugh.

We chatted with the restaurant's proprietor. Mom and Dad told him of their fall trip to China and how much they enjoyed it. He told us he's been in the US for 35 years. The restaurant itself has been in business since 1957. I think it's a family business that he's taken over, because when we started eating there--in the 1980s, he was a busboy and waiter.

He always has a big smile and a hearty "hello!" for us when we visit--and he's always there. We just love Hop Sing Palace.

You can see that despite living in a quite urban area, there is still a lot of open space nearby and that it's quite huge. California always feels so big to me--big sky, lots of land. It's certainly gorgeous in its way.