Summers are so beautiful in the Bay Area! It's been a breezy day, mid-80's; the kind of day it's not too hot, not too cool. Perfect.
Day 2 has been busy. Back on the road again...we left Fresno, headed north up Hwy 99 and arrived at the Hilmar Cheese Factory just in time for the 11:00 am tour. The factory is located in the tiny town of Hilmar (population 8,000) which sits pretty much in the middle of nowhere - although they like to say they are located "within 100 miles of anywhere" (Pacific beaches to Sierra Nevadas and Bay Area cities).
Their factory is huge and the grounds are beautiful!
After we finished our ice cream, we browsed a large museum-type room with several interactive displays designed to explain the cheese-making process. Some weren't working (like the display to feel the pulsing of the milking machines) and most were fairly primitive in design, but they were fun for Trevor to experiment with. He put on the factory workers clothes
and learned several interesting facts from this display table. 
For instance, did you know cows actually have magnets surgically implanted in them? Metal can damage a cow's stomach so the magnet acts to attract any metal digested by the cow. Keeps it in one, neat place so it doesn't cause any trouble. Amazing, huh? They're even called, "cow magnets". Makes you wonder why they'd even need such a thing...how does a cow end up with metal in their food supply anyway? Hmmm...a google quest for another day...
All in all, the Hilmar visit was totally worth the 10 minute detour off Hwy 99. I was a little disappointed that we couldn't go into their actual factory (USDA laws), but large windows allowed great views:
Our unexpected treat today (like the giant sprinklers in Fresno yesterday) was being able to get up close and personal with the massive corn field across the street!
Next stop: Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael.
We were "guided" all around the campus by a wonderful woman who acts as a "foster parent" to dogs who suffer from "kennel stress" and need a couple of days, or maybe a few hours a day for a couple of weeks, or maybe more time, away from their kennels. She takes them home and plays with them for as long as they need then they return to "work".
The only other people on our tour were a couple from Hungary who have been saving for 10 years to visit the United States. They are in our country only 16 days and have added a visit to the Guide Dogs campus as one of their stops! They were in New York for 3 days, San Francisco for 3 days, Las Vegas for 2 and will spend 5 days in LA/San Diego before flying home.
We were able to see several of the trainers at work
And one of the soon-to-be-"partners" as they are called
(what's not to love here?)
Hilmar Cheese Factory
Day 2 has been busy. Back on the road again...we left Fresno, headed north up Hwy 99 and arrived at the Hilmar Cheese Factory just in time for the 11:00 am tour. The factory is located in the tiny town of Hilmar (population 8,000) which sits pretty much in the middle of nowhere - although they like to say they are located "within 100 miles of anywhere" (Pacific beaches to Sierra Nevadas and Bay Area cities).
Interesting facts:
- The Hilmar Cheese Co. produces more cheese from a single site than anywhere else in the world.
- The only place to buy cheese with a Hilmar label is from their factory. All other Hilmar cheese you buy has been labeled with other companies own labels.
Their factory is huge and the grounds are beautiful!
The tour was informative, with an explanation of the cheese-making process shown on video screens above a large display that spanned 4 viewing windows. Each part of the process from milking the cows to packaging the cheese was illuminated in the display as the video explained it.
The video was about 15-20 minutes long, then we were led upstairs for... a "Make-your-own-ice-cream" demo, which of course, was Trevor's favorite part.
As much as we enjoyed the "making" part...the "eating" part was even better!
The video was about 15-20 minutes long, then we were led upstairs for... a "Make-your-own-ice-cream" demo, which of course, was Trevor's favorite part.
As much as we enjoyed the "making" part...the "eating" part was even better!
After we finished our ice cream, we browsed a large museum-type room with several interactive displays designed to explain the cheese-making process. Some weren't working (like the display to feel the pulsing of the milking machines) and most were fairly primitive in design, but they were fun for Trevor to experiment with. He put on the factory workers clothes
and learned several interesting facts from this display table. 
