To Fresno

A Lot Of Fruit

A short day today to Fresno and not a lot of highlights along the way I think. Leaving San Jose around noon it is 81º F / 27º C with not a cloud in sight. I stop at a Walmart in the city to buy lunch and fill up with gas, which was really cheap.

I drive out of town and onto Hwy 101 S initially before turning east onto CA-152 E for 70 miles or so through farming country. Mostly flat and straight but there are a few hills here and there.

There’s a vast array of fruit and vegetables available to buy at roadside kiosks and pop-up shops: avocados, frequently sold at 10 for $1, peaches, nectarines, cherries, sweet corn, strawberries, nuts, garlic, figs, oranges and more.

It was at Gilroy that I left Hwy 101 and by then it was 95º F / 35º C. All the fruit farms were on CA-152 and the road was flat but the road enters the Diablo Range and I start to climb. The road turns into a fast two by two lane highway. There’s nothing technical but it’s a nice drive with not too much traffic. Until I hit the inevitable roadworks.

The hold-up is not too bad. The San Luis Reservoir comes into view on the right. Maps had indicated a Scenic View that I took to mean a turn-out where I planned to stop for lunch. But there is nothing. Luckily about a mile further on there is a Visitor Center so I pull in there. I pull up in the parking lot under a tree to eat lunch. It’s a bit posh inside the Center when I visit the rest room. The stop also gives a good vantage point to see the Reservoir.

It’s Hot In Fresno

From there on it’s downhill when back on the road and more farming country arrives. I arrive at the junction with Hwy 99 on which I drive south to Fresno. As I drive up to the Doubletree by Hilton Fresno Convention Center Hotel at 4 pm, it is hot outside at 98º F / 37º C. At reception I ask about the brewery bar I’d identified for later but the guy doesn’t think it serves food. He mentions a taco place next door that he says is good.

In my room however via Mr Google I find that the taco place is closed tonight and the brewery bar indeed does not serve food. I look up my backup plan but it’s quite a way down the road – maybe 15-20 minutes walk but then in this heat that might be a problem. It also closes at 8 pm, so that’s no good. This area of Fresno didn’t look like the best place in town when I drive in either. There aren’t any other options so a bit of a cock-up on the dinner research front here.

Doubletree by Hilton Fresno Convention Center Hotel lobby

The receptionist mentioned the hotel had a bar and restaurant in house, with food available at the bar. The bar and lobby area of the hotel is rather amazing. It’s a huge open space with a large cascading waterfall. The bar area looks quite reasonable as well. So after unpacking I go back down to look at the menu at the bar. It looks good. There also seems quite a good vibe around the bar even though it is only 5.30 pm. I decide to go there later, although there are only four bar stools so I might need a bit of luck.

” ’Cause tonight you’re gonna stay with me” *

At 7.30 pm I go back down to the bar. A “lady” is sitting across two bar stools for some reason. There is however empty space to her left but no stool. I ask her if it’s free and it is. I spy a spare stool across the lounge area and retrieve it, slotting in next to the lady and a black guy on my left. The lady has now relinquished her second seat: why she didn’t do this when it was obvious I wanted to sit at the bar I don’t know.

Brandon the bar man is a bit off to start, a bit curt and short with his replies. He reluctantly gave me a couple of beer samples before I chose an 805 Blond Ale. Not feeling that hungry, I enquire about portion sizes of some menu items and he opens up a bit.

When I ask about the Fillet Sticker, a mini-steak kebab, he really brightens up and says that would be perfect for what I’m looking for.

Waterfall in the lobby

MNF on TV is generating chatter amongst the folks at the bar. I join in where I can but I suss out there are some strong personalities, with loud voices to match, around me tonight. They are all middle-aged professionals by the look, no kids here tonight.

Another chap turns up and takes the lady’s now-free second seat. The bar is now full. The football ends and general chit-chat takes over. At one point the lady and I get on to certain places I’ve visited. I somehow end up telling her about my visit to Norman Petty Studios: the remoteness, the fact it’s still as original and lots more. She sounded interested, telling me her son was trying to build a career in music and he was getting into all the “old stuff”. She said she’d tell him about it because he’d definitely be interested.

I’m Not Her Type, I Guess

After that though she half-turned away from me and started talking to the new guy in a rather loud voice, and also somewhat highly opinionated. I talk occasionally to the black guy on my left. To the new guy’s right is another black guy who rather loudly earlier on had been saying that he was ex-Navy, served for his country, seen the world and made loads of money.

I try every now and again to get a word in with the threesome on my right but the lady is so dominant and forthright she ignores everyone except her own voice. From my previous experiences I realised after a while that there was no point in persevering with trying to get the lady’s attention, so I gave up on her and blocked her out.

Sometime later the new guy stands up, pays his check and leaves. This prompts the lady to do the same. When she has gone, the ex-Navy guy says out loud: “Was she for real?” He says she kept saying to the new guy, “I’m looking for a new husband tonight” over and over again. This was usually followed by “…and I’m leaving in the morning.” Ex-Navy man said she must have said this directly to the new guy’s face at least half a dozen times. No wonder he left.

The “lady” wasn’t particularly attractive and she had multiple full-scale arm and neck tattoos on display. Plus she was wearing a mini-backpack whilst sitting at a hotel bar. Why? She also smoked for real because she went for a cigarette outside at one point. White trash? Dunno. Self-awareness? Absolutely none. Piece of work? Probably.

Quite The Life

By now there’s just me and the two black guys left. Ex-Navy man buys me and the other guy a drink. I can’t quite figure him out yet. When the guy on my left leaves, ex-Navy tells me he retired a few years ago but got bored. But somehow he earned enough money in the Navy to buy a brand new BMW for $65k – in cash. He now lives in Fresno but is staying in the hotel tonight. It’s clear he does this on a regular basis. Remember this is a Monday night as well. A dead night in all probability but then our bar session was lively so maybe tonight is ‘normal’. There is then a comment about how Brandon “keeps him sweet”, whatever that means or implies.

He says he’s not married but does have kids and grandkids. He admits to, whilst in the Navy and later, “fucking himself stupid” in brothels all over the world. It seems to be his main, or perhaps, only achievement in life. He starts to tell me about Dubai, his favourite place, as if I’ve been there and experienced “the Russian hookers, 40DD size and they go all night long – there’s a pharmacy next door so when you’re shot, you just go and get a blue pill and start again.” I assume he meant Viagra. Sounds like a great life. Not. Such an empty existence and I think he’s beginning to realise that.

A New Start?

A couple of years ago he applied for a job mentoring delinquent Gen Z kids in Fresno. To his surprise, I assume because he wasn’t that well qualified for it, he got the job. He’s now enjoying the challenge. He told me he was 56. Then five minutes later he’s 54. Huh?

I started to get the feeling that he didn’t know what to do with his life now. I could tell the regret from the vacuous nature of his brothel-dominated period was weighing heavily on him. So I – gently – told him my life philosophy, why I was in a Fresno hotel, why I’d done what I’d done. It seemed to hit a chord with him. The bar was closing up at that point, so we said goodnight with a handshake and wished each other well.

Interestingly though, yet again, this guy never asked where I was driving to next, or for how long. Guess I was right in that he’s caught up in his own issues to worry about what I’m doing. Unlike the lady however, he did listen intently to me when we talked alone.

What a strange end to an OK day on the road to Fresno. On balance, today’s ‘score’ was “good”. But it is getting damned hotter every day. It’s going to be a challenge in the coming days because the forecast is that it is set for a number of days. As I walk to my room, I think of tomorrow and a trip to a forest.

* Stay With Me by The Faces