Fall Colors and Pie Town - Julian, San Diego County

Cousin Martha took me on a field trip to look out for fall colors and the perfect pie. 

We found both in and around Julian, nestled in the Cuyamaca Mountains, an hour or so from San Diego. Julian is both an agricultural center (think apples) and home to six (or more?) businesses that focus on producing the perfect pie. It also turned out to be a great spot to stop in for a delicious classic deli lunch - imagine your back in the 1960's, when butter was still queen - after which we headed back down the road for a hike and a chance to take in colorful deciduous trees and a meadow of autumn-red California Buckwheat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian,_California

CA Buckwheat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eriogonum_fasciculatum

Slow Travel: Stanford Succulent and Cactus Garden (Arizona Garden)

At this time of year there's quite a bit of fruiting and flowering going on among the cactus. My mother used to make cactus jelly when I was a kid living in rural Arizona, and it makes my mouth water seeing the nopales

Walk past the Stanford Family Mausoleum - A lovely spot - And head vaguely west to the cactus and succulent garden. http://bgm.stanford.edu/groups/grounds/special/arizona

The garden is not heavily visited - though it has a regular cadre of visiting walkers and dogs.

SLO Dreaming - Loma Grande

The name Loma Grande translates directly to English as "Big Hill".

Some folks say, however, that you should never translate the word loma, because it means a lot more than that.

Loma Grande is, in fact, an historic ranch in Edna Valley. It lies inland from Pismo Beach, about five miles. It's also around eight miles from the town of San Luis Obispo. How long has it been a working ranch? All I know is that it's barns are over a hundred years old. The local wedding industry helps to support the working of this long-time agricultural site.

If you are interested in getting married at Loma Grande, you can email info@lomagranderanchvenue.com

Windy with Rainbows: Part 4 - Off-Leash - Legal- and on to the Golden Gate Bridge

We stumbled on Crissy Field Beach  having no previous idea it's a legally off-leash dog beach! Yes, you need to pick up after the pooch, of course. This meant a delay in reaching the bridge, naturally.

But we did make Fort Point, and back again. 

All in all, we walked 9.5 miles (not counting major romping time at the beach). You could make it much shorter by leaving out walking the other way to Ghirardelli Square, or by parking nearby the beach - where I actually saw parking.

Limited food access on a Sunday. We stopped off mid afternoon at the Marina Safeway, which was a few blocks from where we parked on Bay.

Windy with Rainbows Part 3: Along the Marina headed for Fort Point/Golden Gate Bridge

Wind and Rain as we walked along the Marina, headed for Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge,  got us in the festive spirit! 

Windy with Rainbows Part 2 - San Francisco Fort Mason along Marina Green

 View of the Golden Gate Bridge looking across Fort Mason - walking back from Ghirardelli Square

The Marina 

What's a Marina?

Festive Season along Marina Green

Windy with Rainbows Part 1- San Francisco Ghirardhelii Square

 Though it was a mighty wet Sunday, Jasper and I enjoyed a long day's walking. We started out, by parking on Bay above Fort Mason and walked through the park, down the hill (out on the wharf it was too rainy for photos - exciting for a pooch though!) and across the road to a festively decorated Ghirardelli Square. More trip  - next posting.

Valley of the Moon

Sonoma Day Trip!

Cows and Vines - Jack London's home.

Valley of the Moon.

~ ~ ~

Web Resources

History and What's there http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonoma,_California

Wine Tasting http://www.sonoma.com/drink/

Hike in Nearby Jack London State Park http://www.jacklondonpark.com

SLO Travel Tips, San Luis Obispo

If you'll be visiting California this year, I highly recommend stopping off in San Luis Obispo (SLO) for a hike, meal and a nights rest. It's a great halfway spot if you're driving between Los Angeles and San Francisco and want to take some slow time to enjoy coastal and agricultural views. In addition to the lovely beaches just south of SLO, you can hike some of the different volcanic peaks right on the edge of town. The entrance is just off the 101 freeway. Ancient volcanic cones, like Mount Madonna and Bishop's Peak, are highly hikable destinations.

When I visited one spring weekend, the wildflowers were in full bloom and the weather was quite warm but not overly hot. Coastal breezes and fog keep the area pretty darn nice.

After our hike we went to taste wines and picnic at nearby Kelsey See Canyon Winery. It's a gorgeous setting, nestled in a lovely green valley. There are peacocks and tons of friendly dogs (local dogs and dogs who travel with their people)

There are lots of good restaurants in downtown SLO,just walk down Monterey or Higuera and take your pick (Natural Cafe is an easy good salad kind of place, Firestone has good pizza, and Big Sky Cafe is renowned for excellent food - salads, local meats, vegan and vegetarian ) also small local wine tasting shops and artisinal beer.

