DAY 1 - For Mother's Day, we are taking mom on a road trip to an unknown destination. The Tesla Supercharger in Bakersfield is a little out of our way, but she does not know that...so coming here helps throw her off the trail. We are stopping here because the more conveniently located Tejon Ranch location is presently being expanded. Fortunately, we are the only one here...so this should be a quick stop.

When we depart, we will detour through farmland to get to the 99. As long as we stick to my planned route, we only need to be here 20 minutes. It's a bit too early for lunch, so no one expresses any interest in eating here, but staying longer would help us charge a bit more fully...which would give us a little more flexibility in our route. Either way, I left plenty of temporal wiggle room for additional stops.

As we neared Visalia, my passengers finally started expressing a need for coffee and something to eat...so we started looking for a Starbucks. The Starbucks in Visalia was proving to be a bit out of the way (I started worrying that we wouldn't have enough charge before our next planned Supercharger stop), but Valerie found one en route and much closer to our destination. This location is in Reedley, CA...just south of Parlier. My high school friend Wayne used to loathe visiting family out here, sharing stories about how little there was to do and how excited the town was when a McDonalds opened. I immediately sent him this picture. It blew his mind.

We ordered coffee, but did not need food because Valerie packed sandwiches. While sitting at a table, we made a surprising discovery...one of the framed illustrations had my middle name on it! What are the chances?

I'm not sure why mom found this so funny.

Though mom suspected we might be taking her to The Cat House on the Kings, she is still surprised to see the sign. She did not remember exactly where it was located...nor could she figure out why we needed to be here by a set time.

We needed to arrive at Cat House by 12:45pm because owner Lynea is giving us a tour. I decide to not take many photos while we walk around because I don't want to hold up the group tour, but that doesn't prevent Valerie or mom from wanting to stop and pet the first Meezer we come across.

Cats lounge under one of the tribute benches

One of the cats watches us as Lynea tells us about the FIV Ward.

This section of bungalows is for FIV+ kitties. These have AC and heaters and have kitty doors so the kitties can come and go as they please. The cats themselves are otherwise healthy and seem happy, but they must stay within this section as to not risk infecting the other cats...but there is no risk of us spreading the disease if we pet them.

There are affectionate kitties everywhere. Lynea suggests we stop back here after the tour.

Second Meezer sighting...a Lynxie like Mochi

That looks like a comfy basket

We follow Lynea inside the main house...into what was formerly known as the kitchen

The cats have completely taken over the 4,200 square foot house. Lynea now lives in a nearby trailer.

It's tough to get good photos inside...I will need to come back after the tour.

As we step back outside, we see Egrets nesting in a nearby tree. Lynea refers to these trees as "The Boroughs"...and no one wants to live in the neighboring tree she calls "New Jersey".

Lynea takes us down by the Kings River (so that's why this is called "The Cat House on the Kings") and points out the "Where's Waldo" tree. Supposedly cats can find many hiding places in the tree (I cannot find any). One of the black cats that has been following us is a bit more visible when it climbs on another tree.

Aside from the ferals that gaze down upon us from high perches, most of the cats have been very affectionate

Mom has been smiling for most of our visit

The recognizable sound of peacock cries greeted us when we first pulled up the driveway. Little did we know then that peafowl are cared for at The Cat House