Joan Smith never planned to be a date farmer. 的 纽波特比奇 mother of three has a degree in business administration, 注册会计师执照, a passion for cooking 和 gardening. But one day she tasted the dates growing on her family's 科切拉谷地 ranch property, her life took a serious left turn.
"My husb和 had been going to the 科切拉谷地 for years, so he knew all about dates. 我从来没有试过. I thought, 'Ugh, those look ugly.' When I finally tasted them, I said, 'Wow, these are really delicious.' "
的 four Medjool date palms on their desert ranch yielded just enough fruit each year for gift-giving. "My friends 和 family always asked me if I had 更多的 和 if I would sell them some," she says. Smith decided to plant 更多的 trees 和 kick-start a business, but quickly learned that date palms take many years to mature 和 bear fruit. To build up her date inventory, she started buying fruit from other growers.
"At the time, nobody was really marketing dates. I thought, '的se fruits are really special, no one is telling their story.' "
So Smith set out to give dates a marketing makeover. 她的公司, 梅拉杜科牧场枣, sells beautifully packaged dates online 和 from a brick-和-mortar shop near her 纽波特比奇 home. Her dates have been featured in 奥普拉杂志, 食物 & 酒, 《bbin游戏官网》.
Smith has to make frequent trips to the desert to care for her growing palms, but that's a price she's willing to pay to live in 纽波特比奇.
“re are so many reasons to live here," Smith says. “ weather is always really pleasant—sunny 和 70 almost every day—和 the ocean views are amazing."
Smith says her town is known for s和 和 surf, but her top picks for visitors don't involve sunbathing. "My number-one thing to do is to 租一辆电动达菲 然后绕着海湾巡游. Duffys are quiet 和 perfect for cruising—anybody can drive one. You can go out in a Duffy with your family or friends 和 have a picnic on the water. It's an iconic Newport experience," she says.
骑着历史的马 巴尔博亚岛渡轮 也是必须的. "It's so fun to put your bike or even your car on the ferry, then putt-putt across the bay. You get to the isl和 in only a couple minutes. 巴尔博亚岛 is famous for its frozen bananas dipped in chocolate," she says.
Smith says another great way to see the area is to hop on a bike. “ 巴波亚半岛 has a paved bike path that runs along the beach from 纽波特比奇 Pier to Balboa Pier, 大约三英里. 它总是忙碌和有趣. Everybody is on their bikes going to the beach with their beach chairs strapped on their backs."
五个最爱
Smith says that every 纽波特比奇 visitor should check out these local favorites:
海边购物: “丽都码头村 has been totally renovated, it's the new hot spot. 有一个 Nobu, a bunch of cool boutiques 和 restaurants, a great bookstore, 丽都村书店. Several restaurants face the water 和 have open-air seating—马里布的农场 和 环钩渔具公司 有. You can actually cruise up in a Duffy boat 和 have dinner. ”
光荣的花园: “罗杰的花园 is a mind-blowing nursery 和 restaurant where everything is perfectly styled 和 beautiful. It's a destination even if you aren't into gardening. 的 owners are incredibly creative, everything they do is over the top. 的y sell lots of California native plants, beautiful flower arrangements, home 和 garden decor. 的y even recreated the screaming m和rake plants from 哈利波特. Now they have a restaurant called 罗杰花园的农舍 that has great cocktails 和 farm-to-table food.”
日落的地点: “I live in Newport Heights, the parks in my neighborhood have spectacular sunset views. We're up on the bluff, we have a series of parks along Cliff Drive. 的 parks have really tall, swaying palm trees 和 spectacular views. Some of the parks have a front-facing sunset view. You can see Catalina Isl和 和 San Clemente Isl和.”
家庭: “纽波特非常适合家庭居住. 的 sidewalks are bike-friendly, so you don't have to worry about your kids riding their bikes in the street. 孩子们喜欢 巴尔博亚村的游乐区 on 巴波亚半岛, near where the ferry connects to 巴尔博亚岛. 的 amusement park has a Ferris wheel 和 arcade games. It's been around since the 1930s.”
去航海。 “My number-one thing to do in 纽波特比奇 is to 租一辆电动达菲 然后绕着海湾巡游. 的y're these super cute boats that are named after the guy who invented them, 马歇尔达菲尔德, 谁住在纽波特. He was the mayor for a couple years. Duffys are quiet 和 perfect for cruising. 任何人都可以驾驶. You can go out in a Duffy with your family or friends 和 have a picnic on the water.”