The local Farmer's Market is much more than a row of casual produce stalls. Folks drive from two or three hours distance to take in this happening weekly event.

Avoid just stopping off in SLO during high college times. Local state university Cal Poly Graduation is late June, and other significant college sporting and college spirit events can affect availability. The rest of the times you'll generally find lots of motels and hotels. Petit Soleil is a nice small B&B, within walking distance of downtown. It's just next door to fun little Splash Cafe, with easy meals and very tasty breads (you can buy those to go too). There are also more budget oriented motels in the same stretch. My husband is partial to "La Cuesta" which includes breakfast. Across the street, a little more expensive but fun, is Apple Farm Inn. It's a kitschy 70's kind of place. I'm partial to the very chintzy furniture, big soft beds and switch on fireplaces there, but if you don't like Disneyland it might not be your thing!

The stretch of Monterey where you find the motels, as you're walking downtown, and before you cross under the railroad trestle also has lots of fun little antique stores.

Many people stay in SLO before or after a trip to Hearst Castle. I've been to the castle, enjoyed it once, but I wouldn't probably go again. I like historic buildings but this one is a little overwhelming. Still, if you have time you might enjoy it a lot.

SLO Down for Farmers (Slow Travel - San Luis Obispo)

Thursdays from 4:00 in the afternoon, through 'till about 9:00 p.m is the time to pull over and head for downtown San Luis Obispo (SLO)  for the Farmer's Market, known locally as Farmers. 

Barbecued locally raised meats galore, a huge variety of ethnic, artisinal and other local eats, live entertainment, alternative and mainstream vendors of every imaginable (and some I never thought of) products, oh and did I forget to mention agricultural produce , mostly local fruits and vegetables along with honey, dairy and meat? Part county fair, part traditional farmer's market this California agricultural tradition is a huge draw for folks all over southern and central CA, not to mention a few like me who live in the Bay Area with our own local markets.

What better excuse for SLOing down the next time you're tooling by on Highway 101?

Enjoying the Frutas (y Verduras) of Madrid

PLEASE CLICK on this picture to see more detail.

Towards the end of my week in Madrid, I found this nice grocery store about a three minute walk from my hotel right on the way back from the neighborhood entrance to El Parque de Buen Retiro, which I visited every day.

I waited my turn while I listened to this woman discussing the gazpacho she was going to make with the produce man. There, of course, the produce seller picks out everything for his customer. We don't sully the frutas or the verduras by touching or squeezing them with our fingers. They picked out everything she needed – tomates, pimentón, a little bunch of sweet, yellow cebollas and some nice heads of ajo. I can’t eat peppers, onions OR garlic, and it still sounded good, a nice cold vegetable soup in the ‘midst of Madrid en Julio. Most days it ranged somewhere over a hundred degrees in the afternoon.

La Senora made a friendly joke to me, about how long she'd taken and I told both of them how much I'd enjoyed listening to her cooking plans, since I was just visiting. That seemed to help me out of the tourist and into the visitor category.

This man handed me both a fresh cherry and an apricot to eat while I waited and, after he marked the price on each package of produce, he added in extras to each bag for this, clearly well-known, customer. Grocery shopping in another country is as enjoyable a cultural experience for me as restaurant eating is for the next woman.

Getting neighborly at El Palacio Cristal, El Parque de Buen Retiro, Madrid

Click on these images to see more pretty detail.

My favorite activity in Madrid was walking in the wonderful big city park, El Parque de Buen Retiro. I walked there every day. I chose the hotel I went to, Hotel Agumar on Calle de Reina Cristina, because I saw that park on the map nearby. I have really enjoyed locating near parks in other big cities, with which I was unfamiliar. I’m used to walking a lot at home. Not only is it nice to have a great big swath of shady green, I like getting to see people out strolling, biking, skating and enjoying the company of their pets and children. At home I have a lot of casual interactions with pets and people in my own neighborhood park and this was a similarly comfortable way to interact with people in Espagna.

The spot I returned to most often in the park was the turtle pond by El Palacio Cristal - a beautiful building if ever there was. It was fun going and sitting on the steps there in the evening, to watch the turtles and have low-key chats with children and adults. That's when I really felt a part of the community. And, unlike in the restaurants, when people started to smoke, I could move!