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Overnight in Bakersfield
Aug. 22nd, 2022 06:37 amWhen we stopped in Bakersfield Saturday evening it wasn't just to recharge the EV's battery. We were staying for the night.
We rolled into town around 6:30pm, a great time for dinner. First we checked in to our hotel, though. Staying there for the night was part of David and his family's plan. I had already done the mental arithmetic that if it were Hawk and I driving home— by which I mean I were driving home— we'd have dinner in Bakersfield and then drive all the way home, another 4 hours. Yes, that would put us at home at 11:30pm and, yes, that would be on a day I started at 4:30am, but that's how I roll. No rest for the wicked. David'd not as hardcore of a traveler, though, so we were taking it easy with an overnight stop in Bakersfield.
I've warned in past blogs that Bakersfield is a shithole town. That's a bit of a misnomer; Bakersfield is not a town. 🤣 With a population of now over 400,000 in city limits and nearly 1,000,000 in its metro area it's a budding shithole metropolis.
Our hotel, which was pretty nice inside, was still in a sketchy neighborhood. I'm not sure there are any non-sketchy neighborhoods in Bakersfield. What's sketchy? Well, the neighboring hotel was a tenement with barred windows, and our hotel had a uniformed security guard outside in the parking lot walking rounds to chase away vagrants. I saw him intercept one whom he apparently was on a first name basis with. And that was before dark.
For dinner we found some surprisingly good eats at a restaurant called The Firehouse. I had a meaty tri-tip sandwich I happily finished off with a veritable bucket of french fries I ultimately threw away 10% eaten, while David had a plate of ribs so thick he threw away his sides mostly uneaten, too.
After that we charged the car, came back to the hotel, and stayed in for the night.
Now it's Sunday morning, 8:30am. We've had breakfast, David's taking a shower, and we'll roll about 9am.
The drive home— well, home for me, anyway— is 251 miles. David's house is another 32 miles. We'll stop for recharging once on the way and arrive at my place between 1:30-2pm.
We rolled into town around 6:30pm, a great time for dinner. First we checked in to our hotel, though. Staying there for the night was part of David and his family's plan. I had already done the mental arithmetic that if it were Hawk and I driving home— by which I mean I were driving home— we'd have dinner in Bakersfield and then drive all the way home, another 4 hours. Yes, that would put us at home at 11:30pm and, yes, that would be on a day I started at 4:30am, but that's how I roll. No rest for the wicked. David'd not as hardcore of a traveler, though, so we were taking it easy with an overnight stop in Bakersfield.
I've warned in past blogs that Bakersfield is a shithole town. That's a bit of a misnomer; Bakersfield is not a town. 🤣 With a population of now over 400,000 in city limits and nearly 1,000,000 in its metro area it's a budding shithole metropolis.
Our hotel, which was pretty nice inside, was still in a sketchy neighborhood. I'm not sure there are any non-sketchy neighborhoods in Bakersfield. What's sketchy? Well, the neighboring hotel was a tenement with barred windows, and our hotel had a uniformed security guard outside in the parking lot walking rounds to chase away vagrants. I saw him intercept one whom he apparently was on a first name basis with. And that was before dark.
For dinner we found some surprisingly good eats at a restaurant called The Firehouse. I had a meaty tri-tip sandwich I happily finished off with a veritable bucket of french fries I ultimately threw away 10% eaten, while David had a plate of ribs so thick he threw away his sides mostly uneaten, too.
After that we charged the car, came back to the hotel, and stayed in for the night.
Now it's Sunday morning, 8:30am. We've had breakfast, David's taking a shower, and we'll roll about 9am.
The drive home— well, home for me, anyway— is 251 miles. David's house is another 32 miles. We'll stop for recharging once on the way and arrive at my place between 1:30-2pm.
"Why would you stay at a hotel multiple reviews claim is a shit-hole?" you might ask.
