Tag California

If you follow me on social media or have talked to me at all in the past, you’ll probably know that I’ve been writing a hiking guidebook for Southern California. Specifically, beer hiking Southern California. 

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I have to preface this post on winter hiking tips by saying that I am personally not anywhere close to being an expert in snow safety.

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Let me start off by saying running is a privilege. Ahmaud Arbery was killed for simply going for a run in his neighborhood while being Black.

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This weekend, I ran my longest run yet — 10.7 miles on the Nimitz Way Trail.

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Yosemite has so many incredible aspects it’s hard to choose just a few things to see.

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In 1934, a group of Sierra Club volunteers built a rustic, hostel-style retreat for hikers, skiers, and mountain climbers.

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Being the place I grew up, Oakland holds a special place in my heart. However, I’ll admit there’s a lot about it that I don’t know.

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I got artichoked up about it.

If you’ve ever driven along the California coast anywhere between the Bay Area and Monterey, you’ve likely seen the fruit and vegetable stands scattered along the highway. “Sweet Cherries!” “Sour Cherries!” “Avocados 5 for $1!” Signs lining the road encouraging you to stop in for some cheap produce. If you’ve never stopped in at one, (I get it, it’s not your standard Trader Joe’s) you should.

These places have some of the best (and biggest) produce I’ve ever seen. This past weekend, I found artichokes the size of my head and strawberries almost as big as my fist. The best part about these stands is they are going to have local produce.

Given that California grows “over a third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts“, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that these stands sell the best. I won’t forego my next Trader Joe’s run, but if I’m already driving along Highway 1, I almost always stop at a stand for a car snack or veggies to cook for dinner.

In Season Produce

Of course, the majority of what the stands will be selling will be in season. However, if you want to be extra certain or if you’re on the hunt for the best produce at your local supermarket, check out what’s in season!

In Season Early May

In California, we’re lucky to have a lot of growing time. Especially in May. Some highlights include: apricots, blueberries, cherries, and artichokes.

For the whole list and to find out what’s in season any time of the year or any location in the US, check out this seasonal food guide.

In a good way

I discovered cruise control on this trip and I’m not exaggerating when I say it has done wonders for my driving. Okay, I started driving in July 2018, so I’d probably improve no matter what after doing 3 to 8 hours of driving each day for 6 days, but still.

Starting in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I went up to Denver to pick up a friend who drove to Salt Lake City via Moab with me. Then I had two 6 1/2 hour solo driving days and one slightly lonely night of camping until Oakland, California.

The entire time, three thoughts kept running through my head. One, “where can I be spontaneous and find something I wasn’t looking for?” Two, “where am I sleeping tonight and can it be free?” And three, “where can I find the cheapest gas??” Well, the most spontaneous I got was going to a lunch spot in Reno and ending up with a bowl of rice, sea food, cucumber, sea weed, and mango. I’m not going to say it tasted bad, but I drank a lot of water with it and had to throw away the last bit because I was so full.

Most of the trip, I found free campsites. My friend showed me this website that shows a ton of free campsites around the country (and some in other countries too). A lot of the campsites they show are more for campers or RVs and sometimes just rest stops or parking lots, but there are plenty other gems in there like this one I found near Austin, Nevada.

We found all three campsites we used from that website and they were all A+ (toilets, flat ground, accessible, nice views).

As for cheap gas, the further west I got, the more expensive gas prices got. However, the small towns in Nevada generally had more expensive prices than somewhere like Reno. Google maps also gives a ball park idea of prices and Siri can also tell you average gas prices of different cities (for when you’re driving alone and can’t look at your phone).