At Casa de Fruita where we stopped to stretch our legs this beautiful albino peacock was cooperative and loved to pose.
Our 2007 trip was a trip to discover and film as many waterfalls as we could in the North West section of the U.S. One difference this time is that we actually had purchased a GPS system. My husband loves those little toys and was thrilled to be able to try it out. We had also checked with AAA and gotten our hotel reservations and a trip-tic to help with directions. My husband had done lots of research on the internet to see which waterfalls we would be able to see and he rated all that he found by color, green meant really easy to drive to and little or no hike, yellow were a little tougher maybe involving a hike, orange were tough involving hard hikes or drives off road, and red meant that nearly impossible for us to see. After doing lots of research we began to set a driving plan.
At Casa de Fruita where we stopped to stretch our legs this beautiful albino peacock was cooperative and loved to pose.
What we ended up with was one heck of a trip.
On our first day we got up and on the road north. We stopped after about two hours in a place called Casa de Fruita. This is a well known fruit and nut stand gone crazy. Years ago it was just a fruit stand but it grew and grew and then a camp ground opened up and soon a gas station opened and the growth continued. Now it has a miniature train that runs around the property and places to eat and they still sell tons of fruits and nuts. A beautiful white peacock tried to get us to feed it but we just took pictures.
Then on to Hakone Gardens in Saratoga. When we got there is was raining, not just sprinkling but actually raining. Ours was the only visitors’ car in the parking lot. We grabbed our umbrella and walked quickly over to the gift shop and looked around for a few minutes. The lady behind the counter offered another umbrella and we decided that a little rain should not stop our vacation. So off we went for an hour of enjoyment.
Serene beautiful gardens
This is a very nice Japanese Gardens just south of San Francisco. Several TravBuddy members have written about it and so we feel it a near must see. We love Japanese Gardens. The only problem we have today is rain. Did it make a difference to us, not one bit. But then it’s not pouring but just lightly raining as we pull into the parking lot. We go into the gift shop for our tickets and they even offer an extra umbrella. We are the only customers at this point today but the place is immaculate and beautiful. We make our way through all four sections, The Hill and Pond Garden, The Tea Garden, The Zen Garden, and the Kizuna-en (Bamboo) Garden. If you enjoy serene beauty, this is surely one not to miss. The entry fee is so low that you will think they forgot to raise process for the last 50 years. And no charge for parking.
