Lamont

Lamont is the unincorporated stretch of Weedpatch Highway south of Bakersfield, the kind of place that exists on the map mostly because the post office insists. It is overwhelmingly Latino and agricultural, grapes, carrots, the Sunview packinghouse, with the Dust Bowl history Steinbeck mined still visible in the older bungalows. Dating life is largely a function of church, the quinceanera circuit, and whoever your cousin vouches for; the singles bar concept has not taken root and probably will not. For anything resembling a date night, residents drive into Bakersfield. Sincere, hardworking, and not pretending to be a destination.