Spent yesterday in Modesto, California, a city that has no trouble living up to its name. Not quite sure why Modesto exists although it looks like it sits in a major agricultural area - I did spend the morning at a chicken company and the Gallo wine company and Del Monte also make their home in the area. I suspect the standard fare is coq au vin followed by peaches and cream!
Anyway downtown Modesto is an odd collection of relatively new businesses including the ubiquitous Starbucks and, this being California a juice bar, a couple of upscale restaurants and a number vacated premises. Not sure if downtown is reviving or declining.
If you ever stay in Modesto don't worry about asking for an early morning wake-up call; the Union Pacific Railroad does a fine job of providing loud and frequent alarm calls starting around 2am. Its a quite unique experience. First the distant sound of train whistles permeates your slumber and over a period of about two minutes the shrill cries come closer until you fully expect the wall of your room to explode and find yourself being steamrollered by a thundering locomotive. After a last ear-splitting blast on the whistle the aftershock follows in the form of a slow rumbling which sends vibrations throughout the area; if you happen to be slightly deaf you would probably think that the San Andreas fault had finally given up the task of holding California together and that your room was close to the epicenter of a very large earthquake.
Last night I half prayed for a major recession that would reduce the volume of rail freight and hence the frequency of my wake-up calls. Needless to say Starbucks gained a lot of my business during the day.
I happened to have brought some good English weather with me so sunshine was non-existent, temperatures were in the low-40's, and the cloud ceiling around rooftop level. so much for a glamorous business trip to sexy California. Frankly I blame the Governor but please don't tell him he might get mad...
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