Swanton Berry Farm on California Route 1

The historic California Route 1 has the most exhilarating views of rolling meadows, cliffs and oceanic views. With microclimates in the Bay Area, a hot day inland does not guarantee warm weather at the beach and the water is always too cold, year round! We learnt that the hard way one such hot day when we took an impromptu road trip down the Pacific Coast Highway hoping to have fun at the beach. When we got to the beach, the freezing water and chilly winds made it difficult to just stay put outside! We scurried back to the car without giving up on hope for a leisurely day.     

       

Drifting down the road we saw signs for a berry farm with jam tasting! What we anticipated was a farm where we would go strawberry picking like in the east coast, it was that and more! 

Swanton Berry Farm is perched high up on a meadow overlooking few acres of open farm land with rickety barns and tractors adding to the rustic ambience with a view of the ocean beyond. Stepping inside the main barn, you could instantly be transported to a world that believes in 'universal energy' and 'honor system for paying', terms I later learnt but the synergy presented itself way before reading this . 

Its a farm stand like no other...they had pretzel knots and animal crackers to go with the jams, jams that were made with no preservatives and embodied the natural taste of the organic fruit it was made out of namely strawberries, blueberries, loganberries, ollalieberries etc. They also had cheesecakes, chocolate covered strawberries, coffee and more. The difficult part was deciding what to get! When we got to the cash counter, they just had a wooden box from which you pay and take change yourself, that was my introduction to honor system for paying.

We spent the entire afternoon lounging around on the comfy sofa, marveling at the knick-knacks on display while the kids got to play with toys that belonged to a different era. It was a nice way to disconnect from the digital world and give the kids undivided attention and get their attention for a change. While we played chess the sun was setting outside, filling the room with stunningly beautiful golden light adding to the ethereal atmosphere.

I would highly recommend stopping here if you find yourself driving to Santa Cruz. It makes you believe that life can be easy sometimes and there are still trustworthy people in this world. A place where quality and flavor are still a priority and time spent with people you care is the real treasure!