travels with the ‘78 ce2

[Xevin]

Fantastic Tom. The hair on the back of my neck reminds me that Proposition 13 made Californians rejoice and it saved everyone tax dollars. California still has the most advantageous taxes to this day. Go prop 13!!!! Right?
That was a fun time and I was a little kid and still remember how that went down.

But as Tom travels. California is pretty bad ass. Just wish it was a bit more affordable.
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Keep on Busin'

[dodger tom]

heading out of manteca, this being california, there are orchards, in this case abloom.

on to stockton, which sits at the eastern edge of the sacramento-san joaquin river delta, a web of rivers, estuaries, and inland bays that link the city with the pacific ocean. the san joaquin river flows into stockton from the south, joined by the sacramento river somewhat east of town. together they and a bunch of smaller rivers form the stockton and baldwin deepwater shipping channels. big ships navigate the 70 miles from the pacific ocean to unload and/or load at the port of stockton.

a coupla other sites-to-see in stockton are, you guessed it, a theatre and a university.

the bob hope theatre started out as the fox california theatre in 1930. bob actually had nothing to do with the theatre, it was named after him at the behest of alex g spanos, who partially funded the theatre's restoration in the early 2000's. doesn't change the fact that bob is one of my all-time favorites.

the institution of higher education is university of the pacific, or uop.

established as a methodist-affiliated school in 1851, it was california's first university. its beautiful campus has been the site of a number of films, among my favorites are "raiders of the lost ark," "the sure thing," and "flubber."

surprisingly there is only one brewpub in town, and that's valley brewing.

their ipa comes in at 6.6% abv. clear and medium-dark gold in color, it has that resinous piney hop flavor that vanishes quickly, overcome by the "balancing" malt sweetness.

and, last, but not least, we come to lodi, and as, xevin suggested and unlike john fogerty, we did not get stuck there.

the two sites-to-see are the arch.....

and, the site of the first a&w root beer stand.

the stand is long gone, but an a&w survives where roy w allen poured his first brew in june of 1919. my favorite growing up was hires. i always found a&w to be too heavy and sharply minty.

but, in lodi, it was a different kind of brew we were after.

their og ipa is a west-coast style that weighs in at 6.7% abv. clear and medium-dark gold in color, it has a slight hint of pine turning to stone fruit mid palate through finish. medium bitterness front to back.

back to the arch where a third site-to-see presented itself. a mural.....

celebrating the role bicycles played in women's fight for the vote. there was a bicycle craze at the turn of the century, no not this one (2000's), that one (1900's). turns out that spinning those pedals worked to dispel the image of women as "the old-fashioned and slow-going gentler sex.” who knew.

and, that, folks, is our tour o the san joaquin valley. not exhaustive by any means. still plenty to see and taste. perhaps we'll explore another time. til then, bye bye, and thanks for coming.

and, thanks to xevin for the idea in the first place.
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1978 Champaign Edition 2 Westfalia
Would never find the time to keep up another classic air-cooled.

[Abscate]

Those hubcaps just keep appearing amd disappearing.

Lodi is obviously the Devil spelled backwards , like the Beatles album
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.ssS!

[Shonandb]

Thanks for taking us along Tom. Just finished work and had a quick pint of Grolsh and a pint of Kilkenny with a colleague. A bit of an odd mix but I hadn't had either in about 20 years.
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76 Westy with a 2.5L Subaru SOHC + Vanagon (010) Automatic Transaxle
Build & Trip Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=758760
Previous 1973 Panel Bus:
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[otiswesty]

Thanks for the trip reports.
The hubcap anomaly adds a peculiar interest as well.
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1978 Sage Green P22 Westfalia
1989 T3 Syncro Single cab

Just a regular guy

[Xevin]

Tom, you out did yourself. You went to Stockton. One of the top ten most dangerous towns in America for violent crime. It has been that way since the 80’s. Believe me, I’ve experienced it multiple times first hand living there in the 70s/80s. That being said. The San Joaquin Valley and Central Valley of California as a whole is pretty remarkable. Many people don’t associate California as an agricultural hub of America. People think of ocean front property , Hollywood, Los Angeles, Silicone Valley, Bay area, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Gold Rush, and other places.

What some might not know is.
“California ranks first in the U.S. for agricultural cash receipts followed by Iowa, Texas, Nebraska and Illinois.”

