As some of you may remember, Animated Meat first came to life in 2008 as a way to document some sights that managed to slip through the cracks of most popular travel websites. You may also remember that the original website was built on Apple's now defunct iWeb. From there, it migrated over to WordPress where it met an untimely demise at the hands of Russian hackers. Many of those old, pre-2012 entries have found a new home here in the Before the Now section. I would consider these posts as my starting place as a writer, probably comparable to a musician's first demo tapes. They are very rough, but I took them all seriously and wrote each one with passion. While I would like to believe that I have matured in my abilities as a writer, it is my hope that I carry this same blind passion into all of my new efforts.

Tom's Farms - Originally Published 2008

July 27, 2018

Is it a place to eat, or is it something to do? Well, Tom’s Farms can probably be best described as a wide spot in the road. If you ever need to venture down to Temecula or any other points along the 15, it’s worth a stop.

Tom’s has two restaurants, a wine and cheese shop, a furniture store, a candy shop, and a farmer’s market. Basically, a little bit of everything.

At the very least, it’s a good place to let your Chihuahua wander around and pee on stuff. But remember, Tom’s doesn’t allow outside food so no picnicking.

It seems like everywhere that Mai and I stop has farm animals. Tom’s Farms is no exception. Lucy wasn’t big on the pigs.

Heritage Park Pumpkin Patch - Originially Published 2008

July 27, 2018

In the early 20th century, La Verne and much of Southern California was a citrus producer. Somewhere, between then and now, contractors showed up and built the suburbs. La Verne has managed to preserve a few spots; one of them being Heritage Park.

The park hosts a number of seasonal events. Most recently, we swung by to take a look at the annual Pumpkin Patch.

Aside from just a pumpkin patch, there are animals to pet and old, rusty tractors to get lockjaw from. It’s pretty amazing to consider that only one hundred years ago, most of Southern California looked exactly like this place.