Just off the 5 in Carlsbad, about 50 acres of strawberries, sunflowers, and other crops stretch across a working farm.
But the roots of this operation go much deeper than the North County soil.
"We're a family-owned farm in Carlsbad, California," owner Jimmy Ukegawa said. "I guess we specialize in strawberries."
You can say that again.
The strawberry stand opened in the late 1970s, but the Ukegawa story began long before that.
"Well, the start would have been my grandfather came over from Japan," Jimmy said. "Fukutaro Ukegawa, he was farming tomatoes in the Irvine area. My father was born in 1921."
Hiroshi Ukegawa was not yet 18 when World War Two broke out — and life as he knew it changed dramatically.
"My family was interned, in Poston, Arizona," Jimmy said. "So basically, they were given a week to settle their business and show up at the train station with a suitcase."
Hiroshi went on to join the Army as a paratrooper.
When he returned, the Ukegawa family moved to San Luis Rey Valley in Oceanside before eventually bringing the farm to Carlsbad.
The family decided to specialize in strawberries in the 1990s and developed the u-pick method in the early 2000s.
"That's where we would let the public in," Jimmy said. "Let them pick strawberries, learn where their food came from, and it's become more and more popular over the years."
The farm has grown across multiple generations.
Jimmy's daughter Robyn now involved with leading the farm.
Her son is also growing up there, just like she did.
"It's crazy to think about, like when we tell the story of my great-grandfather moving here, all the challenges that they had with the farm before. And to make the changes from just a tiny little shack that we were selling a few flats from, to not only selling the pre-picked strawberries, but building it into this landmark," Robyn said.
For Jimmy, the farm's success is something he believes his father would have celebrated.
"I know my dad would be laughing it up, seeing what it's become," Jimmy said. "And I think my father would be very proud of it."
