Trip Report Wanda Woman Gets Geeky at Maker Faire - Page 2

Roo719 · 06-22-2009, 12:23 AM

Wanda! This is wicked-cool-snazzie-rad-buzzin! Thanks for sharing. I've never heard of this stuff, but methinks melikes!

peace,
Roo

HighLeveller · 06-22-2009, 02:56 AM

Very cool--thanks! I haven't heard of it before--and should definitely check it out next year. (One minor correction: 5 is to the west of Bakersfield.

)

Quote:

Originally Posted by yoyoflamingo

Amazing so far WW! I want a cupcake car....and a sundae like the boy wonder had!

Metoometoometoometoo -- they should be pedal powered and there should be a race! Everyone can sundaes afterward of course.

Duck44 · 06-22-2009, 11:17 AM

A+ Trip Report!! Lovin it and can't wait for more.

*SummerInFL* · 06-22-2009, 12:24 PM

Whoa, what an awesome TR! I can't wait to read more!

WheresMickey · 06-22-2009, 12:33 PM

Wow! What an intresting faire!

Ginarella · 06-22-2009, 02:35 PM

Great pics Wanda, I think I could play with that Lite Brite board for hours.

Fun report.

Wanda Woman · 06-22-2009, 03:15 PM

There were lots of vehicles at Maker Faire. You could take a ride on most of them, as long as you were willing to pedal.

This one had solar panels so you didn't have to pedal!

This one was the most bizarre.

The people watching at Maker Faire was spectacular. Goths, steampunks, and just generally fun and interesting folks, as well as some of the exhibitors.

This guy made Chinese noodles. He was like a magician. He'd take a long rope of dough, flip it up in the air, and suddenly be holding a hundred noodles. He was a true artist.

This guy rode on these little foot-sized skateboards. He did all kinds of jumps, flips, and tricks with them. He would kick one out ahead of him and glide along on one foot until he caught up to the other little skateboard and then take off again.

Men in kilts! Yeah, baby!

Girls on stilts!

Men in kilts on goat stilts!

Steampunks in kilts!

Weird Al Yankovic in a strange jacket.

A Golden Girl.

A Dapper Dan.

Mr. Fancy Pants.

Spiky do.

Hoop skirts without a skirt.

To finish our Maker Faire weekend, this Swamp Thing came out and walked around, accompanied by the guy on the accordion.

Bye, Swampy!

Coming up: the final installment. We begin our trip home and stop at the World Famous Casa de Fruta!

Duck44 · 06-22-2009, 03:35 PM

Wha.....this isn't a Friday night in Bakersfield?

Great report Wanda, its gets better and better.

**Dustysage** · 06-22-2009, 03:47 PM

Amazing! Love the pictures. Lego Fishy and Dusty. And all those people on stilts or in kilts (or both).

Wanda Woman · 06-23-2009, 05:10 PM

With Maker Faire weekend over, it was time to head home.

We had breakfast with the locals at Nini's Coffee Shop in San Mateo.

Nini's is located in a residential neighborhood and has no parking lot at all. We managed to find street parking, though (I don't know how the weekend crowd manages). Nini's is Old School.

They have a loverly garden patio.

A big menu.

And an old school cash register. No electronics here!

After a great breakfast, we hit the road and headed south. At Gilroy (mmmm, smell that garlic!), we turned east onto the Pacheco Pass to catch our next stop.

Casa de Fruta is much more than just a fruit stand on steroids.

There's lots to do here.

Perhaps you'd like some homemade fudge, novelty candies, or hand-dipped chocolates? Stop by Casa de Sweets.

Want something a little more grown up? How about Casa de Wine? With burritos!

The grounds are very pretty.

Magical, even.

There are some nice paintings of fruit and veggie crate labels.

This label was my favorite. I'd buy these pears.

There was even a Disney touch. It's Snow White and the Five Dwarfs. There's Happy, Noseless, Grumpy, Bashful, and Sneezy. Maybe Doc, Dopey, and Sleepy were at Casa de Wine.

