I got home later than expected tonight. My good friend and guest at the cookoff, Lisa, and I made a couple of pit stops along the way, turning a 6 hour drive home down the coast into an 11-hour quirky road trip. Seriously, though, who can resist wine tasting when driving through Paso Robles? Or salty-sweet cookies from the Brown Butter Cookie Company and perfectly smoked albacore from Ruddell’s Smokehouse when passing through Cayucos? And I think we spent an hour driving around Salinas this morning looking for a Starbucks . . . (Note: the “Find a Starbucks” app needs work). And then there was the L.A. traffic. To top off the longest day in traffic ever, I came home to the Hubs flat on his back all honked up on pain meds. He threw his back out playing racquetball this morning. It’s not the first time. I’m sure it won’t be the last. (I think it was karma for his snarky comment about my Twitter feed–he disagrees.) This is going to be a fun week!
Back to all things GARLIC. I’m working on a post for tomorrow summarizing all of the excitement from the cookoff stage. In the meantime, check out some of the pics of the action.
Live, Laugh, Cook, Eat 
Loved hearing about your trip and seeing the photos!
Thanks, Beth! Wish you could have been there!
Great photo teasers! Loved seeing my cousins! Can’t wait for your ‘diary’ of the weekend. So glad you and Lisa had a wonderful road trip…Bates Motel and all! I’m now calling you two ‘Thelma and Louise.’
Which one got Brad Pitt? I’ve got dibs.
Great post! Love all the pix! I’m pretty sure the Starbucks app wasn’t the culprit, but rather the direction-challenged person operating it! LOL A long day for sure, but lots of fun. The entire trip was a blast. Thank you so much for inviting me! xx
Glad you could join me! Great trip all around!
Here’s a tip for finding Starbucks: Use the Google Maps app, and in the search bar, type “Starbucks” – it will use your location and find the nearest ones, and then you can use the app either to get directions or to navigate you there. 🙂
Exactly–why would we even need a separate Starbucks app? 😉 LOL!
What fantastic photos from a cookoff that I’ve been dying to visit! Your photos made me feel like I was there.
They do such a nice job with everything–from the food vendors, arts & crafts, cookoff stage–everything is first class! Hope you make it there next year!
How fun to have you blogging about our Cook Off Contest! Great pictures..and I look forward to your blog tomorrow!
Thank you! It was really fun. And I think they enjoyed having someone covering the action from a competitive standpoint. BTW, my post probably won’t be ready until tomorrow . . . so much going on on this Manic Monday!
Lovey our blog Laureen! What a grat idea! Great to see you again, I. Am only sorry idid not get a chance to visit more. Hugs to you! Erin
Thank you, Erin! I wish we could have visited more, too. I’m so amazed (and inspired) at how hard all of the volunteers work at the Festival and the Cookoff. You guys rock! And I’m so glad you like the blog! Let’s keep in touch!