Turlock

After much debate, I decided to drive to Turlock, California. It is difficult to get to Turlock and I had a work obligation. Other than flying into a private airport, the travel time by plane/rental car and driving was the same. As a silver lining, I was able to make a pit stop in Yosemite.

Hotel

Bakersfield Marriott - I wasn't thrilled with the idea of working all day and driving all night to Turlock so I opted to break the trip up in the middle and overnight in Bakersfield. Since I wasn't in town long, I didn't really do much but sleep and go. I did enjoy the light breakfast offered in the lounge and the hotel seemed really fancy for the area. Since there is a convention center attached, I'm assuming this Marriott property is the nicest one. It was definitely priced higher than I was expecting....

Bakersfield Marriott

Home2Suites Turlock - There aren't alot of options in Turlock but my host site was wanting to put me in the Holiday Inn and I had debated about taking my dog with me and opted to book the Home2Suites on the off-chance the dog was going to be with me. Ultimately, I traveled alone. The property is fairly new and the location is conveniently off the freeway with an assortment of eateries reasonably nearby and within walking distance. I enjoyed having the option of having a full kitchen, you can ask for a hot plate and skillet if you wanted to really cook something.'

Home2Suites Turlock Kitchen

Dining

Steak n Shake - Most of the Steak n Shake locations I'm familiar with closed down before the pandemic. I still had a gift card and saw an opportunity to redeem the last dollar amounts when I saw a location in Victorville. After having the shake and burger, I can see why most have closed down. This particular location was very friendly in service and they went out of their way trying to figure out how to redeem the electronic gift card. I did appreciate the effort and the shake is good enough to make a stop if you're in the area and mood.

CSU Stanislaus - The University has a decent food court center with a buffet style cafeteria. For $11.99, I opted to have lunch at the cafeteria. For the price, the food was reasonably tasty, varied, and fresh. I would highly recommend if you are in search to fill your gut.

Las Casuelas - As part of my work obligation, eating at this restaurant was the choice of my host. It is mediocre Mexican food which is particularly sad given the surrounding area has much better options. I ordered the steak which I thought was a safe choice. They managed to make it unappealing by adding half a cup of melted mozzarella. It was not a good start of the trip. Service was good, they seemed somewhat interested in getting the food to the table.

Village Donut - Located at 343 S Golden State Blvd, Turlock, CA 95380, this local donut shop offered good doughnuts. Nothing stellar, just normal doughnuts.

Nagina Palace - I wasn't aware but there is a large Indian population in this part of California. There are a ton of Indian restaurants and even the truck stops advertised indian food. Even though the rating is similar to Las Casuelas, this is a far better restaurant option! I enjoyed my goat curry and naan.

Fails Donut Factory - Located at 334 N Center St, Turlock, CA 95380, I was originally going to this donut place but ended up at Village due to a glitch in car navigation instructions. I was glad I was able to get to Fails as they had interesting and visually appealing options. I ordered a small sampling and it seems to be the donut spot for Turlock.

Fails Donuts

Napkins BBQ - As I hit the road to home, I decided to do a quick Yelp look and saw this BBQ joint. So I detoured off the freeway to get a tri-tip sandwich. It isn't cheap but I did enjoy the sandwich and it was a nice break in the drive. It is a trailer outside a vape store that sells chips and drinks. I also went down the street to the gas station and bought a bag of jalapenos from their produce cart. They sold bags of vegetables/fruit for $5.

Napkins BBQ

Yosemite - I've never been to Yosemite and wasn't sure what to expect as I came closer to the park entrance. I was suprised to see a few towns (very much geared towards tourism) along the main road into Yosemite from Fresno. It was also the slow season where the park didn't require a reservation to enter. Since I was going to Maui later in the year, I opted to buy the National Park Pass for $80. I guess I should try to hit one more national park before it expires. Even though I only had a few hours, I did feel it was worth it and would probably try to go back.

Yosemite

Yosemite