Is Lodi really THAT bad?

This is part 4 of my 323-part series

Song: Lodi

Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival

You would think that getting stuck in Lodi once would be enough for the band members of Creedence Clearwater Revival, but you’d think wrong. They were stuck in Lodi again, and apparently none to pleased with that fact. Was getting stuck a common occurrence for them, or was it just Lodi that seemed to be impossible to escape?

I’d always assumed that being stuck in Lodi would be some kind of tragic experience. Lodi, I thought, had to be some kind of one-stoplight town with a general store, a gas station and, obviously, a saloon where people sat there drunk as the band played. I imagined it as the kind of place kids hung out in the gas station parking lot or drove three towns over to go to Kmart on a Friday night.

But, it turns out, there’s actually quite a lot to do if you’re stuck in Lodi. There are more than 70 wineries in the Lodi Wine Country, which has been described as “Northern California’s hottest new wine country destination.” Granted, it’s the Lodi conference and visitor’s bureau making that claim, making it just as reliable as the guy covered in body paint and his team’s flag draped over him as a cape saying that his team is number one.

Zoos, museums and even a serpentarium are all right there in Lodi. Granted, the San Joaquin County Historical Museum may not be high on the list of things to do for a fledgling rock band to do (or really high on anyone’s list of things to do unless they were a major history buff or have a strange fascination with San Joaquin County), but there are other options. For example, the Lodi Community Art Center is located in the Lakewood Mall. That also means there’s a mall, so they’ve got that going for them.

Ok, ok, so a band stuck in Lodi may not find those attractions very enticing. There are nine establishments listed under nightlife, with five of them conveniently located on School Street. The Lodi Beer Company stays open all the way to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and on non-school nights, they’re open until the wee hours of midnight.

There’s also ‘agriculture’ listed on the Lodi visitor’s website. I don’t have a joke here. You can go to Lodi and visit farms. I guess that appeals to some people (apparently a lot of people). I’m assuming you’d pass a lot of farms on your way to Lodi, so getting all the way there only to then go visit farms seems counterproductive. Maybe the farms in Lodi are nicer than the surrounding counties.

You know, the more I look at what Lodi has to offer, the more I can see why Creedence Clearwater Revival would feel stuck in Lodi. Their website specifically designed to get me to want to visit their fair city makes me never want to visit Lodi. I misjudged you, Creedence Clearwater Revival, you were right to sing about the Godforsaken city that is Lodi.

Next Song: Ain't It Fun

Artist: Guns N' Roses