Are you planning on staying and flying or just going round trip? You should
stay and fly. That will add an unknown portion to my answer but I will try
to help.

Being in LA, we know our traffic. It is a science and the beginning part of
every conversation. Here goes:

Let us say that you leave San Jose very early in the morning from somewhere
in the vicinity of SJC on a week day. That would put you counter to traffic
headed south on 101. Assuming that you work in San Jose, then you are an
engineer who is driving a BMW that was brand new 4 years ago when your
options were popping. That means you will be traveling in and out of traffic
on that ridiculous two lane highway at approximately 70 mph.

You will, therefore, hit Pacheco Pass and highway 152 out of Hollister in
about 45 minutes. If you make the pass at 0700 to 0730, you will hit truck
traffic that left Salinas loaded with produce about two hours earlier. That
means that half of that ridiculous two lane highway will be clobbered with
big trucks that have the effrontery to pass each other on the uphills.
Assume you will make Interstate 5 in another 35 minutes.

(Here, let me point out a cultural difference between Northern California
and Southern California. First, there is no culture in Southern California
while there is no fun in Northern California. Second, highways are referred
to as "Highway 101" and " I 5" when you are north of the ugly line...the
subject of another lecture altogether. South of this line of demarcation
which runs from San Luis Obispo through Gorman, those same thoroughfares are
referred to as THE 101 and THE 5. The nomenclature is equally descriptive
but since most of Southern California is paved and the denizens of LA spend
most of their lives on those highways, I believe they have the edge in
expertise. Thus, I will continue using SoCal terminology.)

Once on the 5, you will no doubt start hammering at the same rate as
everyone else. That means you will be going about 80 mph. Much of the right
lane of that ridiculous two lane highway will be full of trucks or agrarians
on their way to agary. Nevertheless, you can travel at a great rate as long
as you stay in the fast lane.

Throughout California, the sign saying "Slower Traffic Keep Right" has
placed a stigma on drivers who wish to drive at rates similar to those
posted. Since nobody in California wishes to be thought of as Slow Traffic,
everyone gets in the fast lane. On the Autobahn, they flash their lights for
you to move. Only an idiot wishing to eat brake lights would do that in the
San Joaquin Valley. And blow your horn? You're kidding. Right? Never Ever
blow your horn. If the other car is from Bakersfield you are dead meat.

The Harris Ranch is about halfway between Hollister and the Grapevine. Day
or night, it is a beacon for travelers on that boring road. Sometimes, the
smell of 30 years of piled up manure at the feed lot is enough to bring
roadkill back to life. Once there, you have a short time to go before you
need to make a turn. Say...oh about another hour.

So, you have been on the 5 for an hour and you have about an hour before you
turn. You want to head east on Bear Mountain Blvd or the 223 to Arvin. This
route costs you something and gets you something. You miss the effect of
entering Los Angeles traffic which starts at the base of the Grapevine.
Everyone hits it at 75, points the nose uphill and goes into afterburner.
That is because while the 5 out in the sticks is about 80, in LA it is go
for broke. So you miss climbing a hill in four lanes of mixed traffic at 90
mph. Truly a wondrous homecoming for the errant Angelino.

But what you do get is the climb out of Arvin into the Tehachapi Mountains.
Look back near the peak. It is one of the most wonderful sights in a
beautiful state. No kidding. Where most of Americas agriculture meets wild
California. Too cool.

Then, as you crest the hill, you drive right by the place where there was a
truly historical glider meet a zillion year ago that you would have to ask
Janet Armstrong about as you drive through Tehachapi.

From there, you just go down hill to Cal City....except you don't want to
miss the cutoff. The Randsburg Cutoff but the sign says California City.
Then, it's about another half an hour and you are there.

You have just driven by Hollister, Avenal, Tehachapi and have arrived at Cal
City. You drove by Caesar Chavez grave, the place where Gene Autry got his
start, a famous glider site, some boring and some beautiful countryside and
now you are in a windy hellhole where if it's good....I mean if it's really
good...Wait. That sounds like George C. Scott in Doctor Strangelove.

It took you 7 hours not counting stops.

Of course, if you leave in the afternoon and have to fight San Jose traffic,
add two hours. And, if there is a lot of truck traffic on the Pass, add
another half hour. The 5 is usually clear and the road through Arvin is also
but if you go when any kind of harvest is going on, you need to add another
half hour. And if the tulle fog is out, add another hour and a half. If
there is snow on the ground in Tehachapi, add a half hour. And if you go on
a weekend, all the pumps and junk food places will be packed so add another
hour for that stop. And if you want to stop at the In and Out Burger in
Kettleman City and get in the drive through lane, add another half hour.

I hope this has been some help. If you want to know where the breaks are in
the cell phone coverage, write me directly.

"ken ward" wrote in message
...
how long does it take to drive there and back?

Ken