The parched brown empty field you see before you once was, for decades, Green & Fresh Christmas Tree Farm. Many Decembers in the late '90's and early '00's we would bring our kids and roam the long green rows of trees and pick one out for our living room. Kids would play "Marco Polo" among the boughs. Speakers were mounted all around, and the sound of old Christmas tunes wafting over the greenery made it feel like it was 1950.
The couple who ran the place were very friendly, and had a big old dog who was the place's mascot. They employed a bunch of local teens to cut the trees, wrap them in plastic mesh and mount them on your car. Every December it was quite the festive scene, with free popcorn, lemonade and coffee. The owners announced in 2005 that it would be the farm's last year. They were getting up in years, they said, it was a lot of work, and Edison, which owns the land and the high voltage power lines, was getting difficult to deal with.
When I pass by, which I do often, I remember the dark symmetrical lines of trees and the cries of my kids, one of whom is already heading off to college.
"Marco!" "Polo!" "Marco!" "Polo!"
I can almost hear Bing Crosby too.
Log only. BYOP. Stealth, please. It's a very visible location.
Wheelchair accessible as long as you can handle dirt and gravel.
As with so many sweet memories, only the t-shirt remains.
Congrats to lmbhiking for FTF!