Cows, Mist, and Green.

This morning I went searching for a picture of water in the San Benito River. Couldn't find one. But, I did find this sweet scene off of Southside Road. Moooo.

Another Lovely Day

It was another gorgeous morning along Highway 25. This is near the corner of Enterprise Road and the highway.

See you tomorrow!

Going Around the Bend

I like this bend on Union Road, the one by Riverside Road. It reminds me that we do indeed live in a rural area, no matter how developed we get. Even, if one day, the orchards and vegetable fields along this bend are gone. Hopefully, that doesn't ever happen. Knock on wood. 

Support Our Local Merchants During the Holidays

While you're out and about checking out all the cool events going on today in San Benito County (see yesterday's post), take a look at the local shops that may be nearby. You may find that holiday gift or idea that you're seeking.

Today in San Juan Bautista is the "Holiday Stroll Through Time" from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Many of the San Juan merchants are holding an open house, offering refreshments and such to their customers.

Hanging around Hollister today?  Here are a few small businesses in and around Downtown Hollister to check out.

Bella Charm, 748 San Benito Street
Gaia's Cottage, 200 Tres Pinos Road
Eclectic Treasures, 731 San Benito Street
Irma's Fashions, 230 Fifth Street
Johnnie's Girl, 535 San Benito Street
McAbee Feed, 71 McCloskey Road
Off the Chain Bikes, 101 McCray Street, Suite 101
Rancher's Feed, 354 First Street
San Benito Bene, 615 San Benito Street, Suite B
The Garden Mart, 190 San Benito Street


Note to FCC: I was not compensated to mention any business on this post, nor any other post on Take 25 to Hollister. 

December 5, 2015: Day & Night Fun in San Benito County

Lots of fun stuff going on tomorrow, Saturday, December 5, 2015, in San Benito County. These are some of them. Which ones will you check out?

Boutiques and Open Houses

Spring Grove Santa's Holiday Breakfast and Boutique 

8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 

This event takes place at Spring Grove Elementary School, 500 Spring Grove Road, off Fairview Road. The all-you-can-eat pancake and sausage breakfast is $6.50. Santa Class will be there for photos. About 40 vendors will be selling crafts, goods, and other wares. For more details, check out the event's Facebook page. 

B & R Farms Annual Holiday Sale and Christmas Open House 

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

B & R Farms is located at 5280 Fairview Road (west side), between Fallon and Lone Tree Roads. They will offer free samples and refreshments as you shop. For more information, visit the events page on their website.

Bertuccio's Market Holiday Open House

10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.  

Bertuccio's is located at 2014 Airline Highway (west side) just before Union Road. They will offer food tastings, hourly giveaway, and raffle prizes as you shop. 

For more information, check out its Facebook page. 

Holiday Stroll Through Time Open House  

11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

San Juan Bautista merchants will hold its annual "Holiday Stroll Through Time" tomorrow.  They will offer refreshments as you shop their seasonal items. For more information, check out this article in Out and About Magazine.

Living History Days

Tomorrow is the monthly Living History Day at the San Juan Bautista State Historic Park, which features the early days of San Juan Bautista. Meet and talk with Victorian Ladies, Mountain Men, and Civil War Soldiers as they demonstrate crafts and cooking of their times. The event will run from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information, click here. 

The Art of Books!

The Art of Books! is the theme of the 4th Annual Children's Art Exhibition at ARTspace, 240 Fifth Street, in Downtown Hollister. The delightful masterpieces done by local school children are available for purchase, of which proceeds go to funding the local Arts in Education Program. The gallery will be open from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. For more details, check out this earlier post.

Holiday in Lights Parade

The annual Holiday in Lights Parade in San Juan Bautista will start at 5:30 p.m., going along Third Street.  The Community Christmas Peace Tree lighting will take place earlier at sunset. 

Fa la la la Lah, la la la lah 

The Watsonville Community Band will hold it annual Winter Concert at the Veterans Memorial Building on the corner of San Benito and Seventh Streets. This free concert will start at 7:00 p.m.  

