The week of course went by fast in California. I was commenting to my cousin that one week is never enough time for a visit but yet it's too long to be away from home. That is always how it feels.
Friday was a busy day for us. It was our last day in Bakersfield so it was only fitting that it was spent visiting with family and friends.
That morning the girls and I drove out to the northwest to have lunch with a dear friend but we made a stop on the way.
One of the Smith's Bakery locations.
Anyone that knows anything at all about Bakersfield will know exactly what you are talking about when you say "happy face cookies." I grew up on them, the girls had heard about them their entire lives, so I just had to get some for them.
They loved them!
We then met my friend Mary at a sidewalk cafe called
Camille's at the
Marketplace. It was a new place for us and the sandwiches are incredible! I looked up locations and they actually have a cafe here in Alabama but it is down in Mobile. If you have a location near you- check it out. If you like pretzel bread- order the sandwich with it. It is what I had and it was
very good!
My friend Mary and I. Love her!
First in person visit in 19 years. Gotta love those friendships that stand the test of time and distance!
After a visit with Mary we headed over to the Dewar's Ice Cream Parlor to meet my aunt and cousins.
Smith's Bakery is known for the happy face cookies and Dewar's is a candy store in Bakersfield that is known for their Dewar's Chews but they also sell ice cream. They recently opened up a new ice cream parlor in the northeast of Bakersfield.
My aunt Brenda treated us all to ice cream sundaes. I wish I would have taken pictures of them. They are HUGE! She also bought some peanut butter chews to send home to the other kids that were not able to come out on this trip.
Outside of the ice cream parlor. The Dewar's Chews come in various flavors. This statue represents the peppermint chews. The peanut butter ones are our favorite and they offer chocolate and caramel too. I bought some peanut butter to bring home to friends.
This is my cousins Belinda and Bridgett.
My aunt Brenda (my mom's sister) and my cousin Bridgett.
One of the joys of the week for me was getting to experience some of my favorite childhood things with the girls. Regarding Bakersfield, that mostly means food. LOL! All of those eateries and places that make me feel nostalgic when I think of them. It was great to experience Dewar's with the girls for that reason.
When we left Dewar's we ran by my friend Mary's home for a quick visit with her daughters and husband. They live right around the corner.
To say that Mary's girls are adorable is an understatement. We were only able to stay around 30 minutes and it just wasn't long enough. When we left Emmy said "those are the most adorable girls I have ever met!" Outside of my own girls- I completely agree with her! *Grin*
Sweet Mallory- Mary sewed Pioneer bonnets and dresses for the girls for a homeschool event they had.
Twins- Skylar (Sky) and Lauren (Lola)
We only had 30 minutes to visit and then we headed down to a place called
The Crystal Palace to meet my aunt and cousins that we had had ice cream with.
Before we left for California, Bryan said,
"Jen, take the girls to the Crystal Palace for dinner one night. They will love it" The Crystal Palace wasn't around when we were growing up, and Bryan and I had never been, but we had heard from many friends about it. If you know anything about country music then you know exactly who I am talking about when I say,
Buck Owens. Many people think of Nashville as being the heart of country music but Bakersfield actually holds a strong place in the industry- especially when country music was just taking off. Buck Owens and his family are that history. It is a restaurant/museum/& country store. You can read the history of how the palace came about and view its menu online,
HERE. You don't need reservations for the restaurant but it is recommended on Friday and Saturday evenings when they have live bands playing. Many of the big stars come to perform in Bakersfield and they do so now at the Crystal Palace. It is the place that Garth Brooks proposed to Tricia Yearwood. When I was with my aunt and cousins at Dewar's we called and found out that we could walk through the palace/museum even if we were not going to eat dinner there.
Once we started walking through the place I instantly regretted not taking the girls there for dinner one night. I came so close on Wednesday but I wasn't sure if reservations were needed and that is when we ended up going to In & Out Burgers. I wish I would have followed my instinct and just driven up to the palace to ask about dinner there. The restaurant has a fancy feel to it when you get inside but you don't have to dress fancy and the prices are reasonable, depending on what you order. You can get an expensive steak or something more simple like sandwiches or pizzas. Seating is spread out among 2 levels. Their is a bar area but the dining areas are separate from the bar and their is the stage where performers perform when they come through town. When they have big performances you need tickets for those evenings, but all other evenings are walk-in. They have music playing on a screen even when live bands are not performing and they have a small dance floor for when the bands perform.
I love this mural that is in the entry of the palace.
Garth Brooks bronze statue. Throughout the palace are these bronze statues of famous performers- many of whom have performed at the palace.
This is Buck Owens old convertible that he drove around Bakersfield. We all remember seeing him around town in it at times. Bryan, my aunt, and my cousins, remember it more than I do, but I do have a few vague memories of it.
These pictures I took are bad but if you look closely, on the front of the car are actual bullhorns and the handles on the doors are made of guns. I remember Buck Owens riding in the car in parades at times.
All along both of the staircases to the 2nd floor are pictures of artists that have performed in Bakersfield through the years. On a side note- I use to house sit for Buck Owen's son Buddy and his wife Debbie. I worked with Debbie at one of the local banks which is how I met them. The girls thought it was fun that I had that connection to the family.
On the dance floor.
It was fun touring the palace and I told the girls we would definitely go there for dinner on a future visit out. They both love country music and would therefore love the experience of eating there on a Friday or Saturday night when a live band was performing. For me, the palace represents a huge part of the history of my hometown.
This Bakersfield sign used to be on Union street which through the years became a pretty run down part of town, so years ago (after Bryan and I moved away), they moved the sign to this location which is right next to the Crystal Palace. I was so excited to discover that, as I had wanted to get a picture of the girls with my hometown sign but didn't want to drive to the bad part of town to do so.
The Owens family owns and runs the local country music station in Bakersfield.
Kuzz Radio. The radio station is located right next to the palace.
After saying goodbye to my aunt and cousins we headed on back to my parents home and went out to dinner with them.
They took us to this new (to us) Mexican restaurant right around the corner from their home. The food was soooo good!
I love this picture of my parents and the girls.
And since it was our last night in town, my brother and his family drove up for a visit after dinner. I was so glad they were able to drive up as Herminia, my brothers wife, and his son were sick earlier in the week when my brother came for a visit. I was thankful to get some time with them.
The girls with their cousin Tomas.
My parents with 3 of their 10 grandchildren.
It's not a very good picture of my brother and I but it's good of everyone else.
My sister-in-law Herminia, brother Erik, and their youngest son Tomas. At this point Tomas was done taking pictures. *wink* He is 12 years old, a year younger than Annie. Erik and Herminia also have a daughter and son that are both older than Tomas. Lisa is the one that went to Pastry school in Florida this past year and their oldest son is married and out on his own. If you would be praying for my sister-in-law. She has Fibro just like me, but she is also battling diabetes. She has been for a while now and the diabetes has damaged many of her organs and messed up her heart. The doctors want to do open heart surgery on her but she doesn't want too, which is understandable. I can't imagine battling other health issues on top of my Fibro and she has some pretty bad days as a result. She looked really good despite it all. Your prayers for her would be appreciated. My brother is doing well and looked great despite some difficult past few years too.
And that was our last day in Bakersfield. One more post coming regarding California and that's it.
