What) The giant artichoke of Castroville bulges into the parking lot of a fruit stand and restaurant shopping strip. Like an immense, leafy, alien head, it seems to grin westward towards the Pacific Ocean and the world's less bountiful regions. Don't just stop for the photo op. The adjacent Giant Artichoke Restaurant makes fine dishes out of this unsung hero of the garden. Castroville holds an annual two-day Artichoke Festival. Marilyn Monroe was the first artichoke beauty pageant queen, crowned in 1948. (1)

    Where) 11261 Merritt Street    Next to Highway 156 and Main Street         1- 831-633-3501

    Why) This Buckys is mildly appealing to me on many levels but it is also right on the way so how could we not stop in.




























That's me in front of the artichoke.  Shortly afterwards, we went inside for a small bag of the real thing.








That's a cut-out of Marilyn from a display in the Rabobank farming museum in Salinas, California. It was the best I could do. (2)