The band is made up of musicians, of all ages, from San Benito, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Santa Clara counties. Tomorrow night the band will perform songs from The Polar Express. There will be a Christmas carol singalong. (I love that part.) For more details, visit this Facebook page.

Play On!

A theater group is rehearsing its play. But, the play's author keeps changing the script. Oh, dear....Oh, rats! It's getting crazy. It's gotten out of hand. Will the show go on? 

That's the premise of the comedy Play On! performed by the San Benito Stage Company, which will run until December 12. The play is at the Granada Theater, 336 Fifth Street, in Downtown Hollister at 7:00 p.m. For more details, go to the San Benito State Company website. 

La Pastorela

Upon receiving a message from the Angel of the Lord about the birth of the Holy Child, several poor shepherds make their way to visit him. It is not an easy journey to Bethlehem as the followers of Luzbel (Lucifer) block their way at nearly every turn. 

This the basis of the play La Pastorela, the traditional Mexican tale that Luiz Valdez adapted for El Teatro Campesino.  Performed in Spanish, the local acting troupe tells the story through words, song, and dance. La Pastorela runs every weekend until December 20 at the Old Mission San Juan Bautista.  Tomorrow night, the play will start at 8 p.m. 

You can learn about the other performance dates and times, as well as purchase tickets at this Brown Paper Ticket link. Be aware that you must pick up tickets at the El Teatro Campesino box office at 300 Third Street in San Juan Bautisa. 

A December Morning

The Three Sisters look closer than they are. I took this yesterday morning from John Smith Road near Guerra Cellars.

See you tomorrow.

Loving the Children' Art

School: Mi Escuelita Pre-K

Some awesome artwork is currently on display at ARTspace (240 Fifth Street) in Downtown Hollister. Each painting is bound to melt your heart. I dare you to go look for yourself and not say "Aaaaaaah!" Or, "How cuuuuute!"

School: Little Baler

Sponsored by the San Benito County Arts Council, the 4th Annual Children's Art Exhibition goes through December 12, 2015.  School children from different local schools painted pictures inspired by children's books, such as Winnie the Pooh, The Little Prince, and If You Give a Moose a Muffin.

School: Calaveras TK

All of the paintings are on sale. Proceeds go to the San Benito County Arts Council's Arts in Education Program. Any one of the paintings would be a wonderful fun gift for art lovers and children's book fans.

School: Calaveras TK

ArtSpace is open from 12 to 4 p.m. this Saturday, December 5, and Saturday, December 12. For other gallery hours, call 831-636-2787 or email info@ sanbenitoarts.org.

School: Little Bridges

Loving the Back Roads

Riding a motorcycle or scooter is a great way to enjoy the back roads of San Benito County. Pedaling a bicycle is truly fun, too. Okay, so is driving a car.

Giggle. And, a big smile. 

Thank you, Veterans, for your Service!

In Flanders Field

by John McCrae

(1915)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Man from Reno

Yesterday, Hollister got a treat with a big-screen showing of Man from Reno, a neo-noir, cross-cultural, mystery movie, of which some of the scenes were set in Hollister, San Juan Bautista, and other parts of San Benito County.  Whoo-hoo!

The award-winning Man from Reno came out in 2014. It was co-written and directed by Dave Boyle who was at the showing and did a Q&A after the movie. An extra treat for us, movie-goers.

The movie opens with Sheriff Paul Del Moral of San Marco County (think San Benito County) coming across an abandoned car on a dark and very foggy night. After a few minutes of investigating, he gets back into his car, drives several feet, and bang! A running man collides into his car.  This unknown Japanese man is taken to the hospital (set in Hazel Hawkins Hospital), but, after recouping, walks away without anyone noticing. And, so begins the mystery.

Meanwhile, 100 miles to the north, popular mystery author Aki Akahora has arrived in San Francisco. She has run away on a whim, no longer able to take all the adoration from fans in her home country of Japan. She's depressed and looks to be suicidal, but she breaks out of her funk when she meets a man who makes her feel like living again. He quickly moves into her hotel room, then, just as quickly, disappears leaving his suitcase behind. And, so begins another mystery.

