Pickin’ Blueberries

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There are only so many times you can drive past a place and say, “We should go there sometime!” before you feel like an apathetic troglodyte. So we finally did it. On a recent Sunday, my family zipped up the 101 to the U-Pick blueberry farm. Halfway between Buellton and the Gaviota tunnel, the roadside stand welcomes antioxidant-craving motorists with flapping purple flags and 20 acres of indigo-tinged fields. Visitors take small, galvanized pails and wander down a dirt road past penned goats and hillside cattle to rows upon rows of bountiful blueberry bushes. The farm, part of Restoration Oaks Ranch (1980 Hwy. 101, Gaviota; 689-9014; restorationoaksranch.com), grows 14 varieties of blueberries with names like Jewel, Star, and Misty. The plump little sugarballs are easily found and plucked. Admire the exquisite hues—creamy white, pale green, shell pink, and lavender—but cobalt is sweetest. No pesticides means you can pop a few in your mouth right off the bush to see which variety you like best. A full 36-ounce pail runs $15. Pick fewer and the price is negotiable. You can buy the berries already packaged … but why?

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