Wassup in Watsonville

I pass by Watsonville on the way to Monterey Bay and Carmel at least twice a year but never actually stopped by until recently.  Located in Santa Cruz County in the Central Coast of CA, it is surprisingly close to my other regular summer day trip destinations Santa Cruz, Aptos, and Capitola.  So close that we stopped by our favorite Capitola food spot, Gayle’s for food to go on the way down. 

Watsonville is famous for growing sweet delicious strawberries that start hitting our local Farmer’s Markets around late April and with a very reasonable $15 for a flat for conventional strawberries, I seldom had a need for U-picks.  Organic on the other hand is a different story so when I found myself finally stopping vs. driving by Watsonville, I chose Crystal Bay Farms to pick my own.  

There is a $2 per person admission fee and $4 per lb of strawberries picked.  

Unlike tree fruits where I like to sample one to confirm sweetness before picking most from that specific tree, that is not the case with strawberries which I find are pretty consistent.  

Strawberries that are darker red are sweetest and ripest so ready to eat immediately since they are so soft.  

Brighter red strawberries are firmer but also ready for picking and require no additional ripening as long as it is red throughout the entire fruit.  

Much quicker and cooler to pick strawberries than blueberries, we were done before noon 

and enjoyed a leisurely lunch at their picnic table up front with our Gayle’s sandwiches 

followed by the freshest strawberries, just picked minutes before. 

A quick stroll after for a glimpse of their raspberry patch, 

the upcoming squash or pumpkin patch in the making, 

and their farm animals before leaving.  

Our next stop was one I never even knew existed, the Martinelli Company Store, put on my radar by my Boston transplanted nephew and his girlfriend who unfortunately will be leaving the area soon for even warmer pastures.  The good news is they have only been open about 3 years so I do not feel so bad as if it took me 25 years of living out here to discover it.  

My first memory of Martinelli Apple Juice was during the summer right before high school when I was visiting my grandparents from back East for a week and laid my hands on that apple shaped glass bottle of pure sweet ambrosia.  A big difference from those Mott’s Juice boxes in my lunch bag.  Such a treasure I brought some back to Jersey in my carry-on bag (pre-9/11).  Fast forward over 25 years, most of the juices are now in plastic bottles readily available at Costco and we tend to fall into a bad habit of taking it for granted.

Walking into the Company Store brought me back to the days of awe and wonderment over something as simple as apple juice.  

Opened as a way for customers to learn more about the history and company and taste the different varieties, it is their alternative to a factory tour.  Pictures along the wall gives you an insight to their history and how prohibition affected them.  

Did you know they use to make sparkling hard ciders before hard ciders were trendy?  

Afterwards, grab a seat at their tasting area just like a winery 

where you can sample one, two, three, or all of their varieties offered on the tasting menu.  

Their newest item which quickly became one of my favorites, the blush has a splash of raspberry to give it its pink hue reminiscent of a rosé. 

With new items, others like the blood orange (available only at the Company Store) and prickly passion lemonade has been discontinued and selling for just $10 for 6 bottles. 

Just like wine tasting, do not be afraid to ask questions to give you a deeper appreciation for their products

Fun Facts:  

1.    Apple juice, sparkling, and ciders are all made with 100% apple juices

2.    Sparkling apple juice and apple cider is basically the same with the exception that cider has full carbonation (like sodas) whereas sparkling is lightly carbonated

3.    Apple-wild berry in the smaller bottles are actually the same as the apple-marionberry you find in the larger bottles.  Since kids tend to drink the smaller ones, saying marionberry might be a mouthful and may sound too exotic for them.  Wild berry just sounds more kid-friendly.

I found the now harder to find apple juice in the glass bottles here for the same price as the plastic, $20 for a case of 24 that brought me right back to that summer with my grandparents.  Speaking of family, as we were getting ready to leave with our cartful of juices and sparklings, we ran into that same nephew and his girlfriend returning from a dive for their own Seasons To Taste YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNyKgr6HbAg0LDljVj36I1A.  Talk about coming full circle and a reminder that the journey is sometimes as beautiful as the destination and to stop and smell the “rosé” in this instance. 

