Monday, October 31, 2011

100 Things I Like: Frazier Lake Road


The husband and I often take Frazier Lake Road back from Gilroy so we can enjoy the countryside even more unhurriedly. As you can see, it's a great road to catch the sunset, and, I bet, a sunrise.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.


Sunday, October 30, 2011

100 Things I Like: Cienega Road


One of the great things about living in Hollister is that it doesn't take long to drive to the middle of nothing but hills, trees, total nature. Funny thing about Cienega Road is that time seems to go slower driving from south to north, then north to south.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

100 Things I Like: Mission San Juan Bautista


Mission San Juan Bautista is over 200 years old.  Amazing, huh. For more about the mission, start here.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.


Friday, October 28, 2011

100 Things I Like: The Wapple House Museum

This is part of the WWII display that was shown back in December 2009.
Thank you San Benito County Historical Society for allowing me
to take photos that December afternoon.

The Wapple House Museum, also known as the San Benito County Historical Museum, is located at the corner of Fifth and West Streets. It's open every weekend. The hours are 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

100 Things I Like: The Community Band Concerts

2010 Pacific Brass Band Concert

It'll soon be that time of the year again when we'll have a chance to listen to the Pacific Brass Band  and the Watsonville Community Band. Both bands are composed of  musicians from San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Monterey counties.

The Pacific Brass Band will perform a concert on Sunday, November 13, 2011, at 2 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church. This is a fundraiser for the local YMCA.

The Watsonville Community Band will perform its Holiday Concert on Sunday, December 11, 2011,  at 2 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Building.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.



Wednesday, October 26, 2011

100 Things I Like: The Hollister Haybalers


Haybalers—Balers, for short—is the nickname for San Benito High School, aka Hollister High School. The most coolest high school nickname around. But, then, being a former Baler, I am quite biased. Want to know more about the unique nickname? Click here to read a Sports Illustrated article written in 1986 by Bruce Anderson, also a former Baler.
By the way, the Baler Homecoming Parade is this Friday afternoon, October 28. As always, it'll start at the high school and make its way to downtown Hollister. According to the high school Web site, it'll begin around 2 p.m.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.





Tuesday, October 25, 2011

100 Things I Like: Agricultural Machinery


A bunch of birds running en masse down Cienega Road?

No, a tractor.

Just as cool to imagine or to see slowly making its way.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.


Monday, October 24, 2011

100 Things I Like: The View from Cienega Road


This is looking northwesterly from the high point on Cienega Road. Until this moment, as I'm looking at the photo, I realize that way down yonder beyond the hill tops (mountain tops?) is more than just San Juan Valley.  Here's how the view looks during the Spring.


For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

100 Things I Like: Santa Ana Mountain


That's a view of Santa Ana Mountain on a late afternoon. The husband and I are on  John Smith Road, the curvy part through the hills before you come out to the wow! view of Santa Ana Valley.

When I used to not live in Hollister, and came to visit my family, I knew I was home the moment I saw Santa Ana Mountain from the Bolsa. This mountain peak was what I saw in the near distance from our back yard everyday when we lived on Hillcrest.

For different views of Santa Ana Mountain, please click here. For a look upclose from Lone Tree Road, please click here.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.





Saturday, October 22, 2011

100 Things I Like: The Growing Cycle on the Bolsa

As you drive in or out of Hollister on the Bolsa (Highway 25), you can see food grow right before your eyes. For real. Day in, day out. All year round.

Sometimes, like yesterday, you can see plowed fields ready to be sown. . .



while nearby fields are being harvested. . .


We're rather fortunate.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.


Friday, October 21, 2011

A Scar-y Tree in Hollister


It doesn't take much to scare me. This tree's scars, for instance. Sure, I stopped and took a photo. But, it was in broad daylight and the husband was with me. Where is this tree? In the neighborhood on the southwest side of Park Hill.



Thursday, October 20, 2011

100 Things I Like: No Traffic Jams


Absolutely none. So what, if I have to wait through another cycle of lights to turn left from San Benito Street onto Tres Pinos Road, or from Sunnyslope Road onto Highway 25. That totally beats the 30 minutes, sometimes 45 minutes, of driving four or five blocks in San Francisco to get onto an exit to the Bay Bridge during the early afternoon commute, which I used to do for a short while many years ago. I won't even grumble about the stop and go traffic on the bridge. So, yes, when it comes to traffic, we have it made in Hollister.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

100 Things I Like: Pumpkin Fields


Two years in a row, I've stumbled across a pumpkin field that I had to just stop the car and tumble out to go stand among the pumpkins. Oooh. click.  Oooh. click. Last year, it was somewhere in San Juan Valley. This year, it was on Santa Ana Road. Who knows where one will suddenly be next year?