The movie moves forward between the two suspenseful stories. The only thing I predicted correctly was that the two tales would eventually intertwine. Everything else about the plot—surprise!

Another enjoyable aspect of Man from Reno for me was recognizing settings in Hollister, San Juan Bautista, San Francisco, and Sausalito. As you read previously, the hospital scenes in the fictitious San Marco County were set inside Hazel Hawkins Hospital. I'll only tell you about one other setting. The sheriff's office was actually the Red Cross office on Fifth Street.

Missed Man from Reno yesterday or want to see it again? The movie is now available at Netflix, Amazon, Google Play, DIRECTV, and other online sites. Want to learn more about the movie, check the Man from Reno website.

Delicious and Cool Stuff in Tres Pinos

I took this photo yesterday afternoon when the Husband and I went to pick up BBQ plates at the annual fundraiser that the Immaculate Conception parish in Tres Pinos held.

Talk about yummylicious! It was the parish's 77th year, I believe. And, the cooks, chefs, bakers, and assistants certainly gave the touch of love to their barbecue chicken, pasta (rigatoni with marinara sauce), wedge of lettuce with Thousand Islands dressing, garlic bread, and a piece of pie. My lunch came with a slice of cherry pie, the Husband's, apple pie, and the Mama's, apricot pie.

If you haven't gone to this fundraiser yet, try it next year. If you're from out of county, you can tie it in with some other splendid activity, such as skydiving, hiking at the Pinnacles, wandering around San Juan Bautista, checking out the Swank Farms corn maze, doing the wine trail, or simply pedaling or driving the back roads on a Sunday autumnal day. The last three years, this BBQ fundraiser took place the day after the San Benito Olive Festival. Hint, hint.

Speaking of Fall, notice the sprouts of green on the top of the hill on the right. Cool, huh?  These hills are across from the Immaculate Conception Church.  The photo was enhanced with Photoshop art filters, in case you're wondering.

See you tomorrow. Maybe with photos from the San Benito Olive Festival.

The View from Ridgemark

In 2010, Ridgemark had a population of 3,016, according to the U.S. census. I had no idea that this private, gated community, a few miles south of Hollister, is a census-designated place until I read Wikipedia. Never too late to learn something.

See you tomorrow.

Rain Delivered!

These grey clouds yesterday afternoon multiplied and intensified to give us rain last night! Whooo-hooo! 

It rained through the night. Yaaay!

We even had some rain this morning. Who knows, we may have more today. Hurrah!

The 2015 San Benito County Fair

Cowboy Boots and Local Roots! 

That's the theme of the 2015 San Benito County Fair, which is a four day affair this year. It starts this Thursday, October 1, and ends on Sunday, October 4. Thursday through Saturday, the fair's hours are from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 7.p.m. The carnival opens at noon on all four days. 

10 Things I Look Forward to at this Year's County Fair

1. Viewing the beautiful crafted and creative quilts.

2. Visiting the goats, baaaaa, and chickens, bwak, bwak, bwak.

3. Looking at the art entries by students from the various elementary schools.

4. Checking out the agricultural displays. 

5. Listening to Mr. O's Jazz Band in the patio.

6. Riding the free shuttle bus to the fair.

7. Guessing how much the rock weighs at Graniterock's booth.

8. Eating!

9. Cheering on the All-Alaskan racing pigs. 

10. Wandering around the fair with the Husband, simply enjoying ourselves.

Admission to the Fair

Daily gate admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children, 6 to 12, and $7 for seniors (60 and older). Children who are five or younger get in for free.  On Thursday, gate entry for children, ages 12 and younger, is free. On Friday, admission for Seniors is $6. And, on Saturday, admission for all active and military people is free with military I.D. 

Parking is $5 per car.  San Benito County Express offers a free shuttle on all four days of the fair. The shuttle drops off passengers at the fair is front of the Pavilion. The shuttle begins running at 3 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. on Saturday, and 12 noon on Sunday. Click here to see the schedule and bus stops. 

I'm hooking up with Our World Tuesday today. To check out what's going on in other parts of the world, click here.

