Today is the 4th of July, one of the momentous celebrations in the US commemorating the country's declaration of independence from the monarchy of the United Kingdom setting all 13 British Colonies to be free and independent states. And this is definitely a day of fireworks, family reunions, concerts at open venues, and lots of food. This is my first time to experience the celebration of this federal holiday in the country itself but... before that, we are inclined to do something else first. We're going to pick cherries!!!
We all started preppin'-up at 6:28 am to get to the largest you-pick cherry orchard in Southern California at least a little earlier than noontime to harvest only the best ones and not the leftovers. We traveled northeastward for a little over 35 miles and reached the 25-acre Villa Del Sol Sweet Cherry Farms in Leona Valley at 8 am. We were greeted by wandering squirrels running along Elizabeth Lake Road, which is my first time seeing such rodents. I tried taking pictures of them but they run like nightcrawlers from one bush to another which makes it impossible to capture them.
Harvest pails are available at the entrance gate and we all picked our own buckets and started plucking the fruits from its stems. A local boy in his teens, who is on a summer job assisting pickers, helped out a first-timer like me in identifying which cherry is best to pick and which should be kept on its branches. I learned that there are different types of cherries but the most commonly grown in California are bing, chelan, rainier, coral, tulare, and brooks but usually, only two varieties of cherries must be planted in each orchard. He was telling me a lot but all I can remember is that the rainiers are the ones that look pale and unripe so I chose to pick only those kinds.
It was enjoyable at first but later on, I got tired of looking up and pulling down branches while plucking the cherries leaving its pedicels intact. I noticed a few hours later that my bucket is already half full. I remembered I forgot to take pictures so I stopped picking a bit and took pictures of whatever I point my lens at. It's all cherry trees anywhere I go and it's all hills everywhere I look. We filled up our buckets a little more and we called it a day at 10 am. We have 5 buckets full of cherries to bring home and I wonder how we're going to eat all of them.
We drove back home for another 30 miles and stopped by Bouquet Canyon Rd at Santa Clarita to have brunch at In-N-Out Burger, my second time since I arrived. I wanted to try the Double-Double but when I saw how big it is (everything is served bigger in the US compared to what I got used to in the Philippines), I doubted if I can eat all of it so I settled with just the cheeseburger combo. It's the tastiest cheeseburger I have ever eaten in my life although it looks ordinary at first glance. It has the same stuff like hamburger patties, slice of cheese, lettuce, tomato and they ask you if you like onions to go with it; but what makes it different is that you can really taste the natural and fresh ingredients you cannot find in other fast-food chains. Plus, the thousand island dressing makes it more unique and exquisite.
We reached home at 1 pm to prepare for tonight's Independence Day celebration. But the fun doesn't start yet because the real fun begins in sorting out the red cherries from the rainiers and take out the ones that are rotten and wilted. It took us roughly an hour to complete the task and the next challenge that we faced was to choose what recipes we want to prepare for tonight's celebration that can have cherries on them.
Aside from the top choice of having Cherry Pie topped with star-spangled pastry, we thought of having Cherry Waldorf Salad where cherries will be mixed with apples and cranberries; we also wanted to have Cherry Salsa which we can pair up with a variety of dishes, and we may also have Cherry Pudding Cake or Cherry Ice Cream Cake for dessert. I just realized that cherries are not just toppings for ice cream, like what I learned when I worked as a service crew in Baskin Robbins back in 1995 because there are other ways that you can make out of it. I wish Filipinos in my country, with all their ingenuity, will not think of making Sinigang sa Cherry, Tinolang Cherry, or even Dinuguang Cherry as future dishes.
At 7 pm, we all started to gather at the driveway to set up the table with food and I helped assemble the fireworks we bought in Fillmore the other day. Everyone in the neighborhood has at least one American flag or banner unfurled on the porch or hoisted in their yards. I wondered, however, why we have lots of food on the table, more than we can take. The majority of it is, of course, American cuisine like barbecue prepared on a grill and served with cold side dishes and potato salad, fruit, chips, and coleslaw. But there is one Filipino dish that I think is out of place --- the bitter goat innard-infested papaitan, which is my personal favorite back home. It's usually paired up with local beer and being served on special occasions that require drinking.
An hour later, the fireworks started to be heard with their big bangs, whizzing whistles, and thunderous thuds above our roofs. People started to come out too, bringing food to the neighborhood sharing what they have, and taking what you can offer. That's when I understood why there's tons of food on the table good for the entire community to consume. Everyone greets each other, to my surprise, "Happy 4th of July" or "Happy 4th" instead of what I expected to be "Happy Independence Day" because it's what the actual celebration is. I wanted to ask but what caught my attention was the neighbor who enjoyed papaitan a lot more than the usual iconic dishes being prepared for this day and he kept asking for more.
This day was concluded with a prayer to celebrate more 4th of July in the future. I had so much fun experience and I had wished this day will not end. I promised myself I will come back and celebrate another Independence Day.
Happy 4th, everyone!
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