Crystal Bay Farm - http://www.crystalbayfarm.com/  

40 Zils Road, Watsonville, CA 95076
Phone:  831-724-4137 

Martinelli Company Store - https://www.martinellis.com/visit-us/

345 Harvest Drive, Watsonville, CA 95076
Phone:  831-768-3938

Alameda County Fair Take 2 and 3

I did not intend on writing another blog post for the fair especially since I wrote one last year - http://aroundthebayandaway.blogspot.com/2018/06/alameda-county-fair.html but with how much fun I had, I just had to commemorate that and leave some tips for next year.   

Taking my own advice, I did not wait another 20+ years to return again and again.  Also with some “experience” from last year, I was able to plan better even for our first 3 hour visit on a Friday evening and then again for a 7 hour visit yesterday for the last day of the fair. 

Fireworks

The nightly fireworks last year were a bit disappointing with how short it was (about 1-2 minutes long) so this year, I planned for the 1 night only Fremont Bank Fireworks Spectacular Show that was lit over the racetrack at the Stella Artois Grandstand.  We were rewarded with 20 glorious minutes of fireworks getting us pumped for the upcoming July 4^th week.  

Seeing that short 1-2 minute nightly firework show last night aboard the Skyride that could not have been timed more perfectly as our seats glided by the show at the perfect moment, we got to see the fireworks eye to eye without craning our necks. 

Food

Second behind the fireworks is of course food!!  As to be expected fair food will be expensive but it is also part of the experience.  So to get the best of both worlds without breaking the bank, I had an avocado toast snack before leaving the first time and split the Mowie Wowie chicken from Ricardo’s - $14, 

Fried Mac N Cheese Balls from Mac Shack- $9, 

Strawberry Supremo Funnel Cake - $12 

and agua frescas ($7 for large, $3.75 for refills) while there. 

Total cost of food $45.75 for 2. 

Last night, we ate lunch before leaving, stopped by Meadowlark for 2 large frosty cones which held us over until dinner time.  Although I had intended on repeating a few options from the first visit, surprisingly, I only repeated the agua frescas, 3 times.  

From the same stand, we split 3 gourmet street tacos - $11.75, 

a Texas Sized Turkey Leg from across the way $14.75, 

and all 3 free samples from the Lucky’s booth.  Total cost of food $37.75 for 2.

Entertainment

My favorite has got to be the Alaskan Pig Race which is the only thing I repeated both visits.  

Go Strawberry!!  

With names like Luke Skyporker, the Notorious P.I.G. Piggy Small, and Tupork Shakur, how can you resist. 

I finally got to see the small animals like rabbits and guinea pigs up for adoption 

and the exhibits including miniature tea place settings 

but was too late for the petting zoo which closes at 8.

The hypnotist was absolutely hilarious that I was surprised some of that watermelon agua fresca did not come out of my nose from laughing so hard as the “subjects” shake, shake, shake Sonora, shake their body line!

Although we squeezed in a lot, 3 hours was definitely not enough so with unseasonably mild weather predicted for the last day of the fair, we returned mid-afternoon for the rest.    

While waiting for the 3:30 pig races, I checked out the farm animals 

and petting zoo.  

After the pig races, we caught the 6^th and 7^th horse race at the tracks.  

I was hopeful that betting on #7 on the 7^th race on 7/7 was a good sign.  Unfortunately, it meant losing $7 as the jockey fell off Tis The Speed Bomb, probably resulting in him coming in 7.  

After checking out the model railroad exhibit, 

I finally got to go on the Skyride which is a steal at $6 for unlimited rides all day to get a bird’s eye view for humans and stuffed animals alike.  

We went through 2 roundtrips early evening with gorgeous birds view of the fair 

with the mountains as the backdrop 

and another trip and a half lit up by the carnival rides and those fireworks I mentioned earlier.  

Best $6 spent!!

Last year we got to see Sir Mix A Lot in concert, a throwback to my college days, this year, Vince Neil, frontman of Motley Crue closed out the fair with all those Crue Classics, starting with Dr. Feelgood and ending with Girls, Girls, Girls, and the Wild Side, even further throwback to my high school years. 

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and last night we said good night to the Alameda County Fair.  I am looking forward to next year and maybe an unprecedented 3rd blog post...