See you tomorrow.

Olives!

The olive trees in the parking lot at the corner of Sixth and East Streets are bearing fruit now.  Be careful where you walk. I wonder if anyone gathers the olives.

Speaking of olives, the third annual San Benito Olive Festival is a month away—Saturday, October 17, 2015 at Bolado Park. Our county's fun, foodie event features olive oils, chocolates, Blenheim apricots, wines, and other products that are grown  and produced in our area. To see the growing list of participants, check out this page at the San Benito Olive Festival website.

Aromas Day!

Aromas Day was a blast! I could not ever have imagined what it would be like. It had a little of everything for everyone—live music, fine arts and crafts, food, fresh produce, classic cars, and pony and carnival rides for the kids. And, many of the residents held yard sales. 

Too bad the Husband and I got there towards the end of the day. Next time, we'll be there earlier to see all the booths as well as hear the various bands and check out the many, many yard sales. Well, I'll do the sales, while the Husband enjoys the bands under the shade.

One of my favorite things of the day was riding the shuttle from the big field of a parking lot by the school to the center of town. We could've easily walked the short distance, but once we saw the shuttle, we hopped on. It was a trailer hooked up to a tractor. We slowly rumbled our way up the street amidst the walkers who were stopping now and then to look at stuff for sale in people's front yards.

I noticed golf carts and a hay wagon pulled by a tractor were also used as shuttles. I liked ours the best because it reminded us of a San Francisco cable car. I also liked that I sat next to a woman  with a lovely English accent who reminded me of Kate Winslet. She was quite friendly and magical. Talking with her and waving at the walkers got me into the spirit of fun. 

I loved the whimsy of the amazing handcrafted items that the artists had on display and for sale, which was another favorite aspect about Aromas Day for me. That art piece of a garment in the above photo was made by Aromas artist Susan Shirley of Mosshollow. The dress, made of natural fibers, including wool that she spun, also has a bustle.  Very cool!

Until last year, I had driven through Aromas a few times while meandering the back roads. When a friend and I checked out several of the artists during last year's Open Studios Art Tour, I kinda fell in love with the town. Aromas is a non-incorporated city with nearly 2,700 residents. The town has the distinction of sitting on the border between San Benito and Monterey counties, which means some residents technically live in San Benito County and others in Monterey County. 

One more favorite thing of mine about Aromas Day: We purchased three fresh ears of corn for $1 from the Aromas 4-H booth. Here are a few more random photos of Aromas Day. Come back tomorrow for photos of the Aromas Day Parade.

The Library Bookmobile

Driving a bookmobile is one of my dream jobs. It would be so fun and satisfying. It would be like bringing Christmas gifts to people everyday.

For more about the San Benito County Library Bookmobile, click here.

Looking Upward on Enterprise Road

It was a beautiful blue sky earlier this morning. Now, it feels like the fog is coming back in. Unless. Perhaps. Maybe. Gathering rain clouds. We can hope.

I'm participating in Our World Tuesday. Click here to see what's going on in other parts of the world today.

San Benito County Logo

"Ooooh, pretty colors."

Click went the camera. This time the photo was the San Benito County logo on a bright red and white county truck. 

Until the other day, I was never curious about the logo. So, what does it tell the world about San Benito County?  For one thing, that San Benito became a California county in 1874. Did you know that before then, most of our area was part of Monterey County? 

And what are our big deals? The logo shows the Pinnacles, Mission San Juan Bautista, and a map of the county, with a star for Hollister, the county seat. Definitely right on. 

For more about San Benito County, check out its website. Lots of good stuff there. By the way, the map is painted yellow on the logo at the website. Looks good.

Granite Sculpture by Richard Deutsch

The abstract sculptures in front of the San Benito County Administration Building on the corner of Fourth and West Streets were created by award-winning Davenport sculptor Richard Deutsch.

Deutsch designed the pieces as a two-part sculpture out of five tons of granite from Graniterock's quarry in Aromas, according to Santa Cruz Sentinel (December 3, 1993 issue). Graniterock donated the material for the public art piece.