WEEK FIVE

WEEK 5 OF OUR CALIFORNIA VOYAGE   We are camped at the Elks Lodge a few hundred feet from the beach in Oceano, enroute home from our five weeks of rediscovering California. Week five of our excursion included travel through the beautiful farmlands of Central California, a visit to a gold mine and a look around the California Delta from our vantage point on the San Joaquin River in Stockton, Ca..   From Red Bluff we moved down the road to Yuba City where we spent two nights in the "heartland" of the State and allegedly "America's bread basket".  The predominant product from those prolific fields was rice.  Of course, this reminded us of statistics reflecting California's export of more rice to Japan than Japan grows.  It seems to me that we sometimes forget the impact of agriculture on our overall economy. A drive through California's fertile farmland provides a reminder of the impact of its farming activities on the welfare of this State and our Country.   From the lush farmlands of the valley, we proceeded back into the forest for a "look around" the hills from which gold once flowed.  Of course, Ken's interest in gold mining supersedes our old age and thus, a visit to the Empire Mine State Historic Park was a given.  According to the mine brochure the mine was acquired by William Bourn, Sr. in 1869 from a company founded by George Roberts who discovered gold in a quartz outcropping leading to the Ophir vein.  The Empire Mine State Historic Park is the site of one of the oldest and the richest hardrock gold mines in California.  An estimated 5.8 million ounces of gold was extracted from 367 miles of underground passages.  The mine was closed in 1956 but an estimated 80% of the gold is still there awaiting rediscovery.   From Yuba City we made our way into the California Delta for yet another excursion into satisfaction of Ken's curiosity. We parked in a RV Resort on the San Joaquin River in Stockton and were elated to see a major freighter go by as we sat outside and enjoyed the peace and quiet of our refuge.  Ken has long held a vague goal of doing a delta "houseboat" excursion and we went in search of what we might have missed.  Further, when Ken's parents were married in 1929, they did a steamboat trip from Sacramento to San Francisco on their honeymoon.  We hoped that there was still a similar trip that "wandering souls" might take but alas, no such trip was available.  We were somewhat disappointed that the delta was not better developed to take advantage of tourists like ourselves who have an interest in revisiting the old while enjoying the marvels of today's advantages.   From Stockton we drove into San Jose and camped at our RV resort of choice, the Elks Lodge in San Jose.  On Monday we grabbed a Cal Train in San Jose into San Francisco, walked several blocks to Powell Street and caught the cable car to Fisherman's wharf where we had lunch and Ken had his daily "consumption" of ocean air. I will not go into our many experiences of getting lost, on the wrong Bart train or, once back in San Jose, finding the Elks Lodge without our "gypsy".  There are days when we really wonder whether we should be allowed "out and about" but Ken's faith keeps us safe.  We have a reputation for bickering and believe me, few people know the half of it!!   Having survived our San Francisco episode, we are now en route home after stops in Oceano and perhaps, Santa Barbara.  We anticipate arrival home either Friday or Saturday.   That be another episode in the "dull" life of two old folks who do not assimilate old age well.       Ken and Pat Burns from the road and/or the sea just as happy as can be