frugal sightseeing

Bottles of sparkling cider, Watsonville.

Stock up on Some Cider

Silvia

In our house we agree that Martinelli’s makes the best apple juice outside of Germany and the local farmers market. For special occasions we always have Martinelli’s sparkling cider as the non-alcoholic choice.  

When I learned that Martinelli’s has a tasting room in Watsonville I had to go! 

They are open Monday – Friday 9 am – 5 pm, and Saturdays 10 am – 2 pm.

Old labels from Martinelli's, Watsonville.

There is some information about the history of Martinelli’s and you should look around the pictures and bottles before you sit down for the tasting. This makes for excellent conversation, because you can quiz your attendant about all things related to cider and apple juice. The pours are free and you get deals on the cases.

Shopping cart filled with cider, Watsonville.

We ended up with a few cases of our favorites. Did you know they have a blood orange cider? Well, it is only available in Watsonville! 

As a special treat for women’s history month you can read up on Martinelli’s women: https://www.martinellis.com/company/the-women-of-martinellis/

Have you ever taste-tested cider before?

If you like to read about local apple varieties I recommend : Harvest some Community Fruit.




Windows on the Past, a display of wild flowers at the Museum of San Ramon Valley, Danville.

Get Informed About Wildflowers and Climate Change

Silvia
Entrance of the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, Danville.

There is a rotating exhibit in Danville’s Museum of the San Ramon Valley on wildflowers and climate change, named Beauty and the Beast. This display of photographs will run until the end of March, 2020. A docent at the museum told me that the wildflower bloom occurs earlier each year and that this messes with the rest of the ecosystem.

Picture of the 100 year bloom at Joshua Tree National Park.

“Erratic weather cycles cause more severe and longer droughts, followed by more frequent wet years and flooding. Native plants and life that depend upon them, are being crowded out by invasive species that benefit from this greater rainfall. Our beautiful wildflowers are losing ground.” (Quote from one of the panels in the exhibit.)

Dried wildflowers at the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, Danville.

In my experience most wildflowers are really small and to see a large image of them is quite a treat! In fact they also show you the process of the photographers, Rob Badger and Nita Winter.  The images span from the superbloom of the California deserts to the alpine ‘rock gardens’ of the Sierra Nevada. 

To get up close with some wildflowers you can use a microscope and zoom in on some dried species.

To combat climate change you are encouraged to become a citizen scientist.

Part of a Mastodon jaw at the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, Danville.

For history buffs this museum, a former train station, feed store, and a home for an eccentric artist,  is also full of local artifacts. One of the most precious artifacts is a part of a Mastodon jaw. 

Bob, a mannequin, in the caboose playing cards.

The restroom outside in the caboose is also a lot of fun with a train driving soundtrack!

Admission to the museum is $5, it is open Tuesday to Friday 1 pm – 4 pm, Saturdays 10 am – 1 pm and Sundays 12 pm – 3 pm.

Did you know about the relationship of wildflowers and climate change?



Women Pathmakers at the Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino

Celebrate Women Pathmakers

Silvia

The current winter exhibit of the Euphrat Museum of Art at the DeAnza College in Cupertino is about Women Pathmakers.

Ada Lovelace and the letter about her at the Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino.
Irene Curie and other women scientist at the Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino.

I started with the portraits on my left, notable women in science, each of them included a letter that was in an envelope underneath the painting. I read, for example, about the first programmer Ada Lovelace, or Irene Curie, who discovered artificial radiation. Some of these women were cheated out of their Nobel Prize, but they were happy to do what they did best, science!

Movie poster about Qiu Jin, Autumn Gem, at the Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino.

I also learned about Qiu Jin, in a shortened version of the movie: Autumn Gem. The radical women’s activist who attempted an armed uprising against the Qing Dynastie is now a celebrated national heroine. The complete movie about her life: Autumn Gem will be shown March 4th at 3 pm, with director Rae Chang.

View of part of the exhibit pieces at the Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino.

Women Pathmakers not only memorializes the women of the past, this exhibit shines in its diversity of art forms, like sculptures, quilts, posters, wood, and also the diversity of the artists themself.

The exhibit is part of the Silicon Valley Reads 2020 “Woman making it happen”. It runs till March 12th, 2020. The Euphrat is open on Monday – Thursday 10 am – 3 pm during exhibits. Admission is free. 

How do you celebrate women pathmakers? 

I visited the Euphrat in 2017 and saw Justice for All?


Taste of the award-winning goat cheese at Hartley Farm, Pescadero.

Taste some Goat Cheese

Silvia
Goat shop sign at Hartley Farm in Pescadero.

At Hartley Farm in Pescadero there is not only a shop for goat cheese and their accompaniments, like habanero jelly, you can also look at the goats that give their milk for this deliciousness. This award-winning cheese converted my husband, who’s goal for 2018 was not to eat any goat cheese, to agree to buy a tub to take home with us. 

We came here to see some farm life, inspired by the movie documentary: Our biggest little farm.

Mother goat with her three recently born baby goats.

