Friday, May 31, 2013

Bakersfield, CA



Did you know that Kirby was born in Taft, CA which is just a few miles from Bakersfield where Buck Owens lived and built his Crystal Palace?  Not only that but Kirby and I lived and worked here for 2 summers while our sailboat was in Mexico (we returned to the boat in the winter).  And – we were married here in 1999!  We have a little bit of history in Bakersfield

We are currently in Bakersfield for a week of visiting family – and revisiting a few old haunts!  We have spent time just driving around town and reminiscing about the good old days.  It’s been fun!

Today we ended up at Smith’s Bakery.  BAD!!  But oh, so good.  Smith’s was founded in 1945 and is an institution in Bakersfield.  We stopped in and visited with the friendly staff and picked up a few favorites.  We couldn’t help it – we had too – it is all just SO good!



Kirby told me about a visit with his 3rd grade class when they went to see the Bakersfield Roundhouse.  So, I found some information about it and we set off to go check it out.  Didn’t work – we couldn’t find it and later realized it is gone and there are fences anyway and we couldn’t have gotten anywhere near where it used to be.


We drove by the famous Shoe but it was on the wrong side of the street for a photo and traffic was nasty.  This 30 foot long shoe was built in 1947 and is used for – you got it – a shoe repair shop!  Check it our HERE.

The big industries here in Bakersfield through the years have been Oil and Rail Traffic.  Both are still important but not as much as they used to be.
 

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