More on the area around San Benito TT area, June 16-23

The San Benito Thousand Trails is huge.  It think there are over 350 sites.  I was amazed there were so many seasonal sites as well as cabins that seemed to be occupied.  Most of the seasonal sites had been "landscaped" with trees, turf, etc which made it obvious the RVers were there for more than just a season.  It is about 14 miles from Hollister and 20 miles from Pinnacles National Park.  It is also close enough for a day trip to the Monterey Peninsula.  The upside of the park is that it is quite and we didn't have neighbors on top of us. One other interesting fact is the San Andreas Fault runs through the park.

We had planned to do some hiking,-in the Pinnacles National Park but with temperatures in the high 90's and triple digit in the Pinnacles we opted not to chance it. We scoped out the park and will probably return later in the Fall when we are headed back this way.  There are quite a few hikes I would really like to do. These wild turkeys didn't seem to mind the heat.

One day we headed out to explore the Wine Trail.  The country side in this area is heavily planted with organic vegetables and it appears there are many vineyards.  We visited several wineries allong Cienga Road, the first one being Calera. The outside doen't look too appealing, but the inside was warm and friendly.

Beautiful, but dry vistas from the parking area.

Great place for a picnic.

This must be the celler.

 I was more interested in the tastings, but Joel doesn't drink wine and is more interested in the architecture.  I was very disappointed that the wineries, we toured,  especially small fledglings are charging $10.00 a pop for tastings. Yes, they waive the tasting fee if you buy up to $50 worth of wine, but that is simply beyond my price point.  My pallet is not educated enough to appreciate expensive wines.  Plus, I didn't find any wine at Calera that warranted me spending $20.00plus per bottle.

The next winery was De Rose Vineyards. They were having a formal pairing which was interesting, but at $30.00  per person we passed.  Apparently they were serving wines from the "library" that generally were not offered to the public.  If I was a real enthusiasts it might have been worth it.

We headed on up the road to Pietra Santa Winery which  reminded me of some of the old wineries you find in Napa.

The vineyards were lush and beautiful.

According to some post research this winery is right on the San Andreas Fault Line.  Again I didn't find a wine that would encourage me to spend my travel money but the ambiance was nice.

The Historic Vineyard School was built in 1891 to school children who did not attend the private schools in the area.  Today it is located in the Hollister Hills SVRA.

Early in our stay, we did go to the Farmers Market in downtown Hollister.  The main street is closed off and it is a family affair.  I found my favorite apricots and nectarines that were actually tree ripened and Joel found tomatoes that looked like they were home grown and tasted like  real tomatoes.   Yummmm.

We've  left San Benito Thousand Trails for the Monterey Elks Club and plan to return some time when the weather is not so hot to explore more of this area. But for now, Mom's 95th birthday is coming up and family will be gathering on the Monterey Peninsula this weekend to celebrate. Of course, I'll be walking on Asilomar Beach as much as possible and enjoying the cool weather.