This Way to the Library

The San Benito County Free Library, under the fantastic direction of Nora Conte, County Librarian, has many physical and online resources to offer our community. Here's the website link for you to find out what's available.

The website may not mention that a magazine swap rack is located in the lobby. You can leave your old magazines there as well as pick up ones that may interest you. Just this week, the Husband and I brought a box full of The New Yorker magazines to the rack. A win-win.

By the way, who else remembers that phrase from their high school Spanish book: ¿Donde esta la biblioteca?

A Statue, a Mount, and a Mannequin

It sounds like a beginning of a joke—a statue, a mount, and a mannequin walked into a bar. . . . Sorry, I got none. But, that's what I happened to see last weekend in Aromas.

The Statue in front of Aromas Feed & Ranch Supplies

 

The Taxidermy Mount at Aromas Grill

 

The Mannequin on Carpenteria Road

Aromas, California 95004

Jenn and I drove through Aromas looking for a cafe or something to drink a cup of coffee before checking out the annual Open Studios Art Tour. We saw a store.  .  . a huge statue of a chicken. . . the library. . . a farm supply store. . . the post office. . . cute houses. . . a sign pointing to the Aromas Community Grange. . . and more cute houses.

We pulled up next to two women who were saying good-bye to each other.  "Hello," we said. "Is there any place to have coffee around here?"

"The restaurant up the street might," said the woman who lived in one of those cute houses. "But, I don't know how good the coffee is."

"That's okay. Is it the store with the gas station?"

"No. A bit further up. On the left. If it's not open, come back, and I'll make you coffee."

"Thank you."

Needless to say, but I shall say it, dear Readers,  the folks we met in Aromas that day were friendly, happy, and open-hearted.

Facts about Aromas

Aromas is an unincorporated town, part of which is in San Benito County and the other part is in Monterey County. It also has the distinction of bordering both Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties. Its population is about 2,700, with roughly half of the people living in either San Benito or Monterey counties.

The elementary school is part of the San Juan-Aromas School Unified District in San Benito County. Its public library, however is part of the Monterey County Free Libraries. 

To learn more about Aromas, check out these links:

• Aromas, California — Wikipedia
• Aromas Community Grange
• Transition Aromas
• Aromas Day
• Aromas Hills Artisans

 

Another Aromas Artist

Frank Romero is another Aromas artist who showed some of his works in the Open Studios Art Tour this weekend, which was sponsored by the San Benito Arts Council.  Yesterday's post showed works by two other Aromas artists. Here's that link.

Aromas has a very strong artist community. To learn more, visit the Aromas Hills Artisans website.

Open Studios Art Tour in San Benito County

Today is the second day of the Open Studios Art Tour. Artists in Hollister, Aromas, and San Juan Bautista invite one and all to visit them at their studios to view their works—paintings, prints, sculptures, jewelry, mosaics, and so on. It's from 10 AM to 4 PM. Head over to the San Benito Arts Council website for a map.

A friend and I visited several of the artists in Aromas yesterday. Wish I had thought to take photos earlier.

Willow Creek Road

Yesterday, I posted something about Old Hernandez Road. Today, you get a peek of the Diablo Range from Willow Creek Road.

To get to these roads, you turn onto the San Benito Lateral, a very short road off the east side of Highway 25, a few miles south of the Pinnacles National Park. At the fork of the lateral is the former town site of San Benito. Go right,  Old Hernandez Road. Go left, Willow Creek Road. Both roads come to a dead end, but they're still worth the jaunt if you like seeing awesome countryside and mountains. 

Once upon a time, the artist Thomas Kinkade owned property off of Willow Creek Road, which he called the Windemere Ranch. Want to see one of the paintings that Kinkade did of the area? Head over to this link to see the Windemere Ranch Sunset.

The Horse Statue on the Hill

The other day the Husband and I drove as far as we could on the north end of Old Hernandez Road in the southern part of San Benito County. It was the first time for both of us. We were very amazed at the beautiful topography along that windy road. The expanse of the valley floor and the diversity of the Diablo Range above it, from rugged jaggedness to sudden badlands to something in between.

One of the surprising sights was the statue of a horse on a hilltop. At first glance, I thought it was a rather huge horse standing still. Does anyone know anything about the statue?