Tradition; A Visit To Laguna's Art Festivals And Lunch!
To the wilds of Laguna Canyon we go! We first stopped for lunch and then walked through Art-A-Fair and the Sawdust Festival. After that we went to the Laguna Canyon Winery and then to Kobe Steakhouse and Patty's Place!
Did You Know? - Laguna Canyon (also called Cañada de las Lagunas, meaning "Lake Canyon" in Spanish) is the name of a canyon that cuts through the San Joaquin Hills in southern Orange County, California, in the United States, directly south of the city of Irvine. The canyon runs from northeast to southwest, and is drained on the north side by tributaries of San Diego Creek and on the south by Laguna Canyon Creek. It is deeper and more rugged on the southwestern end near Laguna Beach.
People will build anywhere!
Our first stop is Art-A-Fair because in the back there is Tivoli Too, a great little restaurant that we have been dining at for almost 10 years! This trip was, however, a disappointment as all the veggie selections are gone (Jalapeno popper's are gone, the black beans (cooked in lard) and rice (cooken in chicken broth) were not vegetarian.
We engineered something for Sue to eat but definitely going to change the tradition next year.
Through the portal and we enter the display area for local artists, and...
Hey... The wine was pretty good!
"Perhaps better than expected"
Our view from our table outside the office
We could hear the waterfalls from out table
Mr. and Mrs. - Enjoying the day!
The bougainvillea was especially bright today...
The water comes rushing down the side of the mountain!
Clay friends enjoying the sound!
She is singing "Bye Bye Birdie"
The sun was just right to display the red beauty
Listen carefully, you can hear the buzzing
Our bartender awaits for another signal to do a delivery
We honor the request of the artists to NOT take photos near their work
so you will have to go down there and see it for yourselves!
"OK... Where next oh great guide?"
We are off to the famous Sawdust Festival which is about 700 feet up the road from Art-A-Fair. It was a nice walk as the ocean breeze was perfect. We buy season passes to Sawdust and Art-A-Fair because some summers we come several times.
Those mushrooms have been there for years now...
Requirement #1 - Listen to the water!
Love that Traxacum (Dandelion)
Did You Know? - Taraxacum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which consists of species commonly known as dandelion. They are native to Eurasia and North America, but the two commonplace species worldwide, T. officinale and T. erythrospermum, were imports from Europe that now propagate as wildflowers.
Both species are edible in their entirety.
The common name dandelion from French dent-de-lion, meaning "lion's tooth", is given to members of the genus.
Like other members of the Asteraceae family, they have very small flowers collected together into a composite flower head. Each single flower in a head is called a floret. Many Taraxacum species produce seeds asexually by apomixis, where the seeds are produced without pollination, resulting in offspring that are genetically identical to the parent plant.
The water sounds are very relaxing
Just leaving??
One last look at the grounds before trekking northward!
"OK my magnificent guide... Take me to the vino!"
Be careful... You might miss it as you drive Laguna Canyon Highway
You will not miss it if you let your nose to the driving!
"I wonder how this will taste?"
"M-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m"
Tomorrow is bottling day for five new wines....
The preparations are ready!
Bottles in place!
"These are really really good!"
"The Chardonnay and the White Blends are OUTSTANDING!"
"Where next of great guide?"
From Laguna Canyon we went VFR to Kobe Steakhouse to meet up with Greg and share stories and delights. Sue had a glass of wine while Paul was treated to surprises from Manny the Sushi Chef.
After leaving Kobe, we went to Patty's Place and had a drink with "the gang" before going home to watch a little bit of TV. We crashed at 10:00 PM thinking we would not sleep but we both woke up after almost 10 hours of sleep... Guess we needed it!
