Distance: 60 miles
Driving Time: 1 hour, but on Sunday afternoon and the end of long
weekends, traffic jams can develop at the intersection of Highway 156 West in Prunedale
and workarounds are difficult.
If you're going north, keep an eye open for a cow on the east side of the highway. You normally wouldn't expect such a critter to stand still, but this one is part of a humorous outdoor mural created by local artist John Cerney who is also responsible for the oversized farm workers shown on the Salinas page as well as the baseball scene painted on a barn north of Prunedale at Dunbarton Rd. Please drive carefully and pull off the road if you need a better look.
Just south of Gilroy (the self-proclaimed Garlic Capitol), you'll find produce stands selling cherries in early summer, along with several produce stands selling garlic and related products. Rapazzini Winery produces Chateau de Garlic, a garlic-laced vintage that might make an unusual gift for the folks back home.
Don't be surprised if you start smelling garlic as you approach Gilroy. The processing plant there often fills the air with the odor. Further north, you may notice the large, windowless buildings that are mushroom farms.
Side Trips
Exit at CA 156 East for a side trip into the past. San Juan Bautista is home to a largely intact Spanish mission facing a state historic park that recreates an early California town. The old mission is featured in Hitchcock's Vertigo. The town's single main street is lined with shops and places to eat, making it an enjoyable diversion.
Just west of 101 in San Martin is a resort hotel so great that it's well worth a stop and an overnight stay. CordeValle (a Rosewood Resort) offers a top-notch golf course, beautiful Craftsman-style rooms and a restaurant as good as any in the area. Best of all, its customer service is unparalleled.
Primary Needs
The shopping center at CA 152 East makes a good rest stop with several restaurants, coffee shops and other stores. Exit at CA 152 West/Leavesley Road for Gilroy Premium Outlets, a large complex with 145 stores. You'll find gasoline at any exit in Gilroy, and many exits from there up to Morgan Hill.
There's California Highway Patrol office just off the highway between Gilroy and Morgan Hill, so expect more black-and-white patrol cars along this section of highway than in other areas.
