san diego + anaheim

SAN DIEGO, CA: first week of march

we arrived in san diego at about 2 or 3 am after trailering from phoenix. we drove through the night so we could have our "weekend" in S.D. overall it was pretty low key but it was nice to spend some more time there. i really like it there. one day we went shopping in pacific beach and had lunch at a fun little brew pub. in the city, we went to one of the coolest bars ive ever been to. it was near/in the little italy section of downtown right near the airport. it was a mexican restaurant/bar and it had a walled in back patio that had no roof. as planes were about to land they wizzed right over our heads. it was so loud and awesome. it made your hair blow in the wind. about every 10 minutes another one would pass over. it was definitely a unique featurewhat a rad bar! definitely hope to go back!

we were only in S.D. for a couple off days and one work day. as a part of our tour we occasionally hit the stores on military bases. it's usually really busy and they have great deals on the cheese so i kinda like em. my coworker andrea and i worked the commissary at one of the navy bases there. it was a huge, brand new store and we sold a ton of product. we were told it was the highest volume commissary in the world - pretty crazy! it's funny being a civilian on base though. there are strict regulations on getting in and we almost didn't get in because we needed someone to sponsor us on base... anyhoo, it can be a bit trying at times but it always has worked out in the end.

ANAHEIM, CA: march 2011

we stayed in anaheim for a little over three weeks and we were at a hotel right next to disneyland. every night at 9pm i could hear and see the fire works from the window of my room. this was the first hotel that had a kitchen and it was a BIG deal. the first day we pulled into town a car load of us all hit the grocery store and we could hardly fit all of our groceries in the trunk. we got a little carried away but were very much enjoying cooking some of our meals for the duration of our stay. not having a kitchen is one of the harder aspects of life on the road, especially since i eat vegetarian now a days, it gets old only having one or two menu options available for me so i really enjoy cooking for myself. usually for lunch while working i have a veggie sammy. i have NEVER eaten so many sandwiches before in my life. good thing i love them, especially a good one. i've probably eaten over one hundred since january! when we don't have kitchens we usually have at least a mini-fridge and a microwave. i can get down with that. about once or twice a week i make a broccoli and sharp cheddar stuffed baked potato, it's pretty good and easy to make with limited equipment. it's my take on one of my favorite meals at BJs restaurant, the giant stuffed potatoes although a tad bit healthier since my version isn't slathered in alfredo sauce - lol! i have a big plastic bin i lug around filled with a few supplies (bowls/cutting board/knives) and food items to help ease the lack of a kitchen. it's also home to a few other random items like a scale and two baseball hats i bought at games i attended in LA and SF.

in anaheim we did grocery stores in orange county. it was a pretty fun time. nothing that memorable or eventful happen work wise... or at least nothing is coming to mind right now ;) it has been a few months since then! ha ha... we talk to SO many people everyday sometimes the days and weeks just run together...

so. cal also meant i had easy access to one of my favorite things: sprinkles cupcakes! i made a couple special trips out to get some of their tasty treats. their vanilla-vanilla cupcake is my absolute favorite. i so wish my cupcakes eventually get that good! omg i can smell it now, so vanillay and delicious. yummmmmmm :)

i also had a chance to go whale watching in dana point, ca on a day off. we didn't find any whales but we did see a few sea lions and pods of dolphins several times. they were swimming right next to the boat and playing in the wake. it was no whale but it was still pretty cool! the company i went with guarantees a whale sighting so if you don't see one, you can bring back your ticket stub and get another trip free so next year maybe i will have to take up that offer so i can see the elusive grey whale. ahh i love whales! ha ha ha...

to be continued...

noelle + phx

well, hello again there internet universe... here i am in salt lake city nearly done with my year of promotions for that cheese company! the last eight or so months have been awesome, crazy, whirlwindy and overall, unforgettable. i figure i should make an update and start blogging little recaps of where and what i have done since my last post in january when i was first hired to be a cheese promoter. let's start with tour spot number 1:

PHOENIX, AZ: late january - february 2011

we started off in phoenix, arizona at the end of january and stayed there through february. it was great getting to know my new coworkers, learning the job and being in a new city i had never visited before. really though, arizona is not my kinda place... it was hot, really hot and i kinda thought the people there were just okay - not as friendly as i'm used to in oregon. although, at work i met a ton of great customers and had lots of long talks with retirees who just want someone to listen to them... i like being there for someone to talk to even if it's not 100% about the cheese. i have heard some great stories this year - that's for sure! one of my most distinct arizona memories was working at a grocery store where there was a whole row of golf cart parking. only in arizona, right?! snowbird and retired people's haven! we also spent a LOT of time driving around the greater phoenix. we must have done grocery stores in all the surrounding cities and we were driving for an hour or two hours each way for work, per day. the phoenix area is very spread out... they've sure got a lotta wide open space down there!

in my off time there, i didn't to a whole bunch. this was kind of my acclimation period to getting used to living on the road and in a hotel room. many of my off days were spent bumming around and then hitting the town with my coworkers. it was also my first experience not having the actual weekend off. our non-work days on tour have typically been tuesday and wednesday. there are aspects about this that i like but it also gets a little annoying to never have an actual weekend day off.

i also got very, very sick with the flu about three weeks in. it was horrible! i laid in bed for three (off) days in a row. i sucked it up for work when i was starting to feel pretty crappy but it seemed the real sickness hit for our off days anyhow - funny how that works, isnt it?! ;) i eventually made a full recovery of course after downing about 17 bottles of orange juice/vitamin water combined with bed rest for 72 hours! being sick away from home is always extra lame.

i also made great friends with my coworkers during this time. it's like we are one big tour family and this was my first experience spending so much time with 7 other people. it's like college, living in the dorms all over again and getting to know complete strangers very well in about an instant! we all got to know each other incredibly fast! and now, i can't imagine life without my tour family at this point!

at the end of february, we packed it up and rolled out about 8pm for our 7 hour over night drive to san diego, california.

to be continued...