The San Joaquin Valley is the lower half of California's Central Valley, a 500 mile long, 30 mile wide stretch of ancient dry lakebed that receives less than 20 inches of rain per year and has been home to a huge agricultural enterprise for around the past century. The middle of the valley is increasingly home to commuters from San Francisco Bay workplaces, for the simple reason that you can rent a house in Manteca or Ripon for the price of 14 square feet of somebody's dining room in San Jose.
I always seem to live in places of contradiction. Is it just me?