Gregory Lake

06-Mar-2022: After a great trip to Underwood farms yesterday, we were already planning for something today. We were all tired but were trying to make up for the lost trips. It had rained on Friday and Saturday and so we knew it would have snowed in the mountains. We had been to snowy picks this season, but decided to head for the last time this season before spring begins and snow starts to melt. So the plna was made to go to Arrowhead lake. There are quite a few lakes in that vicinity, starting from Silverwood on one end and going all the way to Big Bear. Typically we start from Silverwood lake and then going through the passes cover Arrowhead lake and then return. Big Bear is a trip in itself. So we did not finalize the sequence of trip but decided to see when we wake up and see if we an go and where.

We woke bit late but we were ready to go. We prepared veg sandwiches, packed fruits and were ready to head out. We left at 9:30 am which was bit late considering the distance & time involved. But we were in for a luck. as the traffic was very thin. On Sundays it is typically light, but today was even better and we were making great progress. The route is I-5 -> I55N-I91E->215E->210E. The weather was nice, bit cloudy but mostly clear. There is a ghat section at the fag end of it, but its mostly straight with wide turns and so to G’s liking. We took exit for Silverado lake, this section passes through country side with many rolling hills which Ar’s enjoy everytime. We were now seeing snowy peaks from a distance and then reached the ghat section. It offers great views and we took a break at a vista point, which has spectacular views of the lake from top. There is fruit vendor there which we had also meet last time, when we had come during summers and the cold, fresh juicy fruits were refreshing. This time we packed the fruit plate, which comes with all seasonal ones like Pineapple, Mango, Water Melon, Jicama, Coconut with sprinkle of Tahini, other spicy mix and lemon.

We crossed one ghat and moved to next. This big one and passes through jungle. It reminds me of Mahabaleshwar and is really cool with snowy slopes and trees. It was almost noon time and snow on trees was dropping down on our car. The roads also had patches of snow, though most of it had been cleared. I was bit worried about the surface being bit slippery, but it was ok. One unique thing I saw in the noon time was the snow turning into white vapor to the sky, which Ar was quite amazed seeing. One thing I was getting bit worried was falling petrol level. It was like Deja vu, I should have filled the tanks earlier 🙂 As we entered the town we saw the gas station and filled the tank, relived.

We reached the Gregory Lake by 1:00 pm and parked there. The parking is done through an app called ParkMobile which is quite cool and makes it quick and convenience. I parked for 2 hours and then went in. There is parkway through the woods, passing along the lake coast. It was all white with snow which was fresh like powder. It was quite cold though, but this time unlike some time in past we were prepared with loves, jackets and monkey caps. We were looking for a spot to sit, we had sat on a fallen wooden bark last summer, which was submerged in snow this time. We saw a bench overlooking the lake and decided to take that. We had fruit plate there which was nice but didn’t taste as satisfying as in summer. Ar pouncing on the Mango, Pineapple among others it was finished in no time.

It was a play time now. I and Ar had some snow fights, for which the powder like snow was perfect. G joined in a bit and we also shot some cool slow mo videos playing snow. Then G & Ar got down to build the snowman, none of which resembled it closely. Ar got some irritated by it that she converted it to snow mountain with eyes and mouth, of course ;). The lake view and the blanket of snow was a sight to see from there. We then headed back to the parking lot and had sandwiches for lunch. It had been in planning for long time, to take pics we peaking over the sunroof, to which we found good, spot, background and light today. Before leaving Ar had collected some snow and some if it she put on the windscreen and other in dabba. It was time to leave and while Ar shouted on sliding snow, I missed a turn and so had to take a 4 miles round about. Finally on right track, navigating little traffic reached just before Ar’s Hindi class at 5:30 pm.

PS: We played lot of music these 2 days, G finally adding some songs to her playlist 😉 On radio one of the songs we heard a lot and which had become our favorite was called “huma” as we thought, but it turned out to be “women sung in an accent” 😉

Underwood Farms & produce picking

05-Mar-2022: Last moth or so had been really busy. There was lot on work front, Ar’s Gate exam, the G’s new job processes and even weekends were busy with passport renewal documentation and so on. We had wanted to go out somewhere to unwind but was not happening. So as this weekend approached we wanted to somehow make it work. There was still no location finalized, but G has in mind to go for strawberry picking. We did some research and also knew few places where few other acquaintances had been earlier like Tanaka farms but they were very close by, but I was looking to have a nice long drive. So in the research we came across Under wood farms which was few mile north of LA. Also per their website it had all kinds of seasonal vegetables and fruits for picking along with few kid activities.

