A post I’ve wanted to write literally since I got this job, but that I’ve been unable to do due to the nature of the current Unprecedented Times(patent pending) is the huge amount of day trips available for people that live in Turlock.

If you don’t know, Turlock, a medium sized city, is sometimes poo-pooed by its locals for being boring and having nothing to do in it. This is all about perspective, of course, and usually the people that will complain about that are people that grew up here and gained that High School Hometown Cynicism(patent pending) that so many of us have had.

But, it is true that all of the best things you can do in a day around here are just a day trip away. In fact, one of the biggest advantages about Turlock is the daytrips! When I talk to friends online or around the world and they ask where I am in California, I tell them that I’m a day trip away from skiing, the beach, Disneyland, and Yosemite.

My friends are usually pretty impressed with that, haha.

And now, at last, with the beautiful science juice of vaccination coursing through my veins, I can once again go on my beloved beloved day trips and introduce you to them with me! As the world is reopening, here’s three Covid-friendly day trips that you can go on basically this very weekend!

1. Oakland Zoo

Hear me out, you may think that Zoos are a place for infants and children… but when was the last time you actually went to a Zoo? Were you a child? Then friend, it’s time you go again.

I dragged my sister to the Oakland Zoo, which neither of us had been to since Kindergarten, and let me tell you I have not experienced so much childish joy and imagination than we had that day.

Google told us that the average visit time was 3-4 hours, so when we were reaching up to the sixth hour of our trip and avoiding staff members as they tried to corral us stragglers out of the now closed park, we had gotten a time well worth our money.

Do you know how tall a giraffe is!?!?

No, honestly, ask yourself. Can you actually picture in your head how big a giraffe is? Can you see yourself standing next to something as tall as a building story that is alive?

If you can’t, then it’s time you visit the Zoo. From general amazement at giraffes to playing with the otters to a genuinely spiritual experience seeing California Condors which at one point had less than 22 living members of its species, it was a fantastic day that I’m so glad I got to appreciate as an adult.

2. Pinecrest Lake – Cleo’s Bath

And to reverse things, here’s a place that my sister dragged me to.

If you’re a local then you’ve been to Pinecrest Lake. It’s a beautiful and popular little recreation spot with boat and bike rentals that a lot of elementary schools will actually take their fifth and sixth graders up to and teach them about how to be ethical hikers. There’s a very easy lake trail that will take you around the entire lake, and it’s lovely and anyone can do it.

Also, if you’re in even just half-decent shape, you can divert up the lake path and go up to Cleo’s Bath.

While the lake is lovely, it is very popular, a bit noisy, and sometimes hard to find a nice spot to chill in. Cleo’s Bath however, is a perfect and serene little waterfall and swimming area (when it’s not too cold!) that has way way way less people and can feel like you’re actually “out in nature”.

The trail is a little hard to follow (look for the faded blue arrows, stacked stones, and be ready to scramble up a couple rocks!) but when you get up to the top it’s so so worth it!

If you’ve been sitting at a desk for the last year, then stretch your legs, go up to Pinecrest, learn about the abandoned Steam Donkey, and scramble up to see the hidden waterfall!

3. Asilomar Beach

And here is where my sister and I have collectively dragged each other to.

Asilomar beach is my favorite beach of all time. A lot thanks to nostalgia, no doubt, but so much more so just because of the diverse experience the beach offers. When you get there, you can park directly next to the sand dunes, crawl down the staircase, and then to your left is a wide swath of sand that you can have your beautifully cliché long walk on the beach, and to your right is a big stretch of rocks that you can hop and go tide pooling on!

There’s not a more meditative experience I have been on in my life than grabbing a long sturdy stick and hopping from rock to rock, watching the hermit crabs, the anemones, the star fish, and then eventually getting to one secret rock I know of where there’s always at least one harbor seal, and if you’re lucky there’s dozens of them teaching their babies how to swim!

I’ve named one seal Boberto, and have had many conversations with him from a respectful distance. He’s very beautiful, and a great listener. You should go and try to safely and respectfully meet him too!

Conclusion

Turlock is great, I wouldn’t be writing this blog if it wasn’t, but one of the biggest advantages to it is the centralized location to other places! I’m so so happy to be able to go on these day trips again and you’ll be remiss if you don’t go out and try some of them yourself too!

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All images in this post are taken by me. Image of my sister is posted with her consent.