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My Emu Is Emo

It's time for a year-end list. Since I moved to six months ago, how about a list of 10 Things I Like About Modesto and Its Surroundings?

This is by no means exhaustive. You can mute if you dislike mentions of any org that sells things.

1. The Giant Poppy downtown. This speaks for itself. It is a giant poppy.

Landscape pic of a giant translucent poppy looming down over the viewer like a distant umbrella. It is very big and very orange. A spray of smaller poppies is behind it. In the distance are rows of typical western U.S. "historic" buildings and a bright blue sky.
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My Emu Is Emo

2. While we're downtown, the murals! There's a whole series of alleys lined with murals. Here's a typical image.

Slanting shot of a wall-sized mural in a naturalistic style. It shows a guy in a white T-shirt and jeans talking with a gal in a poodle skirt and white blouse, both of them leaning against a red vintage car in front of a 1930s-tyle theater.
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My Emu Is Emo

3. Also, while we're downtown, Michelin Gallery! I'd wondered how I suddenly got into local art (admittedly, mostly at the greeting card level)... and it's because this gallery does so much to make it available.

Here's one of my favorite images, the TIllie Lewis water tower, by water color artist Virginia White.

Close-up of a greeting card that shows a watercolor painting of an industrial water tower against a cloudy blue sky. The tower says Tillie Lewis Foods in red block letters.
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My Emu Is Emo

4. Our final downtown stop -- Preservation Coffee, the hipster coffeehouse with an excellent local baking program (including this almond tart) that hosts exhibits of local art.

(Though if you want gluten-free, Culture Coffee Bar on McHenry is the place to go.)

Close-up of a tart on a white plate. The tart has a thick light beige crust and is topped with a heavy layer of sliced almonds.
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My Emu Is Emo

5. While we're doing food, I have to admit disappointment in the local pizza scene. I lived in New Haven, CT, which has the best in the U.S.

However, I get to have my childhood fave, Round Table, a regional chain that's as close in style to New Haven apizza as we're likely to get here.

Close-up of a small thin-crust pizza on a white plate. The pizza is topped with salami, pepperoni, linguica, olives, mushrooms, onions, and green peppers.
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My Emu Is Emo

6. To compensate for pizza disappointments, the DONUT scene is amazing. There's Mr T's Delicate Donut, voted 13th best in the nation. There's Scotty's, where you don't go for the ambiance but you do go for the raised donuts. This particular donut is probably from Tony's, a funky ol' shack that does a great cake donut.

Close-up of a plain cake donut on a white napkin.
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My Emu Is Emo

7. While we're on food, The Fruit Yard is our local version of a classic kind of California stop: restaurant, gas station, and store that sells dried fruit, pies, and such. The restaurant makes the best pancakes and bacon I've found locally.

It also has chickens.

Close-up of a poultry with a red crest, beige and brown body feathers, and lively gray tail feathers. It stands in a patch of mud.
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My Emu Is Emo

8. If you need a bigger poultry fix, there's the Stanislaus County Fair, held every year in neighboring Turlock.

It is small and I love it. In 2023, I intend to enter the baking competition.

Moderate close-up of a lying-down sheep with a black face, wearing a leopard-print onsie. It has tags in each ear and appears to be comfortable in some sort of stall.
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My Emu Is Emo

9. While we're further afield from Modesto, I gotta HEART the Haggin Museum in Stockton, which is small but mighty. Curation there cares deeply about developing a topic thoroughly and about engaging with local history.

This image is from an exhibition on J.C. Leyendecker because it's striking.

Framed large picture that's a 1920s-style illustration of a fit young man in translucent white long underwear, putting on a luxurious gold and black brocade dressing gown. He is vivid against a black background.
My Emu Is Emo

10. Finally, it wouldn't be without Graffiti Weekend, which culminates in a gigantic car show.

I learned to drive stick on a car like this one (it was old then -- a bf's family restored old cars).

Curvy 1950s car in two tones of aqua sit on a lawn in front of a modernist building. There are other vintage cars displayed beyond it.
Dec 29, 2022, 08:23 PM·Public·Web
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My Emu Is Emo

So what about 2023?

My goals are:
1. Deal with my backlog of pics for places we've been, as there are lots! Tons of train photos!

2. Check out local museums.

3. Create the ultimate donut list.

4. Get my ass in gear to start writing about architecture and neighborhoods. It takes planning.

What do you suggest I check out in the Central Valley?

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