Route 5 Road Trip

Bernie waiting patiently for his coffee

We made it! After 5 hours and 45 minutes on the road, we made it to Saratoga, CA, near San Jose.  We made just one stop at Harris Ranch for lunch and gas.  It isn't a bad place to stop; its about 200 miles from Santa Monica and over 1/2 of the way on the trip.  The facilities are nice, but it does smell a little funny when the wind picks up the odors from all the cattle in the area.  We found a nice outdoor garden to eat sandwiches that we picked up at Bay Cities (we had the poor boy and hot pastrami sandwich), our go-to place for picking up food for the road (from picnics during wine tasting to Disneyland trips).  Some may find it boring, but I actually enjoy the agricultural scenery on the side of Route 5, really reminds me of the agricultural heritage of California.  The drive on highway 152 between the 5 and the 101 near Gilroy is particularly scenic, with rolling green hills dotted with oak trees and a couple of lake-like reservoirs.  Since getting to Saratoga, we've been taking it to easy, hanging out with Bernie, grabbing organic coffee in downtown Saratoga and having dinner at Layang Layang, a local Southeast Asian restaurant.  Every once in awhile, I really crave the different flavors and spices of Southeast Asian cooking, particularly those of Balinese food.  Reminds me that I need to try out some Balinese recipes that I have.  Saratoga is a beautiful place; I could totally see myself living up here if I needed to be in the Bay Area.  It is so lush and green, surrounded with hills densely covered with trees; very peaceful and quiet.  We've got a busy weekend ahead with a lot of cooking, visits with friends and a trip to Napa.

 

Lots of people have backyard vineyards in Saratoga