Last Saturday after my afternoon nap, Daddy and Mommy brought me to a new place which I have never gone before. We went to the Tanaka Farms along University Rd at Irvine. This is an organic farm where they grow organic fruits and vegetables and they have their own fresh produce stand too. They also offer daily farm tours where they will drive us in their tractor-wagon and go round the farm once, making designated stops at certain parts of the farms to sample their vegetables. The highlight of our farm tour was strawberry picking. The strawberries are in season now (we are now at the end of Spring and going towards Summer) and there were lots waiting to be harvested.
We reached the farm and checked in for the tour. As I'm under 2 years old, I did not need to pay. Daddy and Mommy paid $13 each and they were given 2 plastic boxes to store the strawberries that they will be picking later on. Then we waited inside a tent along with other farm tourists for the tour guide to guide us to the wagon. While waiting, I walked up and down the haystack where they used as seats hehehe...
We boarded the wagon about 15 minutes later and were on our way. The wagon moved really slowly but it was fun sitting on the wooden plank seats. Our tour started with the peppers, broccoli and cauliflower patches. In the far end we could spot 3 scarecrows standing among the fields. They really looked like real people. I said Hi to them hahaha...
We made a stop at one point and they gave us green onions, yellow long beans and some carrots to try. The tour guide, Chelsea said that the vegetables are organic and we could eat them raw, straight off the farm without washing. I took a stalk of green onions and munch on it. Daddy and Mommy were surprised that I could eat it haha...maybe I was hungry. I also ate some of the long beans. They looked like the normal green beans that are sold in grocery stores but just that they appear yellow. I liked that and ate 2 or 3 of them. Daddy and Mommy tried some too. The carrots they gave us had long leaves at the top. I took one and munched on it. Not bad. Quite sweet.
The tour guide went on to explain that we should always try to eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. I don't think we eat that much sometimes.
Other vegetables that we tried are cilantro and sweet corn. I tried a little of the cilantro and thought the taste was too strong. I loved the sweet corn though. It was so sweet and juicy, definitely our favorite.
Our final stop was at the strawberry patch. The wagon stopped and we all get down to pick our strawberries. We were given 15 minutes to pick as much as we could to fill the boxes and eat as much as we wanted. The picking was fun, the sun was not too hot but the problem was that the grounds were a bit muddy at some parts. Our shoes became really dirty from walking on the mud. As Daddy and Mommy picked the strawberries, I walked along the path with them. They gave me some strawberries to try and I got my hands and chin area all stained with the red juices from the strawberries hehe...I looked like I had an accident!
It was soon time to board our wagon to go back to the area where we started. As the wagon passed the sunflower field, the tour guide told us she thought some of the sunflowers looked like 'Alice in Wonderland'. Those flowers were huge and some of them bent down because they were probably too heavy to stand up straight. If I were to stand among the flowers, I'll look so tiny among them.
At the end of the tour, we were all dirty at both hands and shoes but it was quite a fun experience that we thought of coming back again in July for the watermelon tour. So instead of picking strawberries, it will be picking big juicy watermelons - perfect for the hot summer days.
Before we left, Daddy and Mommy went to the produce stand to buy some sweet corn and onions. Mommy used the sweet corn and spareribs to boil soup for our dinner tonight and it tasted so good that I literally gobbled up my soup and rice!
More of the farm tour photos
here
It's the beginning of summer time finally. Daddy's colleague invited us to his place at Laguna beach. Turns out his place is near the beach so we can go there first before returning to do the BBQ. Check out these photos..I enjoyed the water play and sand castle very much! http://picasaweb.google.com/jazereen/SunSandAndGrill#
