Calif. Tomato Festivals

[MsCowpea]

Planned a holiday around 2 tomato festivals--Kendall-Jackson near Napa and TomatoFest in Carmel. Had 7 days in between to see as many sites as we could fit in. Definately not a leisurely trip. You could spend the whole 7 days in most of these areas but we just wanted to see as much as possible.

Went to Napa Valley and Sonoma. Did a bit of driving along the northern coast. Drove all the way over to Lake Tahoe then back to SanFran. Did some touristy things in San Jose and then traveled around the agricultural regions around Salinas.
Drove down the coast highway to Hearst Castle in San Simeon and then back again to charming Carmel.

Last time we went to CA was about 15 years ago and I had forgotten how stunning the scenery was and how varied the geography.

Highlights: writer Jack London's defunct farm , now a state park near Glen Ellen (close to Napa). Innovator and way ahead of his time -ie farming techniques. Sadly died at 40.

Benziger Winery, certified Bio-dynamic which has even more stingent requirements than organic. Gorgeous winery.

Took a organic farm tour in Salinas (Bunny Farms) , visited Earthbound's small farm and stand in Carmel. We stopped at another roadside stand and I did a double-take--there was a box of momotaros for sale, one of my favorite tomatoes. Expensive but still thought this place is tomato heaven--every stand and grocery store had beautiful heirloom tomatoes.

Tahoe, Heast Castle, Carmel, coast--all so incredibly beautiful.

Both tomato events were great. Kendall-Jackson had lectures and a phenomenal vegetable garden to tour--really added alot. KJ had about 180 tomatoes and TF 350! Wonderful chef-created tomato dishes too numerous to count at both events. My husband doesn't eat raw tomatoes so he pigged out on the food while I plowed ahead through the tasting tomatoes. Walking to the car I said I never wanted to see another tomato the rest of my life but by next Sunday we were ready to dive in again. Both events benefit charities.