Arcata Farmers' Market

May 2

O' the joys of the farmers' market!

Now, summertime brings many markets up and down the coast, inland and outland of the valleys, and even into the urban moshpits of civilization. Yet this particular market is just a bit... special.

It's difficult to put into words, but it's easy to recommend a special trip Saturday morning to this music-playing, kid-dancing, hula-hooping, carrot-buying weekly moment on the Arcata Plaza.

It's a drive from the hostel (an hour south), so go if this event really speaks to you -- all of you who pack up Saturday morning and leave the hostel on the "Gotta Get to San Francisco Tonight" route. Stop here. Stretch. Eat an apple. Talk to the man in the feathered hat selling cactus plants in a rainforest. Weave in and out of jogging strollers, hop over to the Tincan Mailman Bookstore or Moonrise Herbs, fill your reusable shopping bag with veggies, and get blanching tips from the bonnet-wearing farmer girl.

Watch a two-minute YouTube video of the market here. The market is open seasonally April-November.