Bits and Pieces

What do a brilliant field of marigolds, an ostrich farm, thousands of cacti and a two-story outhouse have in common? The answer is that they are all accidental discoveries made by producer/host Huell Howser as he traveled the state in search of California's Gold. "As we drive down the highways of our state we're always seeing things that surprise and amaze us," says Huell. "This entire episode is made up of people, places and things we came across quite by accident as we were heading for a planned shooting location." Included in this potpourri entitled "Bits and Pieces," is a visit to an ostrich farm in Buellton on the central coast, a walk through a huge field of flowering marigolds alongside a rural road near Ventura and a tour of a historic two-story outhouse in the town of San Juan Bautista. Also included is a look at a farming operation in the Salinas Valley that grows hundreds of acres of cacti for human consumption. "This all happened in a spontaneous way," explains Howser. "We'd literally spot these interesting places as we drove by, stop our car and start asking questions." The result of these stops and these questions is an unplanned episode made up entirely of "Bits and Pieces" of California's Gold.