There was Casa de Playground. The Boy Wonder liked the zip line.

Look! METAL playground equipment! Won't someone think of the children?

Oh, yes. We must do this.

We went to Casa de Choo Choo (no, really) to buy our tickets. It turns out you can get a train ride, carousel ride, and pan for gemstones (more on that in a bit) for the whopping total of $6! Casa de Fruta, will you marry me?

Casa de Carousel is from Venice. I assume they meant Italy, but I'll admit I did not ask.

It was refreshingly old-time, be-responsible-for-yourself-and-your-kids. No one came around to check to see if you and yours were belted in securely. The music started and you knew to sit down, hold on, and don't fall off or you'll hurt yourself.

Since it's a double-decker carousel, we opted to ride topside.

Looking down.

This was my view looking up. I turned the pic upside down so you could see it better.

The carousel operator is also the train engineer, so it was time to choo.

Again, there were no seat belts or ride op checks. Just a 'choo choo' and we were off.

The engineer gave great commentary during our one-mile loop.

The train engineer said Casa de Fruta has 'one of the largest collections of antique agricultural equipment anywhere'.

I called it a really long line of rusty old farm crap, but to each his own.

We went through The Haunted Tunnel. We could tell it was haunted because the engineer made spooky sounds when we were in it! Woooooooooooooo.

The ride went through a farm-type area in the back where we saw long-horn steer, buffalo, and a white peacock. I don't think I've ever seen a white peacock before. There were regular peacocks, too. They were noisy!

Our train went around a pretty lake near Casa de RV Park and then back to Casa de Choo Choo.

We explored a bit more of the train exhibits.

This must be where the bad engineers have to go.

It was time to finish our trifecta of fun with Casa de Sluice.

There was a water trough with wire baskets with wooden handles. You poured your bag of sand into the basket and panned for gemstones.

The Boy Wonder's haul.

We had lunch at Casa de Coffee Shop (it was surprisingly good; just about everything is made in-house and the pie was divine), took a quick tour through the actual Casa de Fruta (the Boy Wonder was bored to tears), and then headed out for the drive home.

We had a great long Maker Faire weekend and enjoyed our drives to and from there as well.

Thanks for all the very nice comments, all!

Wanda Woman

**Dustysage** · 06-23-2009, 05:25 PM

OMG, AWESOME trip report. I've got to visit Casa de Fruta!

Quote:

There was even a Disney touch. It's Snow White and the Five Dwarfs. There's Happy, Noseless, Grumpy, Bashful, and Sneezy. Maybe Doc, Dopey, and Sleepy were at Casa de Wine.

aashee · 06-23-2009, 05:27 PM

What a great report. Neat looking area and wonderful, funny comments. A+ Wanda!

Stitchy · 06-23-2009, 05:51 PM

Dude. Case de Fruta looks like a place my parents would have dragged me when I was little. In fact, I think I went to it's cousins on the East coast.

Great pictures, though....and it looks like you had a great time! Boy wonder's a cutie! Takes after his mom!

pratt55 · 06-23-2009, 06:12 PM

Wanda, boy wonder is lucky to have you. I want to go the Maker Faire and see all the cool gadgets and unique personalites and a stop off to Casa de Fruta sounds like a little slice of heaven.

Fantastic report!

EvilQueenRocks · 06-23-2009, 06:18 PM

Looks like a really fun and unique experience! Looks like your son was really enjoying himself. Thanks or sharing!

