This is a view of the park we have in the center of the little town of Carefree, population 3,672. There’s a playground, the Carefree Desert Gardens and one of the largest sundial’s in the country. Friday means that I visit Carefree for the farmer’s market. I look forward to that each fall when the weather cools down and I can buy fresh veggies. (All photos are from my iphone, except for the one of the sundial which I googled and snagged off the internet.)
The Carefree Sundial located on Easy Street in the Carefree city center is 35 feet tall. Oh yes, it works!
This is the slide at the playground. I was surprised one Friday morning to see my outgoing, social neighbor with her little fluffy white dog Rascal going down the slide over and over. Rascal going down the slide that is, not my neighbor.
There is artwork throughout Carefree’s city center. I’ve taken a few photos of the sculptures found throughout the circle on Easy Street.
We purchased this sculpture for our house, of course in a more practical size. It was made by a local Carefree artist and only 10 of the smaller statues were made.
A bit of Carefree history.
The Carefree city center has water features, too, which is a welcome sight in the desert. My DIL, who went with me to the farmer’s market on a visit commented on how water is a priceless item in a desert, hence it’s prominent feature in the town. Words of wisdom.
I hope you enjoyed my tour of Carefree and the sights on Easy Street.
Happy Friday! What plans do you have for the weekend?
I had to add “Carefree Highway” from Gordon Lightfoot to this post.
One of the joys of Santa Barbara and Carpinteria are the farmers markets. This is our favorite fruit stand. The pluots in the bin above the plums are called Dapple Dandy. Outside the tent filled with delicious fruit, a woman stands with slices of fruit samples calling out “Dapple Dandy, tastes like candy!” It really does. It’s my all time favorite and I’ve been eating them every day on vacation.
You can see how popular and large this fruit stand is. It has a line that goes outside the tent and once inside, lines on both sides of the fruit. The same farm is at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market on Saturdays and in Carpinteria on Thursdays.
Our favorite spot for fish tacos and chowder is called On the Alley. It’s in the Santa Barbara Harbor next to the Marina. It’s a casual place where you order inside, grab a table outside and a server brings your food.
Clam chowder with crusty warm sourdough!
The best fish taco I’ve ever had! On the Alley is owned by Brophy Bros which is a longtime favorite seafood restaurant at the Marina. Brophy’s is upstairs of On the Alley.
Sitting at a table devouring my fish taco, I had to take a photo of the shop next door.
The other day, we visited friends in Ventura. They took us in their Duffy electric boat for a harbor cruise (where we saw the sea lions). We ended up at the second location of Brophy’s.
Here’s a view from their boat.
This is called the Ventura Keys, where people dock their boats in their backyards. The boat we cruised in was like the blue topped boats across the key.
This is Ventura’s Brophy Bros with On the Alley below.
On one of our last nights we met our longtime friends, along with their friends we met a few summers ago for dinner at this local beach cafe. The seating is outside next to the beach. I love the location and having dinner outside. It’s casual with salads, burger and fish and chips.
Vine-ripened tomatoes from Farmer Fred’s stand at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market.
I can’t believe the difference in the flavor of food on our vacation compared to our new home in Arizona. We visit two Farmer’s Markets each week. Farmer Fred, as we call him, is friends with our Santa Barbara friends. We’ve visited his stand for years. The first night in town, we were invited to a barbecue that included Fred and his family. His wife sliced his flavorful tomatoes and made caprese with buffalo mozzarella, balsamic and basil. The next weekend after visiting the Farmers Market, I came home with a bag of Farmer Fred’s tomatoes and made caprese for appetizers and lunches — but used mint instead of basil — since that’s what I could find.
The flavor of these tomatoes brought back childhood memories when fresh vegetables from gardens were a staple in Snohomish, Wash. — and probably still are. The grocery store veggies I normally buy are tasteless.
A few of our delicious tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella with mint and balsamic.
Then there’s the fruit. The fruit stand next to Farmer Fred’s is unbelievable. Our favorite pluot is called Dapper Dandy. The ladies who own the stand call out “Dapper Dandy, tastes like candy!” It is the last week for Dapper Dandies so we’ve stocked up — and yes, eating them like candy.
A yellow peach (amazingly delicious) with Dapper Dandies.
Clam chowder and a fish taco at the Santa Barbara Harbor.
Our daughter called us on our drive back from the harbor where we had lunch of fish tacos and chowder at On the Alley. We said we wished Brophy Bros, the signature restaurant in the harbor, that owns On the Alley — to open one in Arizona.
“It won’t work,” our daughter insisted. “First is the fish, fresh off the boat in the harbor.”
Unfortunately, she’s right. I won’t get that taste of freshly caught cod topped with locally grown avocado, pickled onions, queso fresco & salsa blanca in Arizona. It logistically isn’t possible. So I’m enjoying it while I’m here.
Lastly, we were so disappointed to discover that our breakfast burrito place in Beach LIquors had been “poofed.”
Look what happened to our breakfast burrito spot!
We tried several Mexican restaurants and found one that fit our tastebuds perfectly inside a liquor store called Kim’s. It’s close to the house we’re renting — and the food is delicious.
Al Pastor tacos at our new “spot” called Kim’s Liquor Store. In the back of the store is a kitchen with Beto the chef cooking burritos, tacos, platos and daily specials.
I can’t figure out why we don’t have any decent Mexican food by us in Arizona. I think it’s the area where we live and if we drove 45 minutes to an hour south we could find some, but I’m not willing. I’d rather drive to Mexico if I’m headed down that way!
What a difference fresh produce and fish makes for flavor and enjoyment of meals. I wonder if I can start a garden in my backyard? I haven’t gotten the hang of gardening after years of trying in the desert. Western Washington was ideal for growing everything — and we had fresh seafood, too.
What are your favorite fresh fruits and vegetables where you live? Are you able to grow them yourself? Or do you have farmers markets nearby? What about fresh seafood?
Fresh fruit at a farmer’s market in Santa Barbara.
We are leaving for vacation. I have my neighbor with new puppy Emma watching my house and a cat sitter for Olive, in case anyone wants to break in. With the stress of healthcare scares that I wrote about HERE, we’re headed to our VRBO for a few days before hopefully celebrating our first born’s wedding.
In addition to cooler weather (it was 110 today at our house) I’m looking forward to the Farmer’s Market in Santa Barbara.
There is one particular stand with plums, pluots, nectarines and peaches that I’ll visit. The fruit is unlike anything I’ve had in my life. Fresh, delicious, out of this world great. Unfortunately, my local farmer’s market doesn’t have fruit. The fruit in the grocery stores are hards as rocks. I miss the produce in California. That’s the one thing I’ll give the state. It has better produce than Arizona. Or at least I haven’t discovered where to shop.
Fish tacos at On the Alley at the Santa Barbara Marina.
After the Farmer’s Market, I hope to stop by the Marina for the best fish tacos I’ve had in my life! Seafood fresh off the boat is another treat I don’t get in Arizona.
Where’s you favorite place for vacation? Are you a beach or mountain person?