California is not all glam and liberals. It’s a bread basket of the United States. Some hard working people in California. Plenty of good conservatives too. I’m not making this a political statement. Just respect to Californians working their asses off. While my dad was a Professor for the University of Pacific. The rest of the family are ranchers. Thanks for sharing that trip Tom.
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Keep on Busin'

[dodger tom]

thanks, xevin. as you know, the thing about california is that it has everything. bluest blues and reddest reds. from san francisco to redding. ocean, desert, wetlands and swamps, and the highest mountains in the contiguous us of a (only a few miles from the deepest desert). skyscrapers and fields of grain. dense, crowded cities and spaces so empty and quiet you can hear the blood rush through your ears.

people love to hate us. we’re enjoying life too much to hate anyone.

god knows we have our problems. which place has none?

in these trips i’m trying to show the diversity of spots in california.

just like anywhere else i’ve ever been in the us of a, if you come here, you will find something (and someone?) to love.
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1978 Champaign Edition 2 Westfalia
Would never find the time to keep up another classic air-cooled.

[Xevin]

I grew up with this arch.

But dang me, every time I see it. I feel the urge for a Burrito Supreme and medium Pepsi

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Keep on Busin'

[dodger tom]

last time i was in the sac-o-tomato area i did a slow pub crawl, visiting microbreweries from downtown to the sierra foothills. no way i could hit all the breweries, but i hit a few in the coupla days i passed through.

first stop was my favorite. i never miss a chance to visit urban roots brewery and smokehouse in the richmond grove neighborhood just south of cental sac, in a mostly residential area.

they always have plenty of ipa's.

their "bigger on the inside" is a double ipa weighing in at 8.6% abv. it is light golden with a slight chill haze. fruit up front turning to light citrus on the way back. bitterness all the way.

and their food is great.

next stop was fieldwork brewing company in midtown sac. not a microbrewery, but a taphouse for the brewery in berkeley.

a bit foo-foo, but what the heck. the bartender was sweet.

their seagazer is described as a new zealand ipa. in this case that means nelson hops. 6.8% abv, light gold with tinges of yellow. it has tropical fruit bitterness from front to back.

also in midtown is alaro craft brwery. they were closed for cleaning???!!!

they occupy the space that once belonged to rubicon brewing. one of the first (if not the first) brewpubs in sac, they made great beer from 1987 to their closing in 1917. they were a casualty of over expansion during the heady days of the craft brew frenzy.

on to porchlight brewing company on the edge of east sac in a mixed residential/commercial area.

ripple effct is a 6.7% abv ipa. clear and medium gold. fruity flavor and bitterness from mid-tongue to back of the palate.

heading south on powerline road we come to new glory craft brwery. total industrial area, and great beer.

their pinch harmonics ipa comes in at 6.9% abv. clear and medium gold it has medium body. the fruity hoppiness runs front to back.

heading east we approach rancho cordova, and what they are calling the "barrel district," an area with breweries, distilleries, a meadery, and a place that sells hard kombucha. we hit movement brewing company, a large modern open-space space.

their ghost wizard ipa is 6.7% abv. advertised as a west coast ipa, it did not disappoint. clear and light gold with tinges of yellow, it had a nice citrus-fruit hoppiness all the way.

next up was burning barrel brewing co. that's a food truck blocking our view. rude! another modern space, kind of narrow and long inside.

their cone saw west coast ipa comes in at 6.8% abv. medium yellow in color, and clear. pure mild piney happiness front to back.

climbing the first few foothills brings us to folsom, and red bus brewing. one of the attractions is obvious.

the other draws are good beers.

their eric e strata ipa is 6.7% abv. medium gold color. nice piney bitterness with hints of citrus. bitterness wall all the way through.
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1978 Champaign Edition 2 Westfalia
Would never find the time to keep up another classic air-cooled.

[Abscate]

Tough neighborhood, someone swiped those rare , 1972 only wipers…

Still following

[Xevin]

Had my first micro brew at Rubicon in 1989. Was fun drinking unique beers styles not available in stores at the time. Lost some OG brew pubs up here in PDX the last few years. Beer consumption is down across the nation. The Gen Z and Millennials are not consuming alcoholic drinks like GenX and Boomers. Not necessarily a bad thing. Good for them. Safe travels
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Keep on Busin'

[Shonandb]

Tom, do you keep an excel sheet on what beers you've had where (what brew pub) or can you remember what you tried during previous visits?
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76 Westy with a 2.5L Subaru SOHC + Vanagon (010) Automatic Transaxle
Build & Trip Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=758760
Previous 1973 Panel Bus:
Click to view image

[dodger tom]

[Shonandb]

[creative native]

[dodger tom]

[creative native]

[Abscate]

I have a personal connection, not genetic, with the Tuscarora Nation of WNY. I grew up about 6 feet from it on adjoining lands. Chief Mount Pleasant visited us twice annually to protect his Nation from the folly of the signed paper, always a pleasure. We have given back to the Nation in ways we hope are meaningful.
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.ssS!

[creative native]

[Nicholas D]

Thanks for the book suggestions. Always looking.
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71 Westfalia
73 Beetle