Casa de Fruta

We are staying in an RV park near Hollister, California.  Called “Casa de Fruta” which means House of Fruit, the business started out as a roadside cherry stand.  Now it boasts a fruit stand, gift shop, 24-Hour restaurant, wine tasting room, coffee shop/bakery, truck stop, miniature train, Venetian carousel and our RV Park.  The family has owned the business for over 107 years and the third generation of family members including cousins now run the various segments of the business.  It is a fun place to stay and the apple pie is delicious not to mention the gelato (Italian) chocolate ice cream.

We have taken a tour of the various shops on property.  The visual appeal at each of the venues shows the care the owners have taken in their presentation.  I love shopping and these truly have my attention from the fruits and veggies to the toys and candy.  The owners have also mixed in displays of antique farm equipment and vehicles, which further enhance the experience for us and all the families we saw visiting along side of us.

Having the opportunity on our travels to see unexpected places and businesses, to view America at its best with local products and local owners and to know the pleasure of viewing a piece of history all wrapped up in one location incorporating all of the former is indeed what makes doing this job so very worthwhile.  I am glad we have the opportunity to travel across our country seeing example after example of what fabric our people and this country are made of.  It gives one a renewed faith in what we as a people are capable of doing.  Putting aside the endless promotion of negative news pitched at us on a daily basis, I see an America that still has faith in itself.  For that I am grateful. 

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Today we took a couple of hours off to visit one of my favorite places on earth, the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  The aquarium inspires more awe in two hours than any other place I can think of to visit when it comes to viewing sea life.  They have added an additional section on jellyfish (or at least we did not see it last year.)  It is an interactive section that is appealing to both kids and adults alike and draws you further into the life and environment of a jellyfish as you wander through the display.  I could spend hours in either of the displays on jellyfish just watching them cruise through the water.

 

The waterfront aquarium’s keystone attraction-the 28-foot, three-story kelp forest remains as one of the stalwart features of the aquarium displaying California coastal marine life.  The water in its 333,000-gallon tank appears to be rising and falling with the outside bay’s incoming waves.  Piped in from Monterey Bay, the water sources are actually connected.  The live kelp and fish within the glass saltwater tank behave as if they were in the very ocean itself.  The close-up view of them as you look up from the lowest level of the tank or down from the top gives you a feeling of being suspended along with the occupants in their watery environment.

The sea otters were playing with colored ice this year.  They have learned to breakup the larger chunks of green or pink ice against their aquarium’s glass or rock walls to obtain smaller pieces to eat or for play.  Ever moving, these creatures are the most popular entertainers of the aquarium and could delight visitors for hours on end.  It is possible to watch them under the water or above the surface as they roll and dive in the water or float upon its surface.  They must be genetically related to clowns.

There were nautilus and octopus to see.  There is also a huge “Open Sea” tank in the aquarium that displays yellow fin tuna, sharks and ocean sunfish to name just a few of its inhabitants.  This tank has one of the world’s largest single-paned windows and is the largest tank in the aquarium at 1,200,000-U.S. gallons!  We did not see the tank’s sea turtle this year.  Perhaps it has rejoined its compatriots in the real ocean.

Ah, it is sad to leave this beautiful place.  Two hours a year is hardly enough.  If I lived in Monterey, I’d go down to Cannery Row and visit the aquarium on a regular basis.  Those who are lucky enough to live here can hardly appreciate what a wonder they have right in their own backyard!

Big Sur Excursion

With waves breaking against its spectacular cliffs, a ride down to Big Sur along the coastal route of Highway One is another highlight of our stay in Monterey Bay.  The road winds along the shore dropping off precipitously from its precarious position along the sides of hills that run steeply down to drop-off cliffs and the huge rocks the surf has carved out of them in the waves below. Whether ancient man or us, no one could pass this way without pausing to admire nature’s work.

The redwoods of Big Sur and three tiny campgrounds are the ultimate goal along with lunch at a roadside restaurant there with all fronting the river that runs through Big Sur of the same name.  The campgrounds are mainly for tents and small campers that can maneuver down narrow entrance drives.  Once there, most sites backup to the river with huge redwoods rising all around them.  It is easy to see why the sites are booked up for two years in advance and could be for years more if the owners cared to make the bookings.  It seems the whole world wants to stay here where cell phones and Wi-Fi are virtually non-existent.  Maybe the world does crave a place to literally escape from it all.

It is here that we met an owner who vacations on San Juan Island where I lived for ten years and where Jim and I met and were married.  How appropriate that someone who loves the forests of Big Sur would also be in love with another place on earth that drew me to its wildness too.

We ate lunch surrounded by Stellar Jays.  These beautiful blue jaybirds were happy to surround our outside table and delight us with their antics and conversation while we dined.  They were looking for a few morsels and we were looking for a few good photos.  All of us were satisfied with the outcome.  Sitting outside next to the river hidden by foliage amid a few rays of sun breaking through the mist from the ocean, we couldn’t help but think we were on vacation just like everyone else!