Having a hankering for deep fried artichoke hearts, and wanting to discover yet another town, we headed to Castroville. Since the 1920s, Castroville has produced artichokes. The California artichoke industry was started here by Swiss Italians and is now a $50 million crop.

Interestingly, Marilyn Monroe, Norma Jean at the time, was Castroville's first honorary Artichoke Queen in 1948.
Shopping was not only delicious but fun too. You have to love a giant Artichoke!


While we headed to Castroville to fill our stomachs, we filled our brains with some local knowledge as well with a visit to the Castroville Japanese School. For over seventy years, the small, unassuming building has been patiently waiting to tell its story. Between 1925 and 1935, the Japanese population of the Salinas Valley grew to an estimated 250 families. Not long afterward, the community began constructing the simple building (1935) and for the next six years, many of the Nisei children (1st generation Americans) living in and around Castroville attended the school. The curriculum centered on the Japanese language, with other instruction covering Japanese cultural practices. The Issei parents were hoping that their children might learn some of the Japanese traditions in this school while learning about America in public school. It was closed when Pearl Harbor was bombed. All around the building were plaques telling the long awaited story.
I have a list of quirky things which I love. One of them is an old windmill, out in a field. When we passed this on the way to Salinas, I knew our last stop on our way home had to be here.

Windmill Ranch, east of Stockton, has existed for more than twenty years. It's creator, the late Frank Medina, was the undisputed King Of The Windmills and his ranch was once home to hundreds of them. Most are gone due to a divorce settlement but the ones that remain still enchant.