As I contemplated what story I was going to share this week; I went over my list of the oh so many that will eventually one day be on this site, and yet I felt like I wanted to write and share something else for today.
So I decided that I would give you a little story that can also give you some more insight as to how busy and crazy I can sometimes plan things!!
Here is one of many busy ways that I spend 48hrs:
It all started when my friend Jeff was mentioning an Avocado Festival to me, I'm not the biggest Avocado fan, but I do like festivals. And it got me thinking about the Artichoke Festival (that I had always wanted to go to).
Of course the first step was to find out when the festival was. It happened to be on May 19th, 2012. The day before we (Dave B & I) were doing the 6am bike tour in the Pasadena Marathon, and then heading to the Vegan World Fest.
Let's just do it all!
Why the heck not?!
Well some people may hesitate because the Artichoke Festival is in Castroville, Ca - which is 6+hr drive from Anaheim Hills, and a 5.5hr drive back to Pasadena.
That's 11.5hrs of driving to go check out some Artichokes!
Well Artichokes are one of my favorite vegetables - I could eat them at every meal for the rest of my life and I'd be happy!
And of course... I'm not some people. I'm not going to pick and choose it I don't have to.
What a totally fun weekend I had ahead of me!!
So of course we drove up to Castroville on Friday night (after Dave got back from work).
We checked in at the lovely oceanside Sanctuary Beach Resort in Monterey (sadly only for one night).
The Sanctuary Beach Resort is Monterey Bay's most prestigious coastal retreat. This haven of serenity offers guests stunning views of the sparkling Pacific Ocean, the evolving sand dunes and spectacular coastline from every viewpoint.
So I decided that I would give you a little story that can also give you some more insight as to how busy and crazy I can sometimes plan things!!
Here is one of many busy ways that I spend 48hrs:
It all started when my friend Jeff was mentioning an Avocado Festival to me, I'm not the biggest Avocado fan, but I do like festivals. And it got me thinking about the Artichoke Festival (that I had always wanted to go to).
Of course the first step was to find out when the festival was. It happened to be on May 19th, 2012. The day before we (Dave B & I) were doing the 6am bike tour in the Pasadena Marathon, and then heading to the Vegan World Fest.
Let's just do it all!
Why the heck not?!
Well some people may hesitate because the Artichoke Festival is in Castroville, Ca - which is 6+hr drive from Anaheim Hills, and a 5.5hr drive back to Pasadena.
That's 11.5hrs of driving to go check out some Artichokes!
Well Artichokes are one of my favorite vegetables - I could eat them at every meal for the rest of my life and I'd be happy!
And of course... I'm not some people. I'm not going to pick and choose it I don't have to.
What a totally fun weekend I had ahead of me!!
So of course we drove up to Castroville on Friday night (after Dave got back from work).
We checked in at the lovely oceanside Sanctuary Beach Resort in Monterey (sadly only for one night).
The Sanctuary Beach Resort is Monterey Bay's most prestigious coastal retreat. This haven of serenity offers guests stunning views of the sparkling Pacific Ocean, the evolving sand dunes and spectacular coastline from every viewpoint.
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Waking up to the sound of the waves breaking at the shore, stepping out on our deck and enjoying the cool sea breeze, feeling the warm soft sand between our toes! Ahhh such a nice morning!
Next we checked out and headed to the 52nd annual Castroville Artichoke Festival, my hopes and anticipation was high.
How could it possibly not be?! Until we drove into the interesting town of Castroville...
We were in the heart of the artichoke industry which is located near Castroville in Monterey County and Castroville proudly proclaims itself to be “The Artichoke Center of the World” on a huge banner that spans the main street.
Next we checked out and headed to the 52nd annual Castroville Artichoke Festival, my hopes and anticipation was high.
How could it possibly not be?! Until we drove into the interesting town of Castroville...
We were in the heart of the artichoke industry which is located near Castroville in Monterey County and Castroville proudly proclaims itself to be “The Artichoke Center of the World” on a huge banner that spans the main street.
Then as we got closer and closer to the "Festival" I began to find my surroundings even more odd. Maybe it was just me...
We entered the festival, and started seeking out all of the Artichoke goodness that I had looked forward to!
Starting with a smoked Artichoke...how could I go wrong?!
Well, I hated it! BLECH! I donated it to Dave, who likes almost anything!
"Tastes pretty good to me." From SIDEWAYS the movie (that's Dave for ya!)
Starting with a smoked Artichoke...how could I go wrong?!
Well, I hated it! BLECH! I donated it to Dave, who likes almost anything!
"Tastes pretty good to me." From SIDEWAYS the movie (that's Dave for ya!)
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We continued to hunt down the perfect Artichoke (or any that sounded halfway decent). Passing up several interesting Artichoke inspired dishes, including Artichoke Cupcakes, Artichoke Ice Cream, Artichoke Tacos & Burritos, Lots of Creamed Artichoke Pasta Dishes, Artichoke Hummus, Artichoke Salsa...
We saw some pretty odd things while we were here - Food Art, Giant Artichokes, you name it.
We saw some pretty odd things while we were here - Food Art, Giant Artichokes, you name it.
I opted to test out the Artichoke Hummus and Artichoke Salsa - neither were all that bad and I was hungry so we bought both! Continued browsing around this strange festival...and eventually decided that it was time to go!
I would much rather head into Monterey Bay and go to the Old Fisherman's Wharf than hang out here!
And that's exactly what we did..
I would much rather head into Monterey Bay and go to the Old Fisherman's Wharf than hang out here!
And that's exactly what we did..
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We hung out and shopped around Monterey for a few hours before loading back up in the SUV and heading back down to Pasadena.
Overall, I had enjoyed most of my day; but if it had not been for the Resort, and spending time in Monterey, I probably would've been a tad peeved that I came all the way up to Castroville for that LAME (IMO) Festival.
At least I got that out of my system! That was definitely a plus!
Overall, I had enjoyed most of my day; but if it had not been for the Resort, and spending time in Monterey, I probably would've been a tad peeved that I came all the way up to Castroville for that LAME (IMO) Festival.
At least I got that out of my system! That was definitely a plus!
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We caught a lovely sunset on the drive and made it back to our hotel in Pasadena with enough time to grab a few hours of sleep before the alarm would go off and we'd wake up in the dark to hop on our bikes to pedal the 26.2 mile route of the Pasadena Marathon (for our 3rd time)!
Pedaling and Picture taking
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After collecting our medals, we managed to go to the Vegan World Fest in Lake Balboa, Ca, and then finally headed home.
We saw the eclipse, and then relaxed for what was remaining of the afternoon, before it was time for me to go bee-bopping into the kitchen and whip up our traditional Sunday Night Italian Dinner! Whew!
We saw the eclipse, and then relaxed for what was remaining of the afternoon, before it was time for me to go bee-bopping into the kitchen and whip up our traditional Sunday Night Italian Dinner! Whew!