Currently there are 106 baby goats. I’m not sure if the count is correct, because we saw three baby goats in the pen with the pregnant goats, and the mom licking them clean. So, I guess we missed the birth by mere minutes.

Two week old baby goats at Hartley Farms, Pescadero.

It was a delight to see the two week old goats play in their playpen. Not all 106 of them, just about ten in each of the two pens. 

You can also peek into the milking station and the place where they make the yummy goat cheese. 

Are you a goat cheese lover?

If you like farms maybe consider Ardenwood a historic farm in Fremont.

Citrus for all seasons, descriptive poster at Quarry Lakes, Fremont

Sample some Citrus

Silvia
Growing citrus at the Rare Fruit Grove, Quarry Lakes Park, Fremont.

I wrote about Quarry Lakes Park in Fremont before (Hike around a quarry). A nice park where you can walk around the quarry lakes. But there is more than just bird watching, boating and fishing. A friend told me you can pick your own lemons there. It gets more sophisticated than that, you can sample the fruit from over 100 different rare fruit trees! 

Quarry Lakes Rare Fruit Grove sign. Please sample But no collecting Share


The Rare Fruit Grove is located at the north east side of the lake in the peninsula, reaching into Horseshoe Lake. You can pick up a brochure of the various fruits that can be found right by the entrance. Please only sample, so others can enjoy this, too.  The orchard brochure lists all the names, descriptions, when to harvest, and how to use it.

There are also several other scavenger hunts you can do: 

Quarry Lakes Botanical Scavenger Hunts. QR codes and paper maps.
  • Palms and Cycads 
  • Subtropical Plants
  • California Natives
  • Oak Trees
  • Conifer Trees
Screenshot of Google maps of the Quarry Lakes scavenger hunt.

Either read in the QR code which opens up Google maps, find it by GPS coordinates, or check out the paper map and go hunting. It’s a fun way to learn about trees and plants.

Quarry Lakes parking is $5. 

Have you tried some of the citrus or other fruits at the rare fruit grove? 

The iris garden at the Three Creeks Trail in San Jose.

Bike by some Irises

Silvia
The water tower with the 3 indicates the entrance to the Three Creeks Trail in Willow Glen.

The Three Creeks Trail is a relatively new addition to the paved trail system in San Jose. It connects to the Los Gatos Creek Trail and the Guadalupe River Trail.

I love to find these small, hidden gardens. When we recently checked out the Three Creeks Trail in San Jose we came by the Iris Garden.

Snow Flurry, a white iris, in the iris garden on the Three Creeks Trail in Willow Glen.

This is a tribute to Ruth and Clara Rees who successfully crossed varieties of irises in the Willow Glen neighborhood. ‘Snow Flurry’ was created as a white iris with “broad, ruffled paddles, clear hafts, several buds in each spathe, good branching and excellent blue-green foliage.”

After some more research I found out that Clara really hit the jackpot and in 1939 grew “the most important iris ever created”.

Snow Flurry became the parentage of all modern TB irises. The iris garden used to be a much larger development in Willow Glen, and this little strip is all but an homage to them; honoring the botanist and flower lover Clara Rees.

Have you noticed the iris garden along the Three Creeks Trail? 

If you like native plants you might enjoy Woodside’s Native Plant Garden.

Resources:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/07/18/iris-gardens-return-to-the-reopened-three-creeks-trail http://www.historiciris.org/photos/snow-flurry-lm.html

https://www.historiciris.org/articles/notable-clara-rees.html

https://cbris.org/

https://theamericanirissociety.blogspot.com/2018/12/clara-b-rees-queen-mother-of-iris-world.html

https://theamericanirissociety.blogspot.com/2012/02/clara-and-ruth-rees-san-joses-iris.html

http://wiki.irises.org/Main/Bio/HybridizerReesClara

Clive McCarthy's painting at San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art.

Get Inspired by Art, the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art

Silvia

It’s always great to go see some art. If the admission is free and the art contemporary what holds you back?

Stephnie Syjocu, Total Transparency Filter at San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art.

The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (ISA) is located in the hip SoFa district. They regularly participate in the South First Fridays Art Walk, a self-guided nighttime tour through downtown’s art institutions.

Currently there are four exhibits running till the middle of March. 

Sense of Self – Bay Area photographers explore the subject of self. Artists are Marcela Pardo Ariza, Tammy Rae Carland, Erica Deeman, Jamil Hellu, and Stephanie Syjuco.

Electronic Paintings – by Clive McCarthy.

Chimera – by Stas Orlovski

LGBTQ+ Youth Space – a continued discussion about self and identity by the LGBTQ+ Youth Space. 

Mark your calendar: March 6th, 2020, First Friday will be co-hosted by the LGBTQ Youth Space and will feature performances, activities, and workshops around topics of identity, representation, and empowerment.

Clive McCarthy's painting at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art.

Clive McCarthy’s electronic paintings were my favorites. Large computer generated images, newly invented with each brush stroke of the pixel palette, creates a movie like assemble of an image. To mix up his generative art – art created by a computer algorithm – he will change the image sets every two weeks. You can even review his code in a separate room across from the lobby.

ISA is open every day of the week except on Mondays. Admission is free.

