Another, another day at the ball park

It was simply another beautiful day at the ball park. We had to be there at 6:55 am for the kids to warm up. It was the first day of daylight savings time so it was dark when we left home. It took about 30 minutes to make the drive to Riverside where the Arlington Sports Park is located. At that hour, there was no traffic and the sun was coming up when we pulled into the parking lot. The sky was tinged with pink clouds. It was 53 degrees and so we had jackets and blankets but by the time this picture was taken, everyone had shed the jackets and the blankets were neatly folded over the bleacher seats. 

The air was filled with the scent of orange blossoms. The Arlington Sports Park is a block down from the California Citrus State Historic Park and one of the few areas in Riverside to still have orange groves.

The mountains in the background are part of the San Gabriel Range and run all the way to Big Bear. The very tall palm trees are more than 100 years old and were used for road markers in the late 1800's. How do I know that? I was a volunteer at the California Citrus State Park for several years and I know a lot about the history of oranges and Riverside, California.

Gary and Niles after the double header. When we left it was very windy and a balmy 80 degrees. March weather can be iffy. If we have hard frost they are usually in March which makes it hard to start seeds for the garden. It the weather holds, I will get my seedlings planted. In the meantime, we will take what we can and enjoy our mornings at the ballpark.

X is for Xenagogue and Xanthocarpous

This is a stretch but I have enjoyed being your California Xenagogue, which just happens to be a noun and means guide. 
 
I thought I might write about Xanthocarpous which means to have yellow fruit. One of the best places to find yellow fruit is at the California Citrus State Historic Park in Riverside, California.  It will someday be the last orange grove in Southern California. The citrus industry that made Riverside the highest per capita industry in the early 1900's is dwindling with the cost of water and the extreme building of homes and businesses.

The State of California has mandated that California Citrus be a working grove. There are many acres of citrus trees and a varietal grove with specialties. One of them is the fingered citron, a yellow fruit and the origin of all citrus species. There is no juice in the fingered citron (or Buddha's Hand). It is where the spice Citron comes from.

I know a lot about this state park as my husband and I were docents there for three years.This is the visitor's center. There are some fun interactive displays.

 This is the corner of Dufferin and Van Buren in Riverside, California where the park is located. The orange stand used to be a familiar sight when traveling. People would stop to get refreshing drinks. They disappeared when air-conditioning was added to car and people were just not as parched.

 A lot of people get married in this gazebo. The setting is perfect and romantic.

Other views of the park. It is made to look like it would have in 1900 so while there are no play structures for the kids, they have hills to climb and lots of space to run and play. We have had Easter Egg hunts here and there are concerts in the park. Visitors can walk through the varietal grove and see examples of different kinds of citrus. School tours are many and the kids love the tasting session.

We love this park and spend as much time there as we can.

Orange Empire Railway Museum

The Orange Empire Railway Museum is a place we have been visiting for more than 30 years. It's an easy day trip for us since it's ten miles away.

Planning our trip to the Mission Inn

It is time for our annual pilgrimage to the Mission Inn. The lights are lit and it is always magical with the lights, music and people. We have promised the boy ice skating for three years now so we'll see. Riverside is so close that this is a really fun event. Check out their website for more information.

Really nice write up on my California Citrus lens today

What a surprise to find that my California Citrus page on Squidoo is considered a lensmaking tip. I was not the one to find it, another squidooer found it and posted it on FaceBook. It is quite an honor.

Completely California is just that

These are the many articles I have written on line that deal only with California. The list continues to grow because I have been in California all of my life and there are very few places I have not visited, although I must admit that I have never been to Death Valley. It's hot there.