There farm is located in Moorpark. Its a working farm and they offer produce picking, interactions with animals and also have few kids rides. We decided to head there and planned to start early. We woke up fairly early than what has been the case lately for weekends. We had decided to pack bread and Jam, Fruits etc and planned to have breakfast en-route. We Left by 9:00 am, but as it was 1st Saturday of the month we wanted to pick the Home Depot kit which we have been missing for a while since start of the pandemic. Each month Home Depot have a kit, which includes Wooden blocks, nails, screws to build a small project and then have assortment of colors to paint it. We decided to pick the kit and later build it at home. Finally we were on our track by 9:30 am. Our route was going to be I-5-> CA-118 W to Tierra Rejada Rd ->Sunset Valley Rd. The traffic was in patches and overall we were making great progress.

As we had had a light breakfast before leaving and had planned to have Donuts later on (Ar’s pending small treat), I was under the impression that we would pick the Donuts closer to farm and would have it once we reach there. But Ar & G were really hungry and made we take a detour. So anyways we had to head out we decided to go to our favorite donut place, the world famous “Donut Man”. So after Anahem, we took I-605 -> I-10 and then Historic route 66, where it is located. We parked in the next block and walked to this place which as always was crowded. It took us 20 -25 mins to place the Order. We ordered 3 Strawberry Donuts ($5.99) and Tiger tail Donut ($1.99). We came back to our car and had it on the car trunk. The 3 Strawberry Donut is really huge with 8 – 10 fresh strawberries inside it and is quite a mouth full. Ar was again cheering up. We had parked opposite to Jijitsu studio and the owner seeing Ar came to us with the flyer :).

We were done and we finally left. I had to fill up the tank and so stopped at Shells to fill the Gas, which had shot up in rates to over $5.79 due to ongoing war in Europe. We also wanted to go to restroom there but it was closed. So we checked next door Del taco, which also did not seem to have it. Finally seeing Starter brothers store from a distance we decided to try our luck and we found it. We were already quite late, had taken a diversion and so were worried a bit if we can really get worth of the farm.

We reached there after noon, by about 12:30 pm, parked and headed for the gate. The entry ticket is $10 per person and then you can buy extra tickets for some other paid stuff. We decided to explore first and then come back to get tickets if we thought so. At the entry only there were loads of carts to pick and a old John Deere tractor. Ar picked a cart and then went and sat on the tractor. On the right side of entrance is the Animal section which has mainly farm animals. Ar got to see cow, goats and even a donkey. Now I have to saw that in some many years in US, I saw a donkey the first time and it also at its barking best. From there we went to see an animal show which was about to start. It was quite amateurish, but think we liked it for that. They had hens, rats, dog & ducks. Most of them were not listening to the instructors which was quite a fun. From there Ar went for tractor slide and then we started walking towards the farm, not knowing what to expect.

I had read that the farm was over 30 acres, but was not sure if all of it was walk in. First we saw rows and columns of Radish, Beet etc. Ar picked up really small ones but as we walked ahead we started getting better at identifying and picking the right produce. From there we moved to Onion, Spinach, Broccoli, Cabbage etc. The Cabbage was quite dry so we did not pick it, the other ones we started picking in good quantities. Then we headed towards Peas and there were huge rows of them. Many of them were small or the pods were not well developed but if you looked underneath we could get some really good ones. Ar was the most excited and picked a lot of Peas.

We were still on it when a tractor with a buggy attached to it stopped near us and the lady driver asked us to hop in. So we left our cart there and hopped. The tractor went though the field path ways and was mostly bumpy which Ar enjoyed the most. We passed through Orange farms as well and the cloudy weather was a perfect backdrop for this ride. It stopped at the starting point but we asked the lady to drop us back where she had picked us. She waited for a while to get next passengers but as non came it was our own little private tour. On the way it passed through small tunnels made from the tree canopies which were really cool. Once we were dropped back, we picked our cart and headed towards the fruit farms. The raspberries and other berries were still some months off for harvesting. The Oranges and tangerines were pull with fruits and we plucked a few as couple of days back only we had picked a 5lb bag from Costco.

We also picked some lemons which were as big as oranges. Then avocado tree called us in which was full and we plucked few. We were also tired by now. We started walking back, it had already started getting chilly. We went to play & animal area to cover few we had left early. It was almost 4:00 pm and we decided to checkout. On the way out they have a small vegetable store, so you can pick some stuff there and then based on wither weight/quantity you bill the produce which you picked. The bill came to be around $30 which was quite cheap. We had seen a board to Walnut farms earlier and decided to check it but it was closed. So we came back and parked again and had the bread toast and Jam & peanut butter. We left by around 4:30 pm. The path we took was I-210 E -> I5. It was cloudy and there patches of dark clouds where we got slight rain. There was slight traffic but overall it was good and were back home by 6:45 pm well in time for Ar’s Hindi class at 7:30 pm. Today was one of its kind experience.