Where do you go to be inspired by art?

Another great place to explore art in San Jose is the SJSU.

Walking in the cloud at the Devils Slide Coastal Trail.

Walk in the clouds

Silvia
Sign for Devil Slide Coastal Trail.

The chances of fog are high at the Devil’s Slide Trail in Pacifica. The former Interstate 1 made hiking trail is a 1.3 mile stretch with ocean views on one side and a rocky hill on the other. 

At the Devils Slide Coastal Trail a warning sign: Step back steep cliff.

Numerous landslides made this stretch of Highway 1 a dangerous road. When San Mateo County proposed to have the interstate go over the Montara Mountain Ollie Mayer an activist and environmentalist fought successfully for a tunnel. The Devil’s Slide Trail opened in March 2014 as part of the initiative’s agreement. 

Since it is paved the trail is great for bikers, wheelchairs and strollers. When we arrived two moms just packed their babies into their cars. The slopes make it challenging for wheels and especially on wet days it can be tricky.

View of Egg Rock from Devils Slide Coastal Trail.

I particularly liked the story from one information sign of the reestablishment of the Common Murres colony on Egg Rock, a rock formation peeking out of the Pacific. An already diminishing bird population was erased by the Apex Houston 1986 oil spill. In 1996 a restoration project was started and the birds were tricked into recolonize by mirrors, decoys and broadcast murre calls, a method called social attraction. The Common Murres population grew from 12 in 1996 to 3200 in 2013! If you bring two quarters you can zoom in on Egg Rock with a telescope.

Exit of the south side tunnel at Devils Slide, Pacifica.

Parking is available on the north or the south entrance of the tunnel. Open from dusk till dawn. No parking fee. There is even a bus stop!

Where do you hike in the clouds?

 

Gingerbread house, Los Altos

Find the gingerbread houses

Silvia

The 32nd annual gingerbread exhibit in Los Altos had to relocate from its usual location, the now demolished Hillview Community Center. (It will be rebuilt). This year you can stroll through Los Altos downtown in search of the gingerbread creations. From December 10th to the 22nd of December, eight businesses and City Hall are showcasing locally made gingerbread houses. 

Gingerbread house, Los Altos

In each location, you can pick up a passport that lists all locations that have the gingerbread houses. But you have to find the first one! Once you find one, you can have your visit stamped. Some places let you hunt for it; some have multiple houses to show off; one had a little quiz.

Gingerbread house, Los Altos.

On December 19th, 2019, from 4-6:30pm, all participants, their families, and hosting businesses are invited to a Gingerbread Exhibit Crawl in Downtown Los Altos followed by a special reception at the Los Altos Youth Center. 

While I started out looking for the exhibit I stumped a few businesses asking for it. A lovely helper at Linden Tree bookstore called the city to ask where they were, I went to my first place, received the passport, but no edible house to view. It turns out the distribution wasn’t as smooth. (With such fragile deliveries, all needed to be done carefully, and hence ran a bit behind.)

Also the  Linden Tree store keeper referred us to a two-story, life-sized gingerbread house in the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. I’m sure that one is hard to miss.

Gingerbread house, Los Altos.

The four gingerbread houses at city hall are right by the entrance. I wasn’t able to get my passport stamped, as everyone was busy helping customers. If you can get all the stamps you can show your completed passport to the Recreation and Community Services desk (400 University Ave), you will be entered to win a gift card. 

Have you seen gingerbread houses around?

 

Entrance to the Picchetti Winery, Cupertino

Taste some Wine

Silvia

It’s almost Thanksgiving and if you are looking for the perfect bottle to rise to the occasion you might want to consider going to a local winery and taste test some bottles/glasses.

Old barn at Picchetti Winery, Cupertino.

One of the oldest wineries in California, the Picchetti Winery, sits above Cupertino and its tasting room is open from 10 am to 4 pm every day. The Picchetti brothers, Secondo and Vincenzo, established the ranch in 1882 and first sold their grapes to local wineries. In 1896 they decided to produce their own wine. During Prohibition the wine production sunk dramatically and prune and apricot orchards replaced most of the grape vines. 

Entrance to the tasting room at Picchetti Winery, Cupertino.

In 1976 the Picchetti family sold 308 acres to the Open Space District, the Picchetti Open Space Preserve was established. Hiking on the Zinfandel Trail might expose you to the surrounding orchards and vineyards. Overall there are about 4 miles of hiking trails.

Since 1982 the District leases the winery back to winemakers, currently about 9,000 cases per year get produced, many of them award-winning.

Inside the tasting room at Picchetti Winery, Cupertino.

The tasting is $15 dollars for a flight of five wines. Wine bottle prices range from about $25 to $55, but a wine club is available. 

Picnic tables at Picchetti Winery, Cupertino.

The tasting room is nicely decorated, but you might want to enjoy your flight outside at the picnic tables. Maybe the peacocks will greet you.

Where do you go to taste test your wine?

Of course Napa and Sonoma are prime wine country. Have you ever been to Calistoga?

Resources:

https://thepress.sfchronicle.com/review/picchetti-winery/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picchetti_Brothers_Winery