Marsha Ingrao – Always Write

If an advertising firm hired you to design the ultimate barn, what would it look like, where would it be, and what would it have inside?   Old wooden barns dotted the highways in Indiana, or pieces of them left standing in the middle of fields, and we teased my grandfather who was always looking for a new place to house his business besides his garage.  “A new shop for Grandpa” had to be totally dilapidated, the worse it looked the funnier we kids thought it was.  Amazing how little it took to entertain us when we were young!

Avila Valley Barn is anything but dilapidated, and is a thriving business that Grandpa would have been proud to own.  This barn is deceivingly large, and is one of the largest fruit and vegetable stands you are likely to find in the Central Coast of California.

Nestled among the canyons on the windy three-mile road down to Avila Beach, this thriving fruit stand/ boutique, rural amusement park/ working farm/ beckons travelers of all ages.

Actually there were three barns in the complex.

It was easy to spend an hour or two just looking at the people enjoying the many activities.  WARNING!!!  Don’t eat before you go to the barn!  This woman and her schnauzer want an ice cream cone.

You will want to take young children if you have any.  If not, borrow some.  You’ll see why in tomorrow’s post.  My favorite experience at Avila Valley Barn is eating corn on the cob on a stick.  It is barbecued, fresh-picked, juicy, sweet, and totally messy even on a stick.

Inside the barn you can buy anything but meat, well maybe jerky, but you can find anything else here.

Everyone browsed intently and with serious intentions, and the checkout line never ended!

And if you have nothing to serve your fancy fruits, vegetables, jams and sauces, then you can buy specialty table ware and accessories.

After you gorged yourself on corn and fresh fruits and vegetables, then choose from an assortment of fresh bakery items.  At the back of the story amid all the cute decorative items was a window through which you could watch these friendly bakers.

They didn’t even mind posing for a second to pose for a picture or two as they bustled around filling orders, and stocking displays.

They were still baking at 4:00 in the afternoon, and putting out fresh items or taking specific orders.

 

 

Next to the baked section, fresh fruit and flowers tempted customers and photographers.

By the way, these shots look great as a Facebook cover.

Strawberries, blackberries and raspberries tempted me.  Outside people enjoy the fruits of their shopping, or just enjoy the rural life in the beautiful setting where the temperature is near 75 most of the time.

Tomorrow I’ll take you on the guided tour outside the barn.  You all come back!