|
Over the past six years of our life as Full Time RV’ers, my
husband Bill and I have been privileged to see a great deal
of this fabulous Country of ours, including a place called
“the best kept secret” in the heart of the Golden State of
California, the California Delta.
We came to the California Delta to visit our son Michael and
his wife Irma when they moved to the small town of Oakley.
We had planned on staying for only two weeks but changed our
mind because we realized we had not even scratched the
surface of what there was to see and experience in the
area.
Let me tell you a little about the California Delta. It is
an area located between San Francisco and Sacramento, not
far from Stockton. It consists of 55 major islands and
dozens of beautiful little river towns located on the
American, Sacramento, San Joaquin and Mokelumne Rivers,
which flow in and around the Islands that makeup this area.
The Islands for the most part are connected by some very
unusual and interesting bridges. Some of the Islands are
only accessible by the ferryboats, which are free of charge
and operate 365 days a year, closing for lunch of course.
Primarily agricultural this area, consisting of
approximately 550,000 acres of rich peat soil, produces
tomatoes, asparagus, pears, melons, corn and grapes used for
some of the finest wines in the Country. Sunflowers are
also grown here in abundance here.
You should also know that there some wonderful Winery’s here
that are open to visitors daily year round for tasting.
Lodi boasts themselves as being an emerging new wine
destination in the California wine country. The Wine &
Visitors Center is open seven days a week from 10:00 am to
5:00 pm and have available to the public, a wine trail map
and brochure.
There are about 1,000 miles of navigable waterways, which
lend this area to a wealth of recreational activities
including fishing, boating, wind surfing, swimming and water
skiing. One can watch the rivers on any given day and see
everything from small rowboats to huge freighters, going to
and from San Francisco, Sacramento and the Port in
Stockton. With over 100 marinas and waterside resorts in
the Delta, boating is a primary recreation.
I have to tell you a story about a freighter we saw when we
were first visiting here. Bill and I were driving along one
of the levy roads when we looked to the horizon and saw a
huge freighter moving very slowly on land! This, of course,
was ridiculous so we set out to see where this freighter
was.
As it turned out the freighter was actually on the San
Joaquin River moving ever so slowly but when we saw it from
our vantage point it truly looked like it was on land. We
sat and watched this monstrous ship for a while and at one
point it crossed behind a tiny little aluminum boat where
two people were lazily enjoying a day of fishing. What a
site it was when this huge freighter passed behind the
little boat! The little boat became a spec on the side of
the freighter. Funny thing, though. These freighters as
big as they are create very little wake. Much less wake
than the bass boats that speed from one area to another like
mosquitoes from one person to another.
Houseboat rentals are available and we see a lot of them
lazily cruising the Rivers. Families and groups come and
rent them for a week. What a great vacation! My husband
calls these houseboats the “Delta Destroyers” though because
people are not used to driving them and they tend to bang
into the Marina’s when trying to dock for gas or supplies.
Bass fishing is a really big deal here and is celebrated
yearly with the Bass Festival in Rio Vista. The “stripers”
are really delicious and I always look forward to catching
or being the recipient of a nice big one.
Anyway, back to history of the Delta.The levies were
originally built by hand in the 1850’s, and later on by the
Chinese laborers who built the Trans-Continental Railroad.
The reclamation of the Delta was completed by 1930. Some of
the towns founded by these Chinese still exist as they were
in the early 1900’s.
One in particular is the very tiny town of Locke. Locke is
so interesting and so much fun to drive or walk through.
The buildings are so old and worn that they look like you
could blow on them and they would fall like a house of
cards. But, people still live in these buildings and many
are being used as quaint shops along the main street. There
is a one-room schoolhouse, which can be visited, for free,
and remains exactly as it was those many years ago. “Al the
Wop’s” is a popular restaurant on the main street of town
and it is famous for it’s steak lunches and dinners. For
$10.95 you can get a steak lunch, which is served with PB&J
and grilled bread. That’s right! Steak with peanut butter
and jelly and grilled bread.
This area is also home in the fall and winter to the
migrating Canadian Geese. They often fill the skies in
spectacular patterns when they travel around the Delta.
Hunting is another sport legally enjoyed here on the
Islands. Early in the morning you can often times hear the
“pop pop” of the guns as the hunters, dressed in their
camouflage clothing try to bring down a goose or two.
Isleton is a very small town located on the water along
Highway 160. It is known as the “Crawdad Capital of the
World” and is celebrated each year with the “Crawdad
Festival”.
The most famous restaurant in Isleton is a place called
Ernie’s. Ernie’s is a bar/restaurant. Nothing fancy, just
good food and good people. Ernie’s is famous for their
crawdads, otherwise known by Southerners as “mud bugs”.
Crawdads are little cru stations which are steamed with
Cajun seasonings and served warm on huge platters. They are
then eaten by hand by removing the tail and pulling out the
meat. Frankly, between you and I, they are a lot of trouble
if you are really hungry, but delicious and a lot of fun if
you have the time. Bill won’t eat them because he says he
doesn’t want to have to work for a meal that he is paying
for. But, a lot of people love the crawdads and Ernie’s
alone sells an average of 800 pounds a month of these local
“mud bugs”. During the once a year Crawdad Festival they
sell over 3000 pounds of crawdads. Ernie’s specialties
include crawdad omelets, crawdad sandwiches and crawdad
cocktails.
