I just passed Tulare, California, home of the World Ag Expo, the largest annual agricultural show of its kind. This year, more than 1,200 exhibitors participated in the show, and 70 countries were represented, either by having an exhibit booth of sending a delegation. If you have never been, you need to experience it at least once.

I’m now headed down Highway 99 toward the general vicinity of Corcoran, home of Corcoran State Prison. The prison has housed a number of high-profile and infamous inmates, most notably (for me) Charles Manson and Sirhan Sirhan.

I have been fascinated and frightened by Manson since my younger years. I remember reading Helter Skelter as a young man in Pennsylvania and being afraid to look outside — even in the middle of the day. Manson was transferred to Corcoran in 1989 and, in a bit of an odd twist of fate for me, died at the Bakersfield hospital right down the street from where I was living at the time in 2017. It was more than a little creepy knowing that he was in the neighborhood, regardless of the condition he was in.

With Sirhan, I remember my mom waking me up for my last day of school in sixth grade by telling me, “Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed.” Gut punch.

Here are some other notable Corcoran inmates:

Deceased Inmates Formerly at Corcoran:

• Juan Corona: A serial killer convicted of murdering twenty-five farmworkers in 1971. He was at Corcoran from 1992 until his death from natural causes in 2019.
• Rodney Alcala: Known as the “Dating Game Killer,” he was a serial killer and rapist. He was on death row and died from natural causes in 2021.

Currently or Formerly Incarcerated High-Profile Inmates:

• Sirhan Sirhan: The convicted assassin of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. He was housed at Corcoran’s Protective Housing Unit for a period before being moved to other facilities.
• Joseph James DeAngelo: The “Golden State Killer” serial killer and rapist. He received multiple life sentences.
• Phillip Garrido: Infamous for the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard in 1991.
• Danny Masterson: A former actor from “That ’70s Show,” convicted of rape, who has served time at Corcoran.
• Robert Downey Jr.: The famous actor, who served time at a facility within the Corcoran complex (California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran) in the late 1990s for a parole violation stemming from a drug conviction.
• Mikhail Markhasev: Convicted murderer of Ennis Cosby, son of Bill Cosby.

My trip by the numbers:

Miles walked: 60.3

Miles to go: 2,869.7

Days to 70th birthday (unofficial goal to complete): 437

Average miles needed per day to reach goal: 6.56