Take A Trip With Me To Cannabis California

Reason To Venture

Thank you for joining me today as I recap my small adventure for the weekend. As I touched briefly on my intro post, the bay area offers a huge selection of trips that can be made with just a small handful of hours of free time. If you want some beach time mixed in with a little street shopping, you can venture a couple hours south to Carmel or Monterrey. If surfing is what you fancy, a short trip north along the Pacific Coast highway will land you in Pacifica. The home of the insanely popular Mavericks surfing event. We're talking 20 foot waves here folks. Not to mention, one damn good lobster roll. Of course, if you want away from water, and closer to the wine (ha, ya see what I did there)...take a simple 150 mile trip northeast to Napa or Sonoma. It is a common misconception that Napa is the sole provide of wine in California. In fact, Napa only makes up about 4% of all wine distributed throughout California. Don't get me wrong, it is a wonderful town to visit, and you should definitely check it out. But, I tend to favor Sonoma simply because it is less touristy. If you enjoy wine and learning how it is made, you can't really go wrong with either place. Just make sure and have a d.d. You will get drunk. Trust me.

Okay, so back to the reason I decided to venture out of the house today in the first place, despite a plethora of college football and MLB playoff games on during the day. My good friend, Bruce is sharing a home with some people in the Santa Cruz mountains. He recently moved there and after he got settled in, he invited me to come check out his crib. I gotta say, wow the house is just...wow. It is nestled deep into the mountains, about 30 min off of the highway. A small disclaimer if you haven't figured it out yet, this house is situated on a cannabis farm If you guys aren't privy, California has an enormous future in the cannabis industry. The city of Santa Cruz, along with the area in northern California known as the "Emerald Triangle, is world renown for its cannabis. Some people will even argue to no end that California is the number one place in the world when it comes to cannabis production; placing an emphasis on the quality/strength of the buds. I could go on about cannabis in California, but I should probably save the detailed info for a future post.

The moment you see the farm from the road, the amazing aroma of fresh cannabis hits you in the face like a brick. I must say, the smell of fresh cannabis plants may be the closest proof that happiness isn't found in money, but found in nature. Even better, found in things that are NOT man made and found in places that seem surreal to the average person. Okay, that last statement got a little deep. Ha! Before I continue, here take a look at the crop...

Bruce's roommate is the guy who owns the home and is the genius behind the grow. The guy actually has over two decades of experience in wine making. He worked as a consultant for wineries all over the northern California wine region. When he got older, he developed some health issues that hindered his ability to walk pain free. Unfortunately, it also hindered his ability to continue traveling for his wine consulting business. He started using cannabis as a pain treatment and decided to put his knowledge in harvesting to good use. Fast forward a few years and know we have a grow of just under 100 plants. Below are some more pictures of his grow. Take a look.

The above two strains you are looking at are 9lb Hammer, a heavy indica. Legend has it that the name, 9lb Hammer, was given to the plant because you felt like you were hit with a nine pound hammer once it was smoked. An indica is a type of cannabis strain that is intended to relax the body; which in turn aids in sleep and muscle pain. The other strain you see is Blue Dream, a fairly common sativa strain. A sativa strain is intended to stimulate the senses and allow for active, creative thinking. I will certainly get into more detail with cannabis and the type of strains, medibles (medicated edibles), and various types of cannabis concentrates that are so popular these days in other posts. I don't want to bog you down with the semantics at this time.

You may have guessed by now that I am an avid cannabis user. I like to think of myself as connoisseur on the matter. Haha, oh man, what a d-bag thing to say. No, it's nothing like that. I just really feel that cannabis is a great alternative to some medicines and recreational substances on the market. I am sure not all of you feel the same way as I do. And, I am not here to change your mind on the matter. To each his own, I say. For those of you who do have interest in the subject, or who share my sentiments, then let me tell you...these strains were outstanding. Or as the canna youngsters put it: "that shit is fire, yo!"

Speaking Of Fire, Yo

There was an unfortunate side to this trip as well. After I was showed around the house and the crops, I was treated to some of the herb that Bruce's roommate had grown. We set out to take a look at what was left over from the Loma Prieta fire. You see, the farm is located less than a mile away from the wildfire that ravaged over 4,400 acres of mountain side in Santa Cruz county just last week. The fire is now 95% contained, but at the peak of the fire, flames were merely feet away from the farm. The pictures below are from the day of the fire...In order of appearance: a little after the fire started (Looks like a nuclear explosion, does it not?! The red dot is where the farm is.), hosing down the house, the closest the fire was to the farm

When we ventured on up the mountain, you can see we were approaching the fire line that was established by the firefighters. The picture below is the first one I took from the road. It was the first time I have ever seen the devastation a wildfire has caused up close and in person.

I will admit, after seeing that site, I was excited to see what lied ahead. Little did I know that when we arrived within feet of the burned area, the excitement would quickly dissipate. When we were right upon the burn zone, there was no excitement. No, "oh shit, how cool?!" No, none of that. Only thing in the air was a sense of dread and the smell of burnt wood. I snapped a few images that in a word are haunting. Standing there, I could feel the absence of life. There were no bugs, no birds, no breath of life...only eerie silence. The silence spoke so loud it was deafening. Scorched earth was all that remained.

A Thank You To The Brave Firefighters & First Responders'

If there was any goodness to take away from the wildfire it was this...the brave men and women who put their life on the line for us, deserve nothing but sheer gratitude and love. The residents of Loma Prieta/Santa Cruz most certainly agree with me.

A View From Above

I thank you for taking the small trip up to the Santa Cruz mountains with me today. While I observed beauty, peace, and tranquility up on that mountain side, I did not come back before witnessing the hell that was unleashed on our mother earth.