We will visit our daughter, newly settled in Bakersfield, for five days in July.
We plan to visit the Bakersfield Museum of Art for Free Friday. Perhaps we will go to the Kern County Museum, although we're concerned about being outdoors in the heat for long periods of time; scratch the zoo at CALM. Country music is not our thing.
What else is there to do?
Besides what you listed? Nothing.
You could drive up the Kern River Canyon, or better yet take a drive over to the coast to Pismo or Avila Beach. There are the wineries at PasoRobles.Yosemite is up the road a few hours.The nicer places to visit are a couple hours away.
Bakersfield does have Basque restaurants if you are into that.
Was your daughter recruited as a teacher by any chance?
Yes Basque restaurants. Woolgrowers is recommended. It'd be quite a culture shock moving from NYC to Bakersfield.
As a former Bakersfieldian, I feel your pain. Other than what you've listed, about the only thing to do in Bakersfield is hit the mall, which ain't what it used to be.
I like dez40's suggestions of driving over to the beach (MUCH cooler and where I escaped to from Bakersfield) and/or the Paso Robles wine country (Still hot, but much prettier area compared to B-town).
The Kern River Canyon is a pleasant drive up to the communities of Lake Isabella & Kernville and would make for a nice day trip. Just don't let the inviting waters of the Kern River lure you in. That river is treacherous..... looks calm on the surface, but the undertow is strong and can pull a person under very quickly.
Edited: 9:20 am, July 09, 2012You might consider a drive to see Giant Sequoia Trees. A visit to Sequoia National Park would be a 3 hour one way drive.
But a closer alternative to see Giant Sequoias would be the southern end of the Giant Sequoia National Monument. Long Meadow Grove is only about a 1.5 to 2 hour one way drive from Bakersfield. Long Meadow has a paved trail (designed for wheelchairs so it is also an easy walk). Pack a picnic lunch and you can make a relaxing day under the Sequoias.
fs.fed.us/r5/…gsnm-long-meadow-grove.html
I'd also suggest a visit to Dewar's ice cream in Bakersfield.
I did see the Gaslight Melodrama in Bakersfield starts a new show July 20 called "Real Housewives of Oildale". A few of us can probably anticipate some of the jokes but a video preview of the show is at:
Edited: 1:51 pm, July 09, 2012
