Traffic was fairly light this morning. We didn't have any trouble finding the market place. There are several large buildings with stalls, plus the entire parking lot was lined with large numbered spaces for those who wanted to sell their own wares. They even had an art studio in the complex. We wondered what these folks were looking up at.
There were a number of unusual stalls like the bicycle sale and repair shop and the barber shop. However, most of the shops sold clothing, shoes and sundries.
Food was everywhere! The food court was decorated in red with lots of hearts and flowers. We took this opportunity to try as many Mexican dishes as possible. We ordered a couple of tacos, a quesadilla, a gordita and a tostada. We tried some with beef and some with chicken, but all were made on different types of corn tortilla. There were each delicious. Armand from Providencetown, Cape Cod told us to make sure we try Arepas - corn pancakes filled with queso cheese. Since we already had lunch, we just ordered one. It was very tasty. Here were are eagerly awaiting our lunch time feast.
After lunch, we took a leisurely stroll around the flea market area. You can get just about anything you could want from musical instruments to golf clubs. You can even sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Check out the "Obamacare" info van.
The highlight, of course, is the actual farmers market. With its tropical climate, many tropical fruit crops are grown in Redland that cannot be grown commercially anywhere else, such as mango, avocado, guava, passion fruit, lychee, jack fruit, canistel, sapodilla, longan, mamey sapote, black sapote ("chocolate pudding fruit"), miracle fruit, jaboticaba, cecropia ("snake fingers") and coffee beans. We did look for Florida coffee beans, but couldn't find any at the market, but they had just about every other kinds of fruit or vegetable you could imagine.
After walking all the aisles both inside and out, it was time to bike back to camp. We followed the same route back, but we had been so intent on our goal when we originally cycled to the farmers market that we hadn't noticed that one of the farms we passed was actually a fish farm. Pay a fee and you can catch your own tilapia for dinner!
On our way, we also passed the Knaus Berry Farm. There was a huge line outside. We thought, since it was Saturday and Valentines Day that there was some type of strawberry festival and all these folks were just waiting to get in. However, as we came back, it looked like the line hadn't even moved. We asked a couple ladies heading back across the street carrying large flat boxes what the line was for. They responded in unison with excitement - CINNAMON ROLLS!!! Seriously, hundreds of people lined up just to buy cinnamon rolls. As we stood there in disbelief, a car pulled out to turn onto the street and asked Kathy for directions to Route 1. After confirming that he was heading in the correct direction, we asked if he also waited in that line, and if it was worth the wait. He gave an emphatic YES and actually offered us one of these precious rolls. We thanked him profusely and proceeded to explore the buttery, salty, cinnamon sweetness of the freshest warmest cinnamon roll we have ever tasted. Forget those over-sugary treats that Cinnabon sells. Knaus Berry Farm has it all over them. Still warm from the oven, the ooey-gooeyness coated our finger tips and danced happily on our tastebuds. It came as close to orgasmic as a cinnamon roll (or any food for that matter) can.
We noticed this "hysterical" marker just past the bakery and berry farm. Redland Farmlife School was formed from the consolidation of seven small neighborhood schools. Redland was dedicated by Governor Cats on July 4, 1916. There were separate teachers for each of the eight grades and a small high school and agriculture school. Ninety-eight percent of the students were bused to school. The buses consisted of a slatted, roofed “cattle car” type of trailer with seats for 85 children hauled by a separate tractor. A senior high boy was responsible for keeping order on the bus and seeing that the children crossed the road safely. A teacher was required to live at the end of each bus line and usually drove his own bus.
We enjoyed biking through the Redland Agricultural Zone. Now, we've stayed in farm country before. But what is so unique about this area is that most of the products grown here don't stay here. We passed acre after acre of trees, bushes and plants all being grown in pots. These guys will probably end up in a Home Depot or Lowes sometime this spring.
Some pots are larger than others.
Some of the trees are so big, you need a special crane and truck to transplant them.
Just before getting back to camp, we made a quick stop at the Castellow Hammock Nature Center. We picked up a trail guide but decided to come back another day for a hike around the park. We didn't feel we had the time to enjoy it before we had to change for the big dinner-dance.
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