Depart Sacramento (SMF) at 7:00am; scheduled arrival into Burbank (BUR) at 8:15am — this gives your morning lift into the LA/Valley area to begin field driving.
Deplane, collect carry items and pick up rental car or meet driver. Allow time for baggage/rental desk; airport rental counters or shuttle can take 30–60 minutes.
Drive from Burbank to the Mettler area in southern Kern County; typical travel time morning off-peak is ~2h–2h15m depending on route (I-5/CA-58 or CA-14/CA-58).
On-site inspection/meeting in Mettler — this is a focused site check; schedule a 30–45 minute window to walk the site and take notes/photos. Standard business/site hours typically 8am–5pm; confirm appointment.
Historic Wool Growers (downtown Bakersfield) or a local diner for a quick, hearty lunch; convenient for mid-day refuel before the Lamont visit. Typical lunch/restaurant hours are ~7:00am–2:30pm; verify today’s hours and allow 30–45 minutes.
On-site inspection/meeting in Lamont — plan a focused 30-minute visit to review key items. Standard site hours are usually 8am–5pm; confirm appointment time in advance.
Drive back to Burbank. Allow approximately 2h15m for the return trip (traffic variable); this conservative estimate leaves you arriving at BUR around 4:00pm to 4:15pm and provides a pre-flight buffer.
Return rental car (if used) and proceed through TSA/check-in. For domestic departures a 60–90 minute preflight arrival is recommended; arriving by ~4:00–4:15pm is the target for a 5:35pm flight.
If you're at SMF early, grab coffee and a light breakfast in the terminal (many airport cafés open by 4:30–5:00am). If you prefer, a quick sandwich at BUR upon arrival works too — both are convenient for an early flight.
You’ll arrive SMF ~7:00pm; choose dinner near the airport or head home. If you prefer to dine before departure, Porto’s Bakery (Burbank) or a quick airport restaurant are options — verify open hours (Porto's often open into the evening).
Including Rosamond the same day is not realistic with the 7:00am outbound / 5:35pm inbound flights. Rosamond is north of Lancaster and adds ~1–1.5 hours of drive time each way from the Bakersfield loop; to include it you need a later return flight (post-7:30pm) or an overnight stay in the Antelope Valley/Lancaster area. Plan Rosamond as a separate day or extend your return flight.