Food, Film and Fun in June

Well, it’s the last day of June. They say time flies when you’re having fun and it must be true because I had a blast this month. I’ve written about some of the things I did but not everything made it to a blog post. To remedy that I’m going to go ahead and tell ya about it now.

The month started out with a trip up north to the Sunset Celebration Weekend. Half the fun of a road trip is getting there and I like to make frequent stops at interesting sites along the way. After years of driving past Pea Soup Andersen’s in Buellton I finally stopped. It was a bit early in the day for soup so my friend and I contented ourselves with exploring the property, gift shop and museum.

It was a kitschy delight and I can’t wait to return for a bowl of split pea. I did grab a can for the road and it was pretty darn tasty!

Another spot I had frequently passed when traveling was the Firestone Walker Brewery in Paso Robles. Not this trip! We stopped and did a bit of beer tasting.

So many varieties! Next time, I’m taking the tour!

The focus of the trip was the Sunset Celebration but we still managed to check out a couple of other things in Palo Alto. Happily, I made a return trip to the Stanford Theatre – this time for a screening of The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer. A Friday night with Cary Grant? What could be better?

Of course, no trip to Palo Alto is complete without a visit to the Stanford Campus. It was evening so we didn’t get a chance to check out any museums but we managed to take a stroll around the grounds.

On our return trip we mostly stuck to the highway as we wanted to get home at a decent time. We did manage to make a short stop at Mission San Miguel which was quite lovely.

It was a wonderful trip but there’s no rest for the weary and soon I was out and about again. June brings the LA Conservancy’s annual Last Remaining Seats film festival and I was lucky enough to attend three films (twice as a volunteer, once as a patron). First came Psycho at the Million Dollar Theatre complete with props from the film on display.

Next up was How to Marry a Millionaire at the Dorothy Chandler. So much fun that I don’t have any pictures! After that it was Raiders of the Lost Ark at Theatre at the Ace.

With all that film watching it was time for some sustenance. Luckily, I found that at the Thrillist Culinary Road Trip. The event brought signature dishes from all over the states to Los Angeles. My absolute favorites were the lobster roll from Luke’s Lobster and the pork sandwich from Tony Luke’s. I think I’m going to need to take a trip east soon!

After touring the foods of the country it was time to head back to a California classic – Knott’s Berry Farm. They’ve got a new ride called Voyage to the Iron Reef and I made sure to check it out. It’s an interactive ride that involves a classic shoot em up but with Steampunk sea dwellers.

Whenever I visit Knott’s I love to explore the classic sections of the park and seek out any hidden gems. On this trip I found a fabulous timeline tucked into Virginia’s Gift Shop.