I took this photo of this stunt biker a few weeks ago at the Hollister Airshow. The biker, not at this particular moment, raced a monoplane. The biker and pilot started and ended at the same point on the tarmac. The biker turned at the midway point before the pilot could lift off, but the pilot managed to fly to the finish line before the biker. But, just barely.

My Alphabe Thursday theme—Places I've Been If you loooooooooove the taste and aroma of garlic, then the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California is for you. I finally experienced the garlic extravaganza a few years ago. As I grow older, I sometimes get overwhelmed by crowds so I don't go to as many festivals as once upon a time. I'm starting to understand the Mama's response of "I've been there before." when we ask if she'd like to go with us to nearly anywhere. The garlic festival was fun with loads to see and buy. Lots of cooking demonstrations.  And, lots of arts, crafts, and vendors. Best of all, this food festival had lots of food loaded with the food it features—garlic! There were the usual yummies, such as garlic bread, and the unusual—hello, garlic ice cream, which I remember as being rather delicious. Celebrating its 37th year, the three-day festival will be July 24 to 26, 2015. It has always been in Gilroy, about a

My Alphabe Thursday theme—Places I've Been Last year, the Husband and I drove home from San Diego, about 465 miles, in one day.  As young selves, the Husband and I were great long-distance freeway drivers. We each could go hours without stopping. Now, we want a bathroom, as well as our bodies need to stretch out of our cramped sitting positions, every 90 minutes or so. When I'm a passenger, I entertain myself by taking photos out the window, of which I'm sharing some with you today. Hope you enjoy the road trip up southern and central California. Our trip home started on Interstate 5. Almost immediately we were startled by the towering San Diego California Temple (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) at the side of the freeway. This is the northern edge of San Diego County. This terrain has always intrigued me. Not sure why. Just north of here starts a bunch of beach towns. See the two people sticking cameras out their windows on the lef

My Alphabe Thursday theme—Places I've Been East of Eden is about 28 miles away from where we live in Hollister. We first drive west and then south to get there. I'm sure that the above photo clues you into the fact that the East of Eden about which I'm talking is where John Steinbeck based his novel and several other novels and short stories. Namely, Salinas and Salinas Valley. Salinas is where Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902. The house on Central Avenue where he was born and lived until he was a young man is today a restaurant. Unfortunately, the day the Husband and I visited the National Steinbeck Center , a couple blocks away, the restaurant was closed. That didn't stop us from walking over to the Steinbeck House and take a look around. Have you ever read East of Eden ? It's an amazing story. Very powerful and rich in detail. The screenplay for the TV mini-series with Jane Seymour follows the novel's line more than the 1950s movie

This is the Carquinez Strait, about 37 miles northeast of San Francisco. It's where the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers run into the San Francisco Bay. Carquinez comes from the Spanish word Carquines , which is for Karkin, the name of the Ohlone Indian tribe who once lived in the area. This is the Carquinez Bridge, which stands at the west end of the strait. It's actually two parallel bridges, a cantilever bridge built in the 1950s and a suspension bridge built in 2003 to replace a 1920s bridge that engineers determined would not hold in a big earthquake. These photos were taken a few years ago when the Husband and I, along with friend BB, took a trip to Napa for the day. On the way home, we stopped for dinner in Benicia, which sits on the north shore of the Carquinez Strait.  It's a cute place with lots of art glass studios, boutiques, and restaurants. Also, the once-upon-a-time California capital made lots of interesting California and national history. For in