you know how i went to monterey back in july for a conference, and then 2 days later, i headed to maine and boston for a business trip? well. my flight got back into dallas from boston on a saturday evening, and the very next day, i went back up to the airport to get on another flight to california – this time, to orange county for two nights [another work trip]. so my schedule looked like: cali for 4 nights >> home for 2 nights >> maine for 2 nights >> massachusetts for 1 night >> home for 1 night >> cali for 2 nights. and all this was only like 2 weeks after i got back from my 3-week europe trip with my brother. nope, july and august weren’t busy for me at all. ;)
as you miiiiiiight imagine, i was VERY ready to be home for a bit after all those trips, but i could hardly complain as they were all pretty dang fun, especially for business trips of all things! this last one was no exception. my supervisor colista and i were going on another avocado tour with the california avocado commission – the first one we went on was epic… i had a whopping six posts from that trip, ending with this one when we arrived at PMA – and this year’s trip turned out to be amazing too. it was a much bigger tour [the other one was pretty much a private tour] but this one was very culinary-focused, which i loved. also, relaxing! and we love peggy and kim from the CAC. they’re a whole lot of fun. here’s what went on:
{oh hey, orange county.}
{we stayed in the marriott in newport beach and it was lovely.}
{from the patio of my hotel. you can’t really tell from the picture, but you could see the ocean in the background!}
{outside my patio…}
{have i mentioned that i love my job?? when we got to the hotel, we did this [it was 70 degrees out vs. 100 degree texas weather] and had pina coladas. i mean…}
{that night, we went to a reception happy hour + dinner where everything was AVOCADO! it was fun. on the left, dungeness crab cake and wasabi & fennel salad with california avocado. on the right, an avocado dessert!}
{the following day, we got up bright and early and made the trek over to the groves. the scenery was beautiful. this is in the groves.}
{can’t get over it.}
{grove to plate!}
{at the packinghouse. it’s actually pretty fascinating to watch.}
{then we had lunch at the montage in laguna beach.}
{i love how they grow a bunch of their own produce at the montage.}
{we got out to the edge of the lawn by the water and were greeted with champagne…}
{we enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and watched a demo by the head chef of the montage on how to incorporate avocados into many different items.}
{then we headed over to another part of the lawn with a view of laguna beach to eat.}
{on the left, a mediterranean salad with california avocado, feta cheese, cucumbers, fresh oregano, lemon & micrograms. on the right, basil oil poached halibut with orzo- & summer squash-stuffed zucchini blossoms, california avocado cucumber preserved lemon relish & micro basil. that zucchini blossom was sooo good, and a stuffed blossom was a new concept to me.}
{the dessert was one of the most interesting that i’ve had. i really enjoyed trying everything because it was all new to me but very good! extra virgin olive oil cake with california avocado, raspberry & lime. that’s at least what the menu said, but the avocado sauce was SO good, the lime was in the form of this lime “dust” – it looked like the tiniest pieces of styrofoam, but it had a cooling effect in your mouth. and there was sorbet on a little phyllo cup plus all kinds of other textural curiosities! so fun and delicious.}
{…plus a perfect view…}
{our friend kim offered to take some photos of me, so i said sure!}
{so sad we had to say goodbye to this place!!}
{that evening, we went to dinner at the winery in newport beach with peggy and kim, even though we were still sooooo full!}
{i stuck with something on the smaller side – a quinoa salad and added scallops. but i can always make room for a little dessert, obviously. ;) on the right, we shared a whole bunch of different sweets on the menu.}
{the sweetest gift from the CAC, especially since i was born in california! i love it!}
and the next morning, we headed back home. what a trip that was! i was thrilled to finally get to be home for a bit, but those were a series of fantastic trips. and thank you so much to the california avocado commission for hosting us yet again on another epic avocado tour!