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.

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.