I’ve seen this traveling Avon showroom around Escondido several times now. Escondido is the next town to the west and a little south of Valley Center. The reconditioned camper reminds me of traveling peddlers from the old days. I figure you’d only see this in a dry climate.
Have I mentioned I love it here?
I’m a peddler
I’m a peddler
and don’t you want to buy
Many things I have in store
so many things you never saw
so many things you never saw before
so listen while I name them more.
When we lived in Vancouver we always went to Bi-Zi Farms http://www.bizifarms.com/ and Pomeroy Living History Farm http://pomeroyfarm.org/ . Both were beautiful in their own way. On an early morning Bi-Zi could be amazing. I remember looking up the field, watching the fog just lifting off the ground framing the tractor that we rode on. Pomeroy was my favorite because of the hills of bright yellow, orange and red leaves surrounding the patch.
Pomeroy Farm Pumpkin Washing station
Bi-Zi Farm
This year we had a fabulous time at Bates Nut Farm http://www.batesnutfarm.biz/. Bates happens to be down the road from our home in Woods Valley. The kids had a great time. It’s the first time I’ve every worn shorts to the pumpkin patch! It wasn’t the same kind of cold crisp autumn beautiful but it was lovely.
Checking out the pumpkins in the morning sun.
I grew up in the Northwest. Coffee culture in the NW is big. You know, we started Starbucks. We also started grunge and a few other movements but that is a story for another time. I remember when Starbucks was just at Northwest thing. We were all sure going National and then International would ruin it. Then Coffee People sold out and went corporate. It didn’t take long for me to find espresso in any airport I traveled through. Secretly I enjoyed the accessibility of one of my favorite treats.
It’s cloudy and rainy in the Northwest for a good portion of fall, most of the winter and most of the spring. All the mist and rain gives the land a lush green look. Everything smells earthy of growing things and rainforests. I love falling asleep to the sound of rain hitting the roofs and windows. It’s dark though, something that Californians don’t really understand. They tell me they’d love to live in the rain. I don’t think they get the heaviness of low clouds and rain that can last literally for months. It’s cozy, yes. It’s also one of the places with the greatest numbers of suicide in the country.
Coffee houses were a way that we escaped some of the monotony of the weather. They are community hubs filled with books, squishy chairs, sometimes live music and always always the rich think smell of espresso. My local Starbucks was a place where I had business meetings, met other moms, took my kids and sometimes escaped my kids. I knew the people behind the counter. It was a kind of home extension.
When we moved I didn’t need coffee as a stimulant to ward off the doom and gloom of the weather. I did miss the local coziness, that sense of place that comes with being a regular. I’ve been trying some local coffee spots around town. I thought you’d enjoy seeing the place I’ve been going to lately, “Momma’s”. Seating is outside year round. 
Figure 