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Road Trip

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Sign in Fillmore Historical Society’s Museum

Sign in Fillmore Historical Society’s Museum

State Highway 126 runs roughly from Six Flags Magic Mountain in Santa Clarita to the Pacific Ocean around Ventura. During much of its length, it is prime agricultural country and contains miles of fruit orchards, especially in the old Spanish Sespe Rancho.

Ostensibly, we went to take the Fillmore & Western Railroad from Fillmore to Bennett’s Honey Farm in nearby Piru. There I sampled several types of honey and bought a big 3-pound jar of their Topanga Quality Wildflower honey, my favorite. Today was the 5th Annual California Honey Harvest Festival and BBQ Championship. We didn’t try any of the barbecue, mostly because neither Martine nor I really care for barbecued meat—too much sugar! Instead we ate at a little Mexican Restaurant called La Fondita on Central.

The train ride to the honey farm took half an hour in each direction. The train ran forward to get there, and backed up all 6-7 miles to return to the station.

While in Fillmore, we visited the Fillmore Historical Museum, where we saw the amusing sign above and had an interesting discussion with some of the volunteers. Then, on the way back home, we stopped at the Cornejo Produce Stand just outside of Fillmore for some really delicious looking apricots and strawberries.

It was a fun road trip and gave me ideas for several more in the area. Keep tuned to this space for further details.

Short Line

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Our Train Pulling Up to the Gate

Our Train Pulling Up to the Gate

In Ventura County’s Santa Clara River Valley, there is a railroad line that runs roughly between Piru and Santa Paula, with Fillmore as its base. Most trains run on Saturdays and some Sundays, with most trains running from Fillmore to Santa Paula, stopping for sufficient time for passengers to see the Santa Paula Agricultural Museum or the California Oil Museum. On the way back, there is a stop at the Loose Caboose, where one can buy locally grown fruit, olives, and honey as well as see cockatiels, parakeets, peacocks, koi, and goats.

We got an acceptable lunch on the Powhatan Dining Car on the train, and sat back as we rolled past hundreds of fruit orchards. (Santa Paula considers itself the citrus capital of the United States.)

The Fillmore & Western Railway is essentially a fun enterprise. If you’re expecting 100% authenticity or haute luxury, you will be disappointed. Your four-hour journey will be restful and low-key. Many of our fellow passengers seemed to be retired farmers, who had interesting things to say about the farmland through which we passed.

Fillmore and Santa Paula are only about a dozen miles apart, but Martine and I had a good time and would consider coming back.