Sunday, September 25, 2016

Week 40, 9-25-2016

Thoughts and Quotes: I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.
                                                                   Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

I'm afraid I've lost sight of the direction in which I was moving with this blog, but I wanted you to see some of the "hidden" sights in California. Everyone knows about Disneyland, Sea World, the Hollywood Studios, etc. These are places off the beaten path, but which I feel are worth a look. This post got out of hand, so I'm going to take you to the Nixon and Reagan Libraries next week, along with the painted angels of Los Angeles. 

Gardens of the World

If you've ever taken a trip to Hawaii, you might have booked it through Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays. The company expanded to include other destinations, so now they're known as Pleasant Holidays. The company owners, the Hogans, built these beautiful gardens as a tribute to the cultures of the world. You can see a list of the different gardens under the "Our Gardens" heading on the home page here.

Surprisingly, the gardens are set right in the middle of a bustling community.



My favorites are the Japanese Garden



And the Rose Garden




I loved how the walkway lighting changed in each garden





Lots of benches for resting or just admiring the beauty of the gardens





A place to picnic


A bandstand


And even music piped in through speakers disguised as rocks


Home Show in Orange County 

How about a putting green?


Or an outdoor fireplace?


Or an entire kitchen? 


Maybe a gazebo?


Something for the garden?




The modular homes were very stylish (no flash, so not great photos)







Or maybe something a little more exotic?




The Nethercutt Museum

This place is huge. After you do some exploring on their website here, I'll show you some of my favorite photos.







Note that there are three headlights








Something for the golfer




Or would you like something a little more modern?



I'd like this in white, please.




My favorite piece of furniture




Orchid Show at South Coast Plaza in Santa Ana, CA 

The entry piece was huge










The show is really big, displays and vendors on both levels of the mall













And while you're there, you can eat at the Champagne French Bakery. Just look at the great food here.

Aboard a Container Ship

I'm sure you've seen those huge cargo ships of containers, but I want to show you what it looks like ON the ship. This is how we board.



This is the port





The trucks arrive with a container, which is lifted by a crane.




The crane operator sits in that little part which juts out, and there's a clear
glass window under his feet. Yikes!


These ships are huge. Notice the size of the man in this photo.




The dining room


Captain's quarters. He has a separate bedroom and office.



The kitchen






The bridge and instruments








And where would we be without them? The containers are unloaded at the port and stored, transported by train or truck, and the cargo never has to be unloaded until it reaches it's final destination.


Tasting: This morning we went to the Keeter Center at College of the Ozarks for Sunday brunch.  The students work their way through college and leave with zero student loans. They have beef cattle, dairy cattle, hogs (they cure the hams, make the bacon, etc.), farms, green houses, a mill to grind the grains. The Keeter Center has rustic-elegant rooms for rent and Dobyn's Dining Room restaurant does a big business.




They make jams, jellies, apple butter, and salad dressings. They sell flours and meals from the mill and homemade sausages. They do a big business in fruit cakes and hams at Christmas. You can drop in and pick up a coffee or a pastry or something from the ice cream counter. Or on special days, plants from the green houses or produce from the gardens.





They host special events and also act as a venue for school proms, etc.  

The building looks like a big lodge in the north woods. The fireplace is massive,


and the elevator is made of copper.


The rooms are all upstairs




and come with fireplaces, homemade cookies, and upscale toiletries. The students man the check-in, handle baggage, and do the cleaning. They can work anyplace on campus from the greenhouse to the diary to the dining room to the kitchen. At the pasta station today, one was a Psychology major and the other was studying nursing. 

The food stations are all around the large dining room, with dessert in the middle. We had salad bar, breakfast station, choose-your-ingredients omelet station, pasta station, carving station with ham, and a hot station with tilapia, roast chicken, pork loin, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, roasted vegetables. And a wide selection of mini-desserts. My son said that his favorite thing was the butter from the student dairy. I took a photo of the flowers the students raise or buy, and arrange. Each table always has fresh flowers.


There are flowers at the reception desks, and on the dessert table.


I took a photo of my salad


and my dessert


Everything else was standard fare, but I had to show the desserts so all my foodie friends can get ideas.













I mentioned that there must be special racks for the dish washers to accommodate all these small dishes, and my son said that they should open a grade school and let those students wash all these doll dishes.

The veranda outside the dining room looks over the campus. 




The kitchen is undergoing a make-over and expansion. They will probably be able to accommodate more students in their cooking classes, which are open to the public. For sure, we did not leave hungry.

Lots more information here.

Thank you: To Friend Joey who brought this luscious cherry pie for us to enjoy while my son is visiting.



WEAR YOUR AUTUMN COLORS

EAT LOTS OF GREENS

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

PLANT SOME MUMS

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE


9 comments:

  1. WOW! What a post! I think I want to go look at all of these pictures again. I love the gardens. And every garden needs benches to sit and rest. And that container ship. I have seen them before in the Charleston, SC harbor while on vacation but never thought much about them until recently. I just read a novel and she talked about them in the novel, then you post them on your blog. Hmmmm...is it a sign? Could I be taking a trip to a container ship harbor soon! I visited California one time in my life for about six weeks. My husband (now ex) was there for work. We stayed in San Jose' and visited a lot of the surrounding area. It was an enjoyable trip and way different than Indiana!!! Thanks for sharing...now think I'll go have another look at those desserts!

    Cindy Bee

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    1. The container ship was at San Pedro, CA. My friend's nephew was the captain and that's how we got to have a tour. I loved the years I spent in CA, but now that I'm back in Missouri, I like the more relaxed atmosphere also. It's probably a lot like Indiana.

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  2. PS. I'll take the yellow truck with the wooden doors!

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  3. What a wonderful post. The rose garden was a real delight such beauty and those cars were amazing to see. Obviously a wonderful place for a visit.

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    1. I miss these things about CA, but I don't miss the traffic, the noise, and the really hot summers. Just grateful for the years I spent there and all the memories to relive those years.

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  4. I hope you had a good time with your son. Your friend's cherry pie looks good. I'm sure you all enjoyed it as well as the visit to the college. That interested me as our grandson studied catering at college and they had a restaurant that was open to the public too. Now he is a chef in a famous hotel in London. You have some interesting places in California
    that are open to visitors. Thank you for sharing some that you've visited. The Gardens of the World are particularly beautiful. I think I would have enjoyed the Mission Garden and the Rose Garden.

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    1. Yes, I really loved all the exciting things in CA, but the slow and easy pace of Missouri suits me fine in my senior years. I'm just happy that I took so many photos so I can relive some of the fun times I had there. And I really miss Mickey Mouse.

      By the way, the cherry pie was scrumptious. We ate every crumb.

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  5. Wonderful flowers and a great port.
    I wasn't online in last time, only today I come to a visit...

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