It's always an adventure, driving on the "5" as we say here in California. We have often driven on Interstate 5 to our mountain cabin in the Sequoias, but it's a whole new endeavor to drive to Berkeley on the "5."
To be honest, it's rough. On the "5" to Berkeley, there's fewer places to stop along the way, and in the fall, many of the crops have been harvested, so it's also less visually stimulating. Since my oldest daughter was little, she has enjoyed "naming" the crops along the highway - sometimes there's signs on the fences indicating what is growing - other times it takes a bit of research, and a good guess!
It took us 6 hours with two brief stops, once at a rest stop, and the second at Santa Nella, for a bit of pea soup at Pea Soup Anderson's. In a way, it felt like the car trips that my parents and I used to make cross country to see my mom's parents in South Dakota. Long stretches of farmland, punctuated by little outposts here and there.
Yet, despite the arduousness of the journey, it's always fascinating to see so many crops. To see how our food is grown, how it's watered, which farms and orchards are thriving, and which have fallen on hard times. I do admire the farmer. My grandpa used to be a farmer in South Dakota, and I have always been proud of that.
But when the reward at the end of journey is seeing Baby Abby, it's always worth it.