AppeteasersUSA

Pace yourself, folks!

AppeteasersUSA
Folsom, CA

Pub Crawls are much like progressive dinners...but faaaaaaaar less sober.  They're also great options for those who like to enjoy their beverages while being led by the hand to the next cocktail special.

Appeteasers tours have a little something for everyone.  Along with several stops during a multi-hour walking tour, there will be complimentary appetizers and dessert bites as well as discounted beer, wine and cocktails.  You'll visit local art galleries, dive bars and wine cellars all while sampling tasty cuisine; tour guides point out historical references and landmarks along the way, but that all goes by the wayside around stop number four (or three, if you're a lightweight like me).  As an added bonus, you'll likely make new friends with your fellow tour participants who hail from all over Callifornia...and beyond!

Personal tip: if you find yourself devouring chocolate mousse cake after the tour to satisfy your sweet tooth, star far, far away from the Tuaca shots at the Folsom Hotel and Saloon afterwards - even if an old man is buying.  I learned the hard way, people.

California Candy Festival - 09/22/12 - 09/23/12

This is BETTER than Halloween.

California Candy Festival
Fairfield, CA

What do you get when you combine candy, roller coasters, music and wine?

A pretty awesome day, that's what!

Located at the Jelly Belly Factory, this event will pay tribute to confections of all kinds including ice cream, cupcakes, chocolate-dipped fruit, gourmet marshmallows and countless other desserts.  Balance out the sweets with snacks from popular area food trucks...then go back for more caramel corn, funnel cakes and shaved ice.

Activities and vendors will satisfy folks of all ages.  Between the mechanical bull, jewelry and photography booths, and candy-making demos, there's something for everyone.  Adults will enjoy the Chocolate Wine Pairings Experience, which includes chocolate tastings and a souvenir wine glass.  Just do everyone a favor and try the zipline before imbibing.  Deal?  Deal.

Eat Real Festival - 09/21/12 - 09/23/12

Wipe that saliva off your chin!

Eat Real Festival
Oakland, CA

Mobile dining has exploded in the last few years.  Talented chefs with a knack for entrepreneurship are able to cater (get it?) to the masses, and this is a perfect time to market to the average Joe who may be too strapped for cash for a formal dining experience, but is willing to shell out a couple extra bucks to avoid the Taco Bell drive-thru.  Admit it: fresh fish tacos beat a Bellgrande anything 100% of the time.

The Eat Real Festival has enjoyed increasing interest, such that a Los Angeles event was added to meet the demands of Southern Californians. Dozens of trucks are on hand, serving up everything from drinks to desserts...and that's not all.  This festival is sheer heaven for those who not only love to eat, but want to learn where their food comes from and how it's prepared.  You can meet local farmers, watch a butchery contest, witness a master noodle-puller (it's exactly as interesting as it sounds) or explore pretzel-making.

Then again, you can skip all the educational crap and have your own progressive breakfast/lunch/dinner hopping from truck to truck, gorging on everything from paella to plachinta to pork buns.  Cash only.  Come prepared.

Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary

Donations welcome.  Don't be 
a cheapskate!

Folsom Zoo Sanctuary
Folsom, CA

The Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary is a great alternative to the Sacramento Zoo if you prefer not to drive in circles for hours to find a parking spot.

Additionally, the $6.00 admission price (less for kids) is a great low-cost choice if you don't mind a few animals missing from their cages here and there.

For nearly three decades, the Sanctuary has been a safe haven for rescued and injured animals.  Some find permanent residency here, and some stay temporarily before finding new homes.  The Sanctuary is home to a wide variety of residents including bears, canines, reptiles and numerous peacocks that roam free, providing unique photo opps.

Ask for the availability of a private table for your group to enjoy breakfast on the bear deck prior to the zoo opening.  Food for humans may not be included, but food for bears is a guarantee if you don't stay on your side of the glass wall.

Danish Days - 09/14/12 - 09/16/12

Cocoa and vino: a winning combination.

