Every weekend hundreds of off-road enthusiasts drive their trucks, carrying or hauling dirt bikes and ATVs up Cienega Road to the Hollister Hills State Vehicle Recreation Area. Individuals, families, and groups come from all over the state for fun-filled rrrrrroarrrrrring up and down the Gabilan slopes.

The park was originally the Harris Ranch, owned by Howard Harris. He built many of the trails for ranching, mining, recreation, and other purposes. For many years Harris operated a private motorcycle park. In 1975 he sold his property to the state and, in October of that year, the first state vehicle recreation area park was opened.

San Juan Bakery

The San Juan Bakery on 3rd Street in San Juan Bautista is a local pleasure.  All sorts of breads, cookies, pies, and treats are made in the kitchen in the back. Many young fogeys, such as myself, are happy that the current owners are using the original recipes. Yum!

By the way, isn't the bakery's window display cute?

Aloha!

As I turned from taking photos of the gorgeous blossoms in front of City Hall, I spied the happy sign across the street. Aloha Hair Salon. The new business is next door to the Granada Theater on Fifth Street.

Welcome, Aloha Hair Salon!

Taking an Afternoon Stroll

This cute dog was mopping up a lot of attention as he walked through the San Juan Bautista Fine Arts and Quality Crafts Festival a couple of weeks ago. Anyone else think he (or she) was sporting dreadlocks?

Smelling the Roses

The roses are bursting in bloom around town. Have you noticed?

The other day, the Husband and I stopped to admire the roses in front of a house on Seventh Street. As I smelled a red rose, the Husband, having no sense of smell, asked, "Do the different colors have different smells?"

I leaned over to sniff an orange rose. "Yes, they do." I can't remember what I told him the rose smelled like, but the red rose reminded me of the taste of vanilla.