Another famous restaurant in Isleton is Rogelio’s.
Rogelio’s opened his first restaurant, serving Mexican
Cuisine, in 1981. Shortly thereafter he met and married his
wife who is Chinese and eats only Chinese food. So Rogelio
opened another restaurant, which served Chinese Cuisine.
The people who patronized the Mexican Restaurant also wanted
Chinese food and vice versa. It began to be complicated so
he decided to combine the two restaurants and added Italian
and American Cuisine to the menu. You can now go to
Rogelio’s and for a very reasonable charge have your choice
of either really good Mexican, Chinese, Italian or American
food. And, if you are interested in a good poker game,
visit their back room Casino (strictly legal) on Friday
nights.
Another restaurant, the Del Rio Hotel, in Isleton is famous
for their chuck wagon style prime rib dinners on the
weekends. They also have a little three-table casino where
you can play Holdem, Pai Gow, or 22 (a form of blackjack
which is legal in California).
There are so many good restaurants in the area I could not
possibly mention them all here. One of the things we have
learned as full time travelers, is to always ask the local
people where the best places to eat are and never go into a
restaurant that is empty at the peak eating hours. Chances
are there is a reason why no one is there.
Rio Vista is another town nearby. Some of you may remember
“Humphrey the Humpback Whale”. Humphrey paid an accidental
visit to Rio Vista back in 1985. He came to the Sacramento
River and got stuck in the sand at the edge of town. He was
released and according to folklore was very grateful to the
townspeople and came back to visit several times
thereafter. There is a monument to his presence in town at
the waters edge. Rio Vista is a growing community now but
the original part of town still has some really beautiful
old Victorian homes that date back to the early 1900’s.
Highway 160 winds its way from Antioch to Sacramento, along
the Sacramento River. It is a beautiful ride, which takes
you past some of the most wonderful little towns to be found
anywhere, fields of corn and orchards of pears.
There still stands a service station with two pumps which
must date back 60 years because I remember seeing these type
of pumps when I was a kid and I am fast approaching the age
of 60. Not far from this service station on the opposite
end of the spectrum, there is a 58-room Grand Island
Mansion. The Mansion looks like it stepped right out of a
movie about the old south. They serve brunch on Sunday and
d includes a tour of the Mansion.
This area is not only agricultural, but is also home to
cattle, sheep and goats.
There is a long and a very high bridge, which connects the
City of Antioch and the Delta. When driving over the bridge
and leaving the “city”, you get to the top of the bridge and
look down. Under you are nothing but the meeting of the San
Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers and beyond that nothing but
land with a scattering of cattle and the tips of windmills
on top of the hills beyond. Most everyone I have talked to
about this says the same thing. Crossing over the bridge
suddenly releases the tensions of the day and brings you
back in time. Back to the days when we had long lazy
country roads to drive on and nothing more to worry about
than what the price of hamburger was.
I am a “city girl” and delight in seeing all of the animals
right next to the road. My granddaughters, Chelsea and Kiki
never fail to stop and “Moo” at the cows or “Baa” at the
sheep and goats along the levy road near where we stay.
There is a big old shaggy Llama that spends all of his time
with a bunch of goats. He moves with them when the farmer
transports the goats from one field to another. This Llama
is as protective of those goats as a Mother of her young.
The goats and sheep are often used to clear a farmer’s land
of unwanted growth and the County uses them to clear the
weeds and plants along the levee roads. One day I was
driving on the levee road and a whole flock of sheep were on
the road. They were on their way to the water, which was
across the road from the field where they were supposed to
be. I suddenly found myself becoming a sheepherder and with
the use of my car horn was able to redirect the sheep back
to the right side of the road. In fact, the horn worked so
well they turned tail and couldn’t run fast enough back to
where they belonged. It was pretty funny and I was very
proud of my accomplishment.
There are lots of wonderful RV Parks in the area. Many of
them offer not only RV parking but Marina berthing as well.
The park we stay at is on what they call “The Delta Loop”.
The Loop is off of Highway 12 and is 10 miles long from one
end to the other. Along the “Loop” are several RV Parks,
Marinas, and a few restaurants. Two of the restaurants are
right on the water and it is really a pleasure to dine and
watch the sunset in the evening.
It is always very clean and they have a very friendly staff.
There are also cabins available there for rent if you don’t
bring an RV with you. Right across the levy road is a
lovely Marina on the San Joaquin River. Another plus is a
convenient market right at the Marina. It is the only fully
stocked market on the Loop and their prices are reasonable.
We travel in our RV but this area can certainly be enjoyed
if you are coming by car. Just be sure to call ahead for
reservations wherever you go, especially during the summer
season.
If you enjoy any activities such as camping, fishing,
boating, wind surfing, golfing, photography, picking wild
blackberries or just relaxing, you will love doing it here.
Come soak up the atmosphere of the “best kept secret in
California”, the California Delta.
Bill and I love traveling in our RV. It gives us the
freedom to see the sites when we want to, stay home and
relax when we want to, eat out or eat in, and we can always
sleep in the comfort of our own bed at night.
|