For instance, did you know cows actually have magnets surgically implanted in them? Metal can damage a cow's stomach so the magnet acts to attract any metal digested by the cow. Keeps it in one, neat place so it doesn't cause any trouble. Amazing, huh? They're even called, "cow magnets". Makes you wonder why they'd even need such a thing...how does a cow end up with metal in their food supply anyway? Hmmm...a google quest for another day...All in all, the Hilmar visit was totally worth the 10 minute detour off Hwy 99. I was a little disappointed that we couldn't go into their actual factory (USDA laws), but large windows allowed great views:
Our unexpected treat today (like the giant sprinklers in Fresno yesterday) was being able to get up close and personal with the massive corn field across the street!
Next stop: Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael.
Guide Dogs for the Blind
Wow, what an awesome place this is. The "campus" was built in 1942 to serve veterans blinded after WWII, but today they serve thousands of people throughout the US and Canada.
We were "guided" all around the campus by a wonderful woman who acts as a "foster parent" to dogs who suffer from "kennel stress" and need a couple of days, or maybe a few hours a day for a couple of weeks, or maybe more time, away from their kennels. She takes them home and plays with them for as long as they need then they return to "work".This is her leading our group.
The only other people on our tour were a couple from Hungary who have been saving for 10 years to visit the United States. They are in our country only 16 days and have added a visit to the Guide Dogs campus as one of their stops! They were in New York for 3 days, San Francisco for 3 days, Las Vegas for 2 and will spend 5 days in LA/San Diego before flying home.The campus grounds are gorgeous
We were able to see several of the trainers at work
And one of the soon-to-be-"partners" as they are called(what's not to love here?)
Soooooo many interesting facts about this organization:
- They used to use German Shepherds a lot but found they would become attached to one person a little too much. Now they breed Golden Retrievers with Labs because not only do those breeds just tend to like everyone, but the two breeds, when bred together, bring the best of personality and intelligence together in one dog.
- Puppy Raisers are used for the first 14-18 mos, then the dogs are returned to campus for their 4-month Guide Dog training. Only about 50% of those entering training will actually become guide dogs. Those who do not are given a "career change". Some other careers would be in the fields of law enforcement, search and rescue, drug detection, etc!
- The blind "partner" must be at last 16 yrs old. and come to campus and live for 30 days getting to know their dog. Every expense from travel to lodging to the dogs themselves is covered by the organization. But...and here's the BIG PART...
- The dogs BELONG to the organization! Which means the blind partner must allow periodic home visits by the organization to ensure they are being properly cared for.
We began our tour with a short video in which a woman is speaking at one of their graduation ceremonies about her guide dog that she'd been partnered with several years before. She said,
"Throughout life, you experience just a few special events that are so truly special you can count them on one hand (she held up 5 fingers). THIS is one of those events"
(I walked around the place with tears in my eyes for 30 minutes)
GREAT, GREAT, GREAT organizatioon!!!!
"Throughout life, you experience just a few special events that are so truly special you can count them on one hand (she held up 5 fingers). THIS is one of those events"
(I walked around the place with tears in my eyes for 30 minutes)
GREAT, GREAT, GREAT organizatioon!!!!
Best part of the day:
Me: Guide Dogs tour - HANDS DOWN
Trevor - "The whole day"
Tomorrow - just as busy. Good news from Mee Mee's Bakery. Simon, the Master Baker, says the fortune cookie machines should be up and running by the time we get there in the morning!
If we can just manage to get there with a minimal amount of GPS "recalculating"...
Me: Guide Dogs tour - HANDS DOWN
Trevor - "The whole day"
Tomorrow - just as busy. Good news from Mee Mee's Bakery. Simon, the Master Baker, says the fortune cookie machines should be up and running by the time we get there in the morning!
If we can just manage to get there with a minimal amount of GPS "recalculating"...
