Over Labor Day weekend we ventured up to Bakersfield then to Lompoc and back down. We went very last minute and it ended up being a fun little trip and Bakersfield as well as all of those towns in Central California are cool to check out. Here are some pictures:
We stopped at Buck Owens Crystal Palace. It's a restaurant and live venue place with a free museum outlining the restaurant. We did not eat, but we checked out the museum part and got to learn about Buck Owens and all of the country legends that have come out of Bakersfield.
Right by the Crystal Palace was the Bakersfield sign.
So many cool buildings and signs...
The Woolworth's downtown was one of the first of this type of Woolworth's on the West Coast. Meaning it was huge and had a luncheonette. The diner was still running and the signage was still there but it was an antique store. I really appreciate that they left all of the signage. Even the bathrooms were untouched, it was a trip back in time.
Speaking of trips back in time, we stopped next at this Heritage Park, it had a bunch of area historical buildings all in one location, including Merle Haggard's childhood home.
The next day we found ourselves in Lompoc. Lompoc was going to be a NASA launch site and the town got all ready for the influx of tourism and then it didn't happen. But it was OK with me, it is California coast that has farms almost right up to the sand dunes. The scenery was cool. After seeing this sign though, we definitely did not go in the water.
The whole reason we ended up that way is a bigger story but it was nice to have some family time and check out a new area. I miss that about the Mid West. California has so much to see but you feel like you have so little time.