Danish Days
Solvang, CA

The words "Aebleskiver Breakfast" make me want to drop whatever I'm doing and drive five hours to Santa Barbara county.  Is that weird?

Danish Day is more than just a mere celebration of culture and history.  It's interactive. How many festivals allow you to casually stroll through a farmers market, then immediately try on Viking armor or hold Viking weapons while listening to a live band playing from atop something called the Carlsberg Beer Wagon?  Admit it, that sounds more than slightly awesome.

After a weekend of inhaling pastries, daytime wine tasting and nighttime imbibing at the Solvang Brewing Company, enjoy the closing ceremonies in Solvang Park on Sunday afternoon.  Like Grandma always said, nothing cures a hangover like a big Danish sausage.  This IS what she meant, right?

Museum of Death

The best museum in L.A....no bones about it!

Museum of Death
Hollywood, CA

I can't seem to get enough of the "dark side".  I'll watch autopsies on TLC, ancient burial methods on the History Channel, and will call it a day if I run across a marathon of Family Plots, an A&E Channel series about a family-owned mortuary.

Admit it.  It fascinates you, too.  That's precisely why you should make your way to the Museum of Death in Hollywood, a veritable mecca of items such as morgue photography, letters from death row inmates and artwork by serial murderers.  Have a strong stomach?  Spend an afternoon watching embalming tutorials, studying the Heavens Gate cult recruiting video, and perusing crime scene shots.  You can even examine replicas of execution devices.

Great place for a marriage proposal, right?  Might put that "till death do us part" stuff in perspective.

Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival - 09/08/12 - 09/09/12

Don't mind if I do!

Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival
San Francisco, CA

This event has it all: buttloads of chocolate (obviously), multiple age divisions of their famed ice cream-eating contest, and lots of cardio provided by the requisite dodging of unsupervised children with sticky, fudgy hands.

Purchase your chosen allotment of tickets, then run amuck sampling cookies, hot chocolate, ice cream, truffles and more...the sky's the limit! Festival veterans such as yours truly prepare a la crab feeds and bring Ziploc bags to fill with goodies to enjoy at home.  If the treats make it home, that is.

Once the crowds die down, go back to your favorite booths and thank them personally for all the extra work you'll have to put in at the gym during the coming week.  I'm sure they'll appreciate that.

Pittsburg Seafood Festival - 09/08/12 - 09/09/12

When I seafood...you know what happens.

Pittsburg Seafood Festival
Pittsburg, CA

A lot of cool stuff happened in 1984: the U.S. hosted the Olympic games; "When Doves Cry" topped the Billboard charts; and Pittsburg held its first annual Seafood Festival.

Going strong for nearly three decades, the Pittsburg Seafood Festival is not just a celebration of, well, seafood, but also the local community and those who live in it. Besides the countless seafood and snack vendors, highlights include dance and musical acts and other displays of talent which I am hoping, based on the egregious errors found the festival website, do not include a spelling bee.

More than 40 vendors will be on hand serving everything from calamari to kettle corn, allowing you to sample a varied cuisine while enjoying live entertainment on multiple stages before settling in at the beer and wine pavilion.  Fancy!

Computer History Museum

Here's a photo of a bunch of stuff way over my head.

Computer History Museum
Mountain View, CA

Imagine a world without computers: no sexting, no DVRs to record your Real World marathons, and no microwaves to nuke your Hot Pockets. There goes your Friday night.

A trip to the Computer History Museum will make you even more grateful for technology as you learn about Charles Babbage, a pioneer from the late 1700s who designed the first "automatic computing engine" that weighed several tons from over 8,000 parts.  And you thought having last year's iPhone was inconvenient.

Check out vintage computer brochures, learn about the history of computer chess, and pay tribute to the Hall of Fellows, a group of men and women who've made significant contributions to the industry.  Afterwards, head over to the cafe and enjoy a dessert panini while you stalk your high school crush via Facebook on your Blackberry.