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.



Tuesday, October 18, 2011

100 Things I Like: Used Treasures

Available in a San Juan shop, next to the bank on Third Street
Thrift stores or antique shops. It doesn't matter, I like wandering through them all. Hollister and San Juan Bautista has both kinds. Garage sales, ooh-la-la! Heaven.

This Saturday, October 22, the County of San Benito Integrated Waste Management Regional Agency is sponsoring a county-wide garage sale day. It'll be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. A listing of garage sales will be available on Friday. Click here to find out where you can get a list.

If you do go garage sale hopping this Saturday, be careful and aware. The Condor Classic is also happening. Please patiently share the road with the cyclists.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

Monday, October 17, 2011

100 Things I Like: The Clock Tower


Until this year I did not realize how much of a presence the Masonic Lodge clock tower has beyond the corner of San Benito and Fourth Streets. The other day, I was skirting Park Hill on Third Street when the clock tower suddenly came into sight. I admit it: I gasped in appreciation.

Here's another angle of the 103-year old tower clock that made me stop earlier this year. And, if you want to know a bit more about the structure, click here.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

100 Things I Like: The Chickens of San Juan Bautista

Mama and her baby some where in the  SJB State Historic Park.

But, I don't live in San Juan Bautista. If I did, would I still like the chickens wandering around town? Probably, yes. I'd be more annoyed at the noise of the traffic on 156.

I have noticed that fewer chickens are about. The chicken wrangler that San Juan Bautista hired is hard at work. I don't know if it's my imagination, but when the husband and I were walking around town yesterday, it sure seemed like the chickens were peeping out from under bushes as if wondering if the coast was clear.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

100 Things I LIke: Finding New Places to Wander

Looking east towards the Diablo Range from beyond North Street.

The husband and I decided to explore a part of Hollister we've never been before—beyond North Street. We had no idea whether the land at the end of North Street was public or private property; but, we figured signs would be up.

No signs. We saw a couple of foot paths, so headed forward. If it had been earlier, we would've followed a path that looks like it would take us around the north end of the IOOF cemetery.

It's gorgeous up there, as you can see. Several years ago, some people were hoping that Gavilan College would plant its Hollister campus on that land. I thought they were talking about Park Hill, so I didn't get it at all. How could you put a college up on that small hill? After seeing some of the land, I completely get it. I can visualize a campus up there. Better yet, how about a large expansive park with trails.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.




Friday, October 14, 2011

100 Things I Like: The Cannery



I like going by the cannery when it's in action—to catch a glimpse of steam escaping from pipes, fans spinning, pipes wrapping around the building.  There is beauty in industrial buildings.

Want to know what the cannery, San Benito Foods, makes every tomato season? Click here. And, if you'd like to learn more about Hollister's last cannery, click here.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.





Thursday, October 13, 2011

100 Things I Like: That Cute Church in Tres Pinos


Immaculate Conception. That's the name of the  church at the south end of Tres Pinos, on Highway 25. I ought to remember its name. After all, my parents had me baptized there when I was just a month old, 500 years  ago.

I've featured the church on Take 25 a couple years ago. Click here if you'd like to know why I like the church or want to see photos of inside the church and the church grounds.

This Sunday, October 16, 2011, the church is having its annual BBQ, from noon to 4 p.m. Cost for adult plates is $13; children's plate is less. To get an idea of what will take place, read about last year's event by clicking here.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.



Wednesday, October 12, 2011

100 Things I Like: Ranchers Feed



In all the years that Ranchers Feed has been on First Street (since 1976), I set foot in it for the first time earlier this year. Since I wasn't a rancher or a farmer, nor a horse rider or a dog owner, what was the need. Now, every few months, the husband and I head over there to buy a 50 pound sack of wild bird feed.  I look forward to it. I like wandering around the store looking at all the clothing, boots, jewelry, and other this's and that's that are so tempting to purchase. 

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.


