Fruit grower branches out
Limoneira Co. in Santa Paula invites visitors to take its tours
Photo By James Glover II
Ventura County Star
By James Glover II
jglover@VenturaCountyStar.com
A slight morning breeze pushes a six-passenger hot-air balloon toward the ocean in total silence.
"I never dreamed it would be this quiet up here," says Luann McKenzie, a passenger aboard the balloon.
Then pilot Justin Wilkinson sends a flame upward into the balloon.
With a roar, the burning gas warms the air, causing the balloon to climb.
The aircraft is flying over Santa Paula and the pilot points out lemon orchards, avocado trees and some historic houses. The land below is owned by the Limoneira Co., which has been part of the citrus industry in Santa Paula since 1893.
The flight is part of its agritourism program called Limoneira Tours.
Limoneira has always done tours of its properties, but usually they were reserved for executives from Sunkist or other special guests.
In 2005, that changed. The company welcomed Harold Edwards as its new president and Alex Teague as vice president, and they had ideas for Limoneira.
"They wanted to open the doors and show people what we do," said Ryan Nasalroad, operations manager for agritourism at Limoneira. "There have been people driving past our properties for 15 to 20 years that don't even know we're here. They wanted to change that."
So Limoneira started offering various tours to the public. Among the offerings is a look at Santa Paula from above in a hot-air balloon ride, a backcountry jeep tour through the canyons between Santa Paula and Ojai, gourmet dining in the orchards among rows and rows of avocado trees, tours of the citrus ranch and packing house, a chuck-wagon lunch that includes roping demonstrations and a tour of historic downtown Santa Paula.
"The response has been great, more than we imagined," said Nasalroad. "We're not making money on the tours right now, but it's beneficial to the company because of the goodwill we're getting from the community."
| 
