Being forced to move to King City

[happ]

Originally Posted by sheri257

In Gilroy it's the ... get your designer duds for dirt cheap thing ... even though it's probably a myth. Last time i was there I saw lots of people from Silicon Valley. Nevertheless ... it's very crowded. So we mostly shop in Salinas or Monterey ... depending on where we're headed for the weekend.

As for onions in King City ... I did smell those in early fall but now they seem to gone. They grow so much stuff around here, I can't keep track. The turnover in these fields is amazing ... they grow everything. They say the Central Coast feeds the world and I certainly believe it.

Right Sheri

I feel the same as you about the great crops grown in the Salinas Valley [I guess having lived around agriculture all my childhood - Fresno & Chico - has made me a bit of a farmer. Now I just grow exotic palm trees. I worked for the state road department during summer when I was in college. We worked in Monterey county alot assisting in road construction along 198 to Coalinga. I loved how cool\ almost cold the mornings were in Priest Valley but would get quite hot in a few hours. On the Coalinga side of the Gabilan range it stays hot even a night.

The smells during the calm of mornings are delicious in the Salinas V. As you point out, every kind of vegetable is grown & even more in the San Joaquin valley.

From Gilroy\ Hollister\ San Juan Bautista to the north & King City\ San Lucas\ San Ardo to the south is majority Latino. Spanish is the primary language for many in Salinas\ Gonzales\ Soledad. The farm industry is huge & laborers have unions so it is fine. Native Californios know are roots go deep in the caring of fruits\ nuts\ vegetables of Central California.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by CA central coast

If I have to explain to you why someone would drive farther past Salinas and shop in Gilroy instead..well, .....ah, forget it, it's not worth the time.

Yeah ... I have to dodge bullets every time I go to the Salinas mall ...

I understand there was a shooting there 2-3 years ago and, of course, Salinas is breaking all records with murders this year so ... I see your point BUT ...

Gilroy is what, another 30 miles? Just not practical when we have other things to do. And we haven't been shot at the mall (at least not yet).

Shopping and passing through is one thing ... but living there is another, which I would NEVER do. My friends who do live there tell me stories all the time.

[carp killer]

Originally Posted by CA central coast

Is Pine Canyon similiar looking to the Priest Valley area (HWY 198)? It's beautiful out there. No hispanics...let's be real, illegal aliens...in Idaho? There's a ton. Twin Falls, Majic Valley area, a lot of immigrant labor. Try Montana or North Dakota is you want to escape it. The "101 corridor", I mean yes, there probably are those racial undertones of why people don't want to live there, I don't see that as racist. In all honesty, the hispanics in that area probably would rather white people didn't live there. I'm just speaking from experience. Drive down main street Greenfield, you'll literally think you're in Mexico. It probably makes people feel uncomfortable, that's nature. Like the people who live in Pine Canyon, the professionals. Aren't they living there for the same reason why someone would rather live in Paso Robles than King City, or Gonzales, or Soledad or Greenfield? know what I mean?

We had some friends who lived in Pine Canyon. She was one of the teachers at the High School. I always thought it was cool all the wild Turkeys that lived out there.

I never felt uncomfortable around the field workers. They are there to work and not really mess around. And I know what you mean about Greenfield, reminds me of Guadalupe.

One of my favorite spots to go to was that bridge across the Salinas river at the San Lucas exit. It's so quiet, just hear the river flowing under you, kinda neat. I always stop there if I'm passing thru that way going north or south.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by sheri257

In Gilroy it's the ... get your designer duds for dirt cheap thing ... even though it's probably a myth. Last time i was there I saw lots of people from Silicon Valley. Nevertheless ... it's very crowded. So we mostly shop in Salinas or Monterey ... depending on where we're headed for the weekend.

I grew up in Morgan Hill so I was shopping in Gilroy a lot.. it's a little bit of everything there, the 24-hour Wal-Mart and the Costco are right at the junction of 101 with 152 so it's a major crossroads. You get a lot of traffic coming in east and west from Hollister, Los Banos, Watsonville in addition to the Silicon Valley. I doubt that there are that many people coming from south of Salinas on a regular basis, though, seeing how Salinas has its own Wal-Mart and Costco..

And you're right, the "outlets" are outlets in name only. Actually they call them "premium outlets" now, which more accurately reflects the duplicitous nature of the things.

[CA central coast]

Originally Posted by carp killer

.

One of my favorite spots to go to was that bridge across the Salinas river at the San Lucas exit. It's so quiet, just hear the river flowing under you, kinda neat. I always stop there if I'm passing thru that way going north or south.

I haven't done that, but one day out of curiousity I drove around San Lucas to check it out. I've driven past it a million times. That place was a little scary.

[carp killer]

Originally Posted by CA central coast

I haven't done that, but one day out of curiousity I drove around San Lucas to check it out. I've driven past it a million times. That place was a little scary.

Yea, I took a cruise thru there, both streets. The bridge is going the other way, west.

It's just a good stopping point on a long stretch of freeway and only takes a short minute to see. I don't believe in crystals, boogie men or ghosts but I get a certain vibe at that spot. Maybe it reminds me of my childhood I would spend back east, I dunno.