Tuesday, October 11, 2011

100 Things I LIke: Wandering Downtown Hollister


It's fun ambling about downtown, whether doing errands, peeking into store windows, or checking out what's new in the shops.  Happily, the number of new shops and businesses in town have been slowly, but surely, growing. Just in this short half of the 700 block, four new businesses opened in the past several months:
For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

Monday, October 10, 2011

100 Things I Like: Lights and Shadows at Sunset



That glowing stop sign? It's reflecting the sun's light as it begins to set over the hills. You're looking at the southwest corner of the intersection at Shore Road and San Felipe Road, also known as Dunnville Corners.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.



Sunday, October 9, 2011

100 Things I Like: Big Rig Trucks

Driving north on Bolsa Road, aka Highway 25, just before Shore Road.

When I was a kid, I lived on Hillcrest Road near the Catholic cemetery. Late at night after most of the world had gone to sleep and I lay in bed waiting for sleep to find its way to me, I occasionally heard big rigs  shifting their gears as they gained speed to somewhere along Fairview Road. Always wondered where they were heading.

Just did a quick search on trucking companies in Hollister. Still are quite a lot around.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.




Saturday, October 8, 2011

100 Things I Like: Swank Farms

If you're heading south on San Felipe Road, just look for this sign
that points to the Swank Produce Stand.

If you shop at farmers markets in the Monterey, San Jose, or San Francisco areas, you've probably stopped by the Swank Farms booth. It's the one with the delicious heirloom tomato salsa. The owners, Dick and Bonnie Swank, also have a produce stand next to the Hollister Airport. It's one of my sources for fresh eggs, which come straight from the hens on the grounds.

The Swanks have made visiting the produce stand a family fun adventure, with a farm corral, pedal carts, gigantic jumping pillow, mining sluice, and other activities. And, every fall, the Swanks create an elaborate corn maze and haunted ranch that lasts until October 31. 

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

Friday, October 7, 2011

100 Things I Like: Pedaling About

I'm pedaling east on McCloskey Road.
Slowly, but surely.

Hollister is a great place to ride your bicycle. You can go up and down hills as far away as you want. Or, just pedal into and around town to do errands. The husband and I like to do both. We haven't done much lately, and I miss it.

If you're into cycling, check out the Condor Classic on October 22. There are several rides, from 10 miles to 100 miles, starting from San Benito High School. This is its third year.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

100 Things I Like: The Gnarly Trees of SJB


Pepper trees. That's what those huge gnarly trees around San Juan Bautista are.  I like gazing at them because I like to find faces in the gnarls. There are at least two faces in that tree above.

There used to a few 150 year old pepper trees  around the San Juan Bautista State Historic Park. The trees were diseased, so they got chopped. Left are just the stumps.   For more about those historic trees, check out this story by Adam Breen that was published in The Pinnacle.

The next time you're in the second largest city of San Benito County, and have the time, take a walk around town to gaze at the gnarly trees yourself. Until then, you can see a few more here.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.


Wednesday, October 5, 2011

100 Things I Like: The Golden Hills


To some people, the hills look brown when the green is gone. Not to me. These golden hills are across from Bolado Park.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

100 Things I Like: The Eucalyptus Grove


On Highway 101, just south of the 156/San Juan Bautista/Hollister exit (entrance), you drive through a small eucalyptus forest. The trees are descendants of seedlings that were first planted by a farmer in 1912. Click here for an interesting tale about how these Australian trees took hold in California.

If you've ever seen the movie Vertigo by Hitchcock, you may remember a scene in which Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak are driving through this eucalyptus grove. They're driving south from San Francisco to San Juan Bautista. In real life, that would mean they missed the exit to San Juan.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.


Monday, October 3, 2011

100 Things I Like: The Murals of Hollister

A segment of the Fruited Plains Mural as seen through the fenced-in patio of Knife and Fork.

There are several beautiful murals in downtown Hollister. It's an easy and quick walk to do:
For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link. 


Sunday, October 2, 2011

The 2011 San Benito County Fair

It's always fun wandering the county fair.  As you know, it's one of the 100 things I like about living in Hollister. Tomorrow is the final day of the fair. Click here for more details.


The Two Horsemen


Fair Fare


The Hypnotist


What did one chicken say to the other?


Food Art


The Best of Show Cake


Bustle included!


Local Bounty


It was a great day for the fair!



Saturday, October 1, 2011

100 Things I Like: Looking Up!

Looking up in Wentz Alley!

Being short has its advantage. For instance, as I'm craning my head to look up at someone as he or she speaks, other things come into sight. Things I might not ever notice. I tell you, there are quite a lot of neat things to see when you look up in Hollister.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

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