RN: As we drove through the Central Valley we were impressed by the contrast between the very green crops and the parched landscape around them (the photo below shows almond trees).  The Central Valley provides 25% of the food consumed by the US and it would not be possible without irrigation.  The water is managed by the Central Valley Project, a federal entity that controls the flow of water from the many sources in northern California.  In addition, water is pumped out of the ground and used.  Many of the crops have switched over from annually harvested crops to those that require sustained water year round, such as fruit and nut orchards and grape vines.  Consequently, there is an ever-increasing demand for water, that, tied to the increases in population in southern California that has greatly stressed the system.  California has struggled with balancing demand with supply and we could see many signs along I-5 that hollered about water and a life and begging Governor Newsome to be more humane.  We also saw lots of dead orchards, presumably because water had been cut off.  What a dilemma!!

FE: Some things about having an EV are different in California. Here we charge our car at a supercharging station that has 56 total chargers (the latest one I had seen so far had 16)! and 48 of them are open…as our navigation system shows. Downside is that charging here is about twice as expensive as in Massachusetts.

RN: After a long day of driving, we arrive at my mom’s house in Fullerton, courtesy of the map app in our car, which diverted us through LA rush hour traffic by taking us a novel way I had never tried before. My mom is 93, going on 94 in two months and still lives by herself. We were all very happy to see each other!