Slow Life with Real Food

The adventures continue, and the ride to Malibu to visit Vital Zuman Farms was no exception. A little about how Guillermo uses his motorcycle: he reset the trip odometer every time we fill the gas tank, so we know exactly how many miles we can go before running out of gas (around 240 miles). Well, Guillermo forgot to reset the odomenter immediately after adding gas the last time, so we miscalculated and ran out of gas on the Pacific Coast Highway (not a bad place to run out of gas, if you ask me). We were cruising along, I was cheerfully enjoying my iPod, singing along at the top of my lungs (a motorcycle helmet is a safe place for that), when all of the sudden Guillermo pulls over and informs me that we ran out of gas.

So, what do you do when that happens? You start pushing! G sat on the bike, steering and doing his best Fred Flintstone impersonation, and I ran along behind him, pushing the loaded down motorcycle along the side of the highway. What a sight we must have been! Luckily, a passing jogger informed us that there was a gas station just about a mile ahead, and that most of it would be downhill. We coasted on down to the station, the first one in Malibu, and then enjoyed a good laugh and a hot breakfast before heading on over to Vital Zuman Sustainable Farm.

Vital Zuman Sustainable Farm sits atop a picturesque hillside in Malibu, California, overlooking the ocean and surrounding mansions. Alan Cunningham, owner of Vital Zuman, grows dozens of varieties of figs and mulberries, among banana trees, flowering candlestick trees, and hibiscus. His style of gardening is to let things happen naturally, which produces naturally tasty fruits. Guillermo and I had a very enjoyable time picking mulberries and figs, chatting with Alan, and taking time to relax on a pile of manure (of all places!). The pace of the farm fit our mood, which was relaxed, playful, and groovy.

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