Bob's Yellow Bird
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This was a special ride in that we drove to The
California Delta and crossed several bridges, all but one being drawbridges, and
rode on two ferries. I had not ridden on a ferry since my childhood in New York,
and although these were short ferry rides, they were great experiences.
This is Shelby's Drive-In in Rio Vista where we ate our lunch. Rio Vista is a very quiet little town. The pace of life there is as it might have been 50 years ago. |
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This is inside Shelby's Drive-In. The walls
are covered with pictures of cars, many of them being what appear to be local
people posing next to their beauties. They all have captions telling who the
people are and what the car is.
I had a double cheeseburger and it stayed with me for the rest of the day. |
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Here we are on board the Ryer Island Ferry looking
to the east. The boat itself is named "The Real McCoy". You gotta love
that.
These ferries carry four normal-sized vehicles or two large RVs. This one is diesel powered while the second one we rode is cable drawn. These two are the only ferries left in the delta that are open to the public as the other three lead to islands which are privately owned. |
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Here's the T-Bird being taken for a ride. Even
the car is enjoying it. See the bulging eyes and wide, toothy grin?
The ferries run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The only time you can't ride one is when the operator is on his lunch or dinner break. Read more about the California Delta and it's ferries. |
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When you drive off the ferry onto Ryer Island you
are on a narrow two-lane road which is actually the top of a levee. The regulars
call the roads "asphalt sloughs".
This picture was taken from the car where I just stopped in the middle of the road. The whole time we were on Ryer Island we only saw two or three other cars. Looks like Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer would be right at home here. |
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When we left the levee road to drive across the
island we were on flat land which is almost totally agricultural. There are some
houses but they are few and far between. We never saw another person except for
those in the few cars we passed.
It's a beautiful place and I feel more fortunate than ever to live in an area where there is so much diversity. There are so many wonderful places to go and things to see and do. |
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The T-Bird has not been abandoned. We are out wandering around while the Howard Landing Ferry takes a load across the river. |
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My wife is on the ramp telling me to come down and take the next picture. |
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And this is the picture she told me to take. I should let her pick more shots for me. |
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This is the pilot's control room on the Howard Landing Ferry. The ferry's name is "The J-Mack" and it is the cable drawn ferry which is taking us off of Ryer Island. |
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I'm really enjoying this. I only wish the
rides were longer.
The price is right, though. Free! |
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The car is enjoying it, too.
Is that a great shot of The Bird or what? My wife took it. Maybe I should let her take more pictures. |
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This was taken along Route 160 just south of Rio
Vista. Mount Diablo is in the distance.
We could see the mountain from almost every place we went on this trip. I guess that should come as no surprise since it is over 4,000 feet and when you are at the top you can see all over Northern California. |
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