Valencia & Moss Landing, CA 1/8/2015

On the road again Thursday Jan. 8

 Murals outside of John Steinbeck Museum, Valencia, CA.

Many of his books used his experiences of growing up in the Salinas Valley.  Agriculture strikes, a pony he had as a kid, dreams of a landowner a family living in a boiler pipe, etc.

Grapes of Wrath was a controversial book.

He was a World War II journalist.

After criticism of one of his fiction novels he said no more fiction.  He wrote about his travels with his dog.

In his camper.

This is vegetable farmland.

It was suggested that we eat at Phil's Fish Market.  Bobby Flay did a Throwdown against Phil the owner.  Phil won.

We had a salmon burger and fish and chips.  Delicious fresh fish!

We got lots of fresh foods at a Vegetable Stand.  Lettuce, radishes, broccoli, cucumbers, grapefruits, oranges, Brussels sprouts, peppers and mushrooms.  Yum!

 Continuing to drive through vegetable farmland.

 From the upper Midwest, we are not used to seeing plants like this in January.

 But this is where a lot of U.S. grown vegetable come from.  In 1900 the land was $200 an acre.  Now $35,000.  It is prime growing area due to the rich soil.  Moderate temperature are due to the closeness of the Ocean.

We stayed at Coyote Lake Campground.  We saw turkey and deer as we drove in.