Quick trip to Atwater/Merced, would like info please (Fresno: allergies, restaurant)

[momojojo]

Hope you enjoy your visit. I was born in Merced and still have family there. There is beautiful foothill country close by. You can visit the gold country (Mariposa, Sonora, Columbia), there are wine tours not far from Merced in Madera County where I live (about 30 miles), Fresno has great shopping and restaurants and is about 50 minutes from Merced. You have to visit Yosemite of course. Merced isn't a bad town, just small and experiencing a lot of gang activity. If you have time to drive, you might want to check out San Francisco or head to the coast (Santa Cruz) Good luck and have fun! What part of KY are you from?

[momojojo]

Sorry - I mean Tennessee.

[mbmouse]

Thank you everyone for all the info, I do appreciate it. I am looking forward to the trip not only to see a little bit of CA but to get a break! hahahahaha
I will be sure to come back to this thread when we get back and let everyone know what we did and thought of the area.
momojojo, I live in North East TN, in the Tri-Cities area. It is a 60 miles span in the foot hills of the Smoky Mountains in between NC and VA. It is kind of tough going on vacation because we are lucky enough to live in a very beautiful part of the country that we enjoy very much.

[momojojo]

We're thinking about retiring back there somewhere. We're looking at the Texas Hill Country, North Carolina, Kentucky & Tennessee. Do you get a lot of snow? Snow is for the young and the rich, if you know what I mean. We're looking for small town USA, with beautiful countryside, friendly people, good quality of life, simple things. I hope we find it.

[mbmouse]

Check out the Tn forums, lots of great info!
Nope, not much snow at all. Personally wish there was more, but not rich nor young LOL!!!

[Adriatica]

Down toward Madera (about 30 minutes from Merced) there are some wineries you can check out. They are small-scale, but offer great personal tours.

Madera Wine Trail

[mbmouse]

This wino thanks you for that link,

[madmax66]

mbmouse. I live in Atwater and can tell you everything you need to know. Except for some pockets, Merced itself is riddled with gang activity and a mecca of foreclosed homes. Not to say it's the worst place in the world but definitely a good gauge at what's wrong with California. The few hotels that do exist are ok accomodations but I wouldn't be walking around at night. Downtown is another area where businesses have come and gone and the city is in a constant state of trying to preserve its charm. The whole area is one of those places where it wouldn't be remotely on your radar if you were looking for places to visit.

With that said, I've lived in Atwater for 8 years and call it my home. Despite it drawbacks, the area has been very good to me. Most people that live in the area would rather live in Atwater than Merced. I think because Atwater is more family friendly. Get back to me if you want to know anymore.

[Lyrsc]

Atwater is the best town in Merced County, CHP is awfull there, speed traps EVERYWHERE
Im guessing his work is at the federal prison?
Its nice in the summer, everybody comes out and the rivers there make good places to go
Shaffer Bridge has a party just about every night with lots of jumpers.
Definitely go see Angels Camp (frog town) or bear valley.

[mbmouse]

Well, so we went to Merced and drove into Atwater a few times a day. This was a work trip after all. Merced is actually a pretty nice town from what I saw, looks like there is an effort to revitalize. There were some odd things that I noticed, first of all the roads and the way they are laid out...very strange and not that easy to navigate. Second, customer service in every place we went into, whether it was a store or restaurant was VERY good, very polite. However no one said hello to anyone at all in the parking lot or sidewalk, however once you walk into the building, was like an attitude change. Not sure about what that is about?
I found out I am allergic to Central CA. I don't normally have allergies but when I got off the plane in Fresno my sinuses filled immediately and just now getting "un stuffed"
Drove into Sacramento to see a friend twice...yea that was interesting, the roads! They are everywhere and everyone was flying...kinda fun.

It was an interesting trip, but I agree, not a destination spot by any means.
Thank you all though for all the info. It was very helpful for our trip! But I have to admit, it was great to touch down back in my TN!
OH! and the Ramada in Merced...stay away! Nasty, we ended up canceling our reservation, got a full refund and went around the corner to the new Hampton Inn and everyone there was super nice and it was a nice place.