At my request, we are driving south on California’s Highway 99. Obviously the state’s most scenic route is the famed Pacific Coast Highway, but my boyfriend grimaced when I suggested we take it: For native Californians it just takes too long; they’ve also done it a million times.

Highway 99 runs through the middle of the state, disecting one of its major agricultural regions. Although this route takes longer than the barren I5, I was interested in getting a taste of the small towns of the central valley. It reminds me of US 27, the road I took through Florida to drive to college at UF– another two-laned road dotted with farms and church towns.

It was also mentioned in Grapes of Wrath as the main road used by the Joad family.

The pictures above are terrible, since the car was moving. But I love the beautiful pink flowers with the grapes growing in the background and the Sierra mountains beyond.