So there’s more to Pescadero than I thought. After heeding the call of the ocean and taking a drive out Hwy 84, past Woodside, Alice’s restaurant, La Honda and San Gregorio General Store, we ended up in, like we always do on these trips, in Pescadero. But instead of our usual stop at Duarte’s and/or one of the two markets in town, we drove down North St, past the elementary and high schools, and stopped at Harley Farms Goat Dairy. An actual functioning goat dairy farm, it also is open to the public to come commune with the goats, which are quite friendly and come right up to the fence for a petting (and maybe a nibble on your sweater if you’re not careful). The farm is quite enterprising, and have opened up a shop in a nearby barn selling goat milk paints, yarns, goat-wool socks and fancy (and expensive) bronze garden tools.

Harley Farm’s cheese shop is especially popular with visitors, with very tasty goat cheeses for sample and sale. Ricotta, feta, fromage blanc and a variety of chevres are on offer, as well as goat milk soaps and skin creams. You can also sign up online for scheduled tours of the farm, though that of course requires planning at least a week in advance.

Of course we couldn’t pass up the green chili / artichoke soup from Duarte’s. We got several containers to go, and ate them at the picnic tables behind Norm’s Market, with a couple of Norm’s deli sandwiches. I noticed a produce stand set up across the street, and wondered if that’s a new weekend thing to take advantage of the tourists, or because it’s harvest time. Finally we stopped at Pescadero State Beach a mile from town, though by late afternoon the fog had started to roll in and the temps were in the high 50s. But fortified by Duarte’s soup, we could handle it.