What’s in Fairfield? Most
importantly to me, is that I have a dear friend that lives here! Here’s a shout-out to Pat! What I didn’t know was that the Jelly Belly
Factory is in Fairfield, and that we were in the Suisun Valley which is the
back door to Napa!
I thought it might be fun to take the Jelly Belly Factory Tour ...
so I
put on my hat!
It was a treat to see how the candy is made, and to see how they mix
the different flavors together!
And there was art – all made of Jelly Belly candies!
Going to a winery is like taking a factory tour as well. You learn how the wine is made and you get
samples! We visited two wineries in the
Suisun Valley, and found that we really enjoyed many of their blends. This area is especially known for Petite
Sirah.
Look at all the vineyards!
Mustard plants grow between the vines:
As we drove around the valley, we saw many unusual mailboxes:
These are part of the Glashoff Collection, creations by a local artist.
Eureka:
We continued our journey north -- the views becoming more breathtaking
with each turn:
As we traveled along the Redwood Highway, especially the portion of it
called the Avenue of the Giants, the redwood trees became more dense, larger
and taller!
One of the fun treats on this drive is the opportunity to drive thru the
trunk of a large redwood tree:
There are several parks worth exploring – the Humboldt Redwoods State
Park and the Redwood National and State Parks.
We hiked a few of the trails in these parks to get a closer look at
these beautiful giants.
It was sad to see those that had fallen, yet there is also beauty in
their intricate roots:
Our Airbnb host suggested a place to look for elk, and we were not
disappointed:
We saw a few of these “barn quilts” along one of our scenic drives:
The Trees of Mystery was
a fun side-trip. It gave us an opportunity to get out of the car and walk
through large redwood and sequoia trees.
We took a tram to the top of a ridge and was rewarded with these awesome
views:
We’re saying goodbye to California (for now) and hello to Oregon!
