HEARST CASTLE ROAD TRIP (Day 3 of 3)

Today we finished our road trip!

Debra and I awakened to a drizzly Monterey morning, drove to Hollister where we stopped for breakfast, then headed to I-5 for the long drive home.

We took two detours along I-5.  First, we stopped in Stockton where I showed Debra the house where my family moved when I was 9 years old.

Next we stopped in Lodi to visit my dad who recently moved there from a houseboat where he lived for about 30 years.  Dad treated us to lunch at Applebee's, then we returned to I-5 and drove the remaining six hours to our little home-sweet-home in Oregon.

 Casa de Restaurant in Hollister serves a great breakfast.

I tried to take a selfie of the hair on my left arm and I succeeded.  Also shown in this selfie is the rest of
my upper body, my wife, and the restaurant where we had breakfast this morning.

When we left the restaurant to return to our car, we were greeted by a couple of friendly peacocks.
Also, taking the advice of a co-worker who occasionally takes road trips with his wife, we rented a car to avoid adding mileage to our own aging vehicles.  As an added bonus, our little rented Mitsubishi Mirage (shown above) got 39 miles per gallon during our 1166 mile three-day trip.

The house where I lived from ages 9 to 13.  We moved into this house when it was new in 1959.  The large tree near the middle of these photos was originally bought as a live 6-foot Christmas tree in 1959.  We placed the roots in a bucket, placed the tree in our living room, and decorated it with ornaments.  When Christmas ended and the ornaments were put away, my dad planted the tree in the front yard.  It is now massive!

I chatted with the current owner for a few moments before Debra took this photo at the front door.  The current owner happens to be only the second owner of this house, as she bought it from my parents when they sold it.

From Stockton, we drove a few miles to find my dad's apartment in nearby Lodi.  I knew the street address, but I didn't know exactly where to find his unit.  But my detective skills proved useful as I detected a couple of
telling landmarks that indicated his place of residence.

He used to be taller than me.  In fact, we both used to be 6' 2". I have shrunk
about an inch.  He has shrunk more than an inch.

The three of us smiled at the camera, then Dad took us to lunch.

Safely in our driveway after covering 1166.1 miles in three days.