06-22-2009, 12:23 AM	#16
Roo719 Deeply amused by it all. Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Grizzly bear, extraordinaire! Posts: 3,334	Re: Wanda Woman Gets Geeky at Maker Faire Wanda! This is wicked-cool-snazzie-rad-buzzin! Thanks for sharing. I've never heard of this stuff, but methinks melikes! peace, Roo __________________ husband, petowner, wordsmith, imagineer, martialist, playwright, traveller, ardent, wit, critic, barista, Taoist, superhero, fortuneteller, reader, fidget, teacher, dreamer, author, blogger, ghosthunter, voter, patient, bear, gourmand, soon-to-be Floridian, friend

06-22-2009, 12:24 PM	#19
SummerInFL La! La! La! MiceChat Teen Scene Leader MiceChat Moderator Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: The underworld. Posts: 17,281	Re: Wanda Woman Gets Geeky at Maker Faire Whoa, what an awesome TR! I can't wait to read more! __________________ I love to take photos. Take a walk with me? SummerinFL - Webshots

06-22-2009, 12:33 PM	#20
WheresMickey Looking for Hidden Mickey Join Date: May 2008 Location: 626 SGV Posts: 3,536	Re: Wanda Woman Gets Geeky at Maker Faire Wow! What an intresting faire! __________________ Check out my page at www.myspace.com/wheresmickey Check out my pin collection at www.pinpics.com. User name is WheresMickey

06-22-2009, 02:35 PM	#21
Ginarella Take me with U Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 23,198	Re: Wanda Woman Gets Geeky at Maker Faire Great pics Wanda, I think I could play with that Lite Brite board for hours. Fun report.

06-22-2009, 03:15 PM	#22
Wanda Woman Super Hero Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 3,905	Re: Wanda Woman Gets Geeky at Maker Faire There were lots of vehicles at Maker Faire. You could take a ride on most of them, as long as you were willing to pedal. This one had solar panels so you didn't have to pedal! This one was the most bizarre. The people watching at Maker Faire was spectacular. Goths, steampunks, and just generally fun and interesting folks, as well as some of the exhibitors. This guy made Chinese noodles. He was like a magician. He'd take a long rope of dough, flip it up in the air, and suddenly be holding a hundred noodles. He was a true artist. This guy rode on these little foot-sized skateboards. He did all kinds of jumps, flips, and tricks with them. He would kick one out ahead of him and glide along on one foot until he caught up to the other little skateboard and then take off again. Men in kilts! Yeah, baby! Girls on stilts! Men in kilts on goat stilts! Steampunks in kilts! Weird Al Yankovic in a strange jacket. A Golden Girl. A Dapper Dan. Mr. Fancy Pants. Spiky do. Hoop skirts without a skirt. To finish our Maker Faire weekend, this Swamp Thing came out and walked around, accompanied by the guy on the accordion. Bye, Swampy! Coming up: the final installment. We begin our trip home and stop at the World Famous Casa de Fruta!

06-22-2009, 03:47 PM	#24
Dustysage From The Black Lagoon MiceChat Administrator Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Temple of the Forbidden Eye Posts: 10,404 Blog Entries: 1	Re: Wanda Woman Gets Geeky at Maker Faire Amazing! Love the pictures. Lego Fishy and Dusty. And all those people on stilts or in kilts (or both). __________________ Dont Miss An Important News Story: Follow MiceChat on Twitter How do you support MiceChat? Join MiceChat GOLD! Shop from our Amazon links & Wear MiceChat logo items from CafePress

