Fresh Fruit, Birds, and Pumpkin Pie

Posted on April 24, 2010 by Ellen

We’ve chosen a life of travel, but we’re finding that being able to stay in one spot for a little while gives us a chance to relax and get to know that area even better than just spending a few weeks and moving on. And so it was at Jojoba Hills, down the road from Temecula, California.

Temecula had a great farmers’ market that we visited faithfully each week. I didn’t get a photo of it because I was always so focused on getting to the fish taco stand before the line got too long. MMM! They set the bar for all fish tacos to follow.

And the fruits and veggies were fabulous, even in mid-November!

I’d been in awe at seeing citrus fruit dangling from trees as we drove through the state, so imagine how thrilled I was to see orange trees like this one in the SKP park:

When our tour guide drove us around, he pointed out some lemon trees that we could pick from. Whoohoo! Fresh lemonade! I couldn’t believe how much better it tasted — and how much fun squeezing the fruit would be. I’d found my culinary calling!

We stayed in a couple of different sites while in the park. One neighbor had birdfeeders right out the window where I could see them. I was in backyard, bird-watching heaven!

Those adorable California Quail were so close outside that I took dozens of photos…

… and had to remind myself to look up into the nearby branches of bushes or I’d miss another bunch of birds!

We spent Thanksgiving here and opted to head into town to see what the Pechanga Casino might be offering in the way of a feast. Well, they had a feast, but wanted about $30 a person for it, so we settled for the food court. Not too bad, but not what we’d envisioned.

Back in Temecula, we decided to scout around for pumpkin pie and — lo and behold — found Penfolds Cafe and Bakery, a wonderful local restaurant that had been serving its own Thanksgiving dinner. If only we’d known! At least we had their great pumpkin pie, and went back a few more times for breakfast and lunch.