06-23-2009, 05:10 PM	#25
Wanda Woman Super Hero Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 3,905	Re: Wanda Woman Gets Geeky at Maker Faire With Maker Faire weekend over, it was time to head home. We had breakfast with the locals at Nini's Coffee Shop in San Mateo. Nini's is located in a residential neighborhood and has no parking lot at all. We managed to find street parking, though (I don't know how the weekend crowd manages). Nini's is Old School. They have a loverly garden patio. A big menu. And an old school cash register. No electronics here! After a great breakfast, we hit the road and headed south. At Gilroy (mmmm, smell that garlic!), we turned east onto the Pacheco Pass to catch our next stop. Casa de Fruta is much more than just a fruit stand on steroids. There's lots to do here. Perhaps you'd like some homemade fudge, novelty candies, or hand-dipped chocolates? Stop by Casa de Sweets. Want something a little more grown up? How about Casa de Wine? With burritos! The grounds are very pretty. Magical, even. There are some nice paintings of fruit and veggie crate labels. This label was my favorite. I'd buy these pears. There was even a Disney touch. It's Snow White and the Five Dwarfs. There's Happy, Noseless, Grumpy, Bashful, and Sneezy. Maybe Doc, Dopey, and Sleepy were at Casa de Wine. There was Casa de Playground. The Boy Wonder liked the zip line. Look! METAL playground equipment! Won't someone think of the children? Oh, yes. We must do this. We went to Casa de Choo Choo (no, really) to buy our tickets. It turns out you can get a train ride, carousel ride, and pan for gemstones (more on that in a bit) for the whopping total of $6! Casa de Fruta, will you marry me? Casa de Carousel is from Venice. I assume they meant Italy, but I'll admit I did not ask. It was refreshingly old-time, be-responsible-for-yourself-and-your-kids. No one came around to check to see if you and yours were belted in securely. The music started and you knew to sit down, hold on, and don't fall off or you'll hurt yourself. Since it's a double-decker carousel, we opted to ride topside. Looking down. This was my view looking up. I turned the pic upside down so you could see it better. The carousel operator is also the train engineer, so it was time to choo. Again, there were no seat belts or ride op checks. Just a 'choo choo' and we were off. The engineer gave great commentary during our one-mile loop. The train engineer said Casa de Fruta has 'one of the largest collections of antique agricultural equipment anywhere'. I called it a really long line of rusty old farm crap, but to each his own. We went through The Haunted Tunnel. We could tell it was haunted because the engineer made spooky sounds when we were in it! Woooooooooooooo. The ride went through a farm-type area in the back where we saw long-horn steer, buffalo, and a white peacock. I don't think I've ever seen a white peacock before. There were regular peacocks, too. They were noisy! Our train went around a pretty lake near Casa de RV Park and then back to Casa de Choo Choo. We explored a bit more of the train exhibits. This must be where the bad engineers have to go. It was time to finish our trifecta of fun with Casa de Sluice. There was a water trough with wire baskets with wooden handles. You poured your bag of sand into the basket and panned for gemstones. The Boy Wonder's haul. We had lunch at Casa de Coffee Shop (it was surprisingly good; just about everything is made in-house and the pie was divine), took a quick tour through the actual Casa de Fruta (the Boy Wonder was bored to tears), and then headed out for the drive home. We had a great long Maker Faire weekend and enjoyed our drives to and from there as well. Thanks for all the very nice comments, all! Wanda Woman Last edited by Wanda Woman; 06-25-2009 at 01:33 PM.

06-23-2009, 05:27 PM	#27
aashee Chillin' with AshfordT Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Corona Posts: 49,367	Re: Wanda Woman Gets Geeky at Maker Faire What a great report. Neat looking area and wonderful, funny comments. A+ Wanda!

06-23-2009, 05:51 PM	#28
Stitchy Laaaaaaaambert Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Hotel California Posts: 13,551	Re: Wanda Woman Gets Geeky at Maker Faire Dude. Case de Fruta looks like a place my parents would have dragged me when I was little. In fact, I think I went to it's cousins on the East coast. Great pictures, though....and it looks like you had a great time! Boy wonder's a cutie! Takes after his mom! __________________

06-23-2009, 06:12 PM	#29
pratt55 Official MC Bouncer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: too lazy to click from place to place Posts: 7,674 Blog Entries: 7	Re: Wanda Woman Gets Geeky at Maker Faire Wanda, boy wonder is lucky to have you. I want to go the Maker Faire and see all the cool gadgets and unique personalites and a stop off to Casa de Fruta sounds like a little slice of heaven. Fantastic report! __________________ Be a good MC'er by reading and following the rules: http://micechat.com/forums/faq.php?faq=mcrr

06-23-2009, 06:18 PM	#30
EvilQueenRocks Yes? Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 8,020	Re: Wanda Woman Gets Geeky at Maker Faire Looks like a really fun and unique experience! Looks like your son was really enjoying himself. Thanks or sharing!

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