San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival - 11/14/12 - 11/18/12

Do NOT leave your bottle opener at home!

San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival
San Diego, CA

This event provides a great opportunity to stretch those stomach muscles in preparation for Thanksgiving.

Now in its 8th year, this festival is the area's premiere destination for food and wine aficionados to attend cooking classes and wine tasting seminars, meets chefs and winemakers, and sample morsels from gourmet food companies.  Bid on a celebrity chef luncheon, then watch chefs compete for $50,000 in the Chef of the Fest competition.  Turn the event into a vacation with a Wine Weekend Getaway package including hotel accommodations and VIP experiences.

Crepes, sushi, gourmet chocolates and more can all be yours.  Enjoy an array of international cuisine before hunkering down with (at least) a week of turkey, turkey sandwiches, turkey enchiladas, turkey soup...catch my drift?

Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia

Strawberry, please!  Or, lemon.

Burlingame Pez Museum of Pez Memorabilia
Burlingame, CA

With a long and colorful history, Pez is arguably the coolest thing to come out of Austria besides "The Sound of Music" and Arnold Schwarzenneger (and that second one is questionable).

What began as a breath mint in the 1920s had evolved into an aid to quit smoking by the late 1940s.  Ironically, the first dispensers at that time resembled cigarette lighters.  Go figure.

During the 1950s, Pez dispensers resembled toy guns, Santa, and even robots.  By the end of the decade, the standard dispenser we've grown to love was designed and today you can tilt back the heads of barnyard animals, Hello Kitty or Chewbacca to access that famous candy pellet.

At the Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia, you'll find more vintage Pez dispensers than you can imagine, along with new merchandise, artwork and "The World's Largest Pez Dispensing Machine" standing at almost 8 feet!  That's going to be your best photo opportunity in Burlingame - believe me.

Still nostalgic?  The museum was expanded a few years ago to include the Classic Toy Museum.  A half hour with a Whee-lo should help you come down from that sugar high.

Santa Cruz Food Tour

Vinegar as an ice cream chaser - don't knock
it till you try it!

Santa Cruz Food Tour
Santa Cruz, CA

When ideal weather and my insatiable appetite collide, I am unstoppable.

Whether you're a tourist like me always looking for new ways to feed my face, or a long-time resident curious about everything Santa Cruz has to offer, this culinary adventure won't disappoint.  Unlike some food tours that drag you from restaurant to restaurant only to sample and nibble, with little else to see or do in between, the Santa Cruz Food Tour is a true gem.

Bring your appetite - and comfortable shoes.  Your 3.5 excursion is peppered with locally owned and award-winning spots offering scrumptious American and international fare, sweet treats, and frothy beverages...and it doesn't stop there!  Between caramelized onion-laden gourmet pizzas on homemade crusts and organic cupcakes using locally sourced ingredients, you'll learn about the founding of Santa Cruz and its first settlers.  Enjoy a waffle cone from the only shop in town that makes their ice cream completely from scratch as you embark on a fascinating lesson in local architecture.

Never done shots of olive oil?  Take this tour.  Never tried a balsamic vinegar soda?  Take this tour.  Never tasted blood orange anything?  TAKE THIS TOUR!

No need for dinner plans.  The leisurely 1.8 mile trek is hardly enough cardio to work up another appetite.  However, I do admit to revisiting the ice cream shop later that evening for one last treat.  After all, the tour provided additional discounts and coupons to all attendees.  I didn't want to seem rude!

O.C. Chocolate Festival - 11/02/12 - 11/03/12

(I'll take one of each!)

O.C. Chocolate Festival

Garden Grove, CA

Bravo, Orange County.  How do you top off a two-day fundraiser centered around chocolate tasting?  You add live jazz, chocolate demos and several "surprise contests" to the mix!

This decadent festival benefits the Fountain Valley Community Foundation as well as the Boys & Girls Club of Huntington Valley - as if you need more reasons to indulge in cakes, cookies, gelato, chocolate fountains and other decadent treats.  Pastry chefs and chocolate artists will battle it out in a tasty competition, and guests will have the chance to sample their creations.  Meanwhile, children 12 and under will enjoy the Kids Zone chock full of cocoa-inspired activities.

Keep in mind weather is cooler in November; splurge all you want, then hide out in baggy sweaters to mask your guilt for the next few days.

Tarantula Awareness Festival - 10/27/12

Yes, it's an irrational fear.  So, sue me!

Tarantula Awareness Festival
Coarsegold, CA

Interesting name for a festival, Madera County.  I'm already pretty aware of the existence of tarantulas...mainly because they scare the crap out of me.

With Halloween around the corner, there's no shortage of pumpkin patches, lame haunted houses, and costume contests featuring women clad in "naughty" versions of every occupation imaginable.  For those looking for something more unique, search no further: the historic village of Coarsegold has you covered.

More than just a roundup of creepy tarantulas and their owners, the festival provides an entire day of activities that include food (thank God) and several contests that don't involve touching the aforementioned arachnids.  Bring your best pumpkin cake, forego shaving for the hairy leg contest (women, too!), or arrive with an empty belly in preparation for the pizza eating competition.  If partaking in the latter, you'll be happy to know that fifteen minutes of Jazzercise will occur mid-afternoon.

Dress up the kids decorate a pumpkin, and hold a tarantula - if you dare.

Pismo Beach Clam Festival - 10/19/12 - 10/21/12

The only thing missing is my fork.

Pismo Beach Clam Festival
Pismo Beach, CA

As if living in an oceanside community isn't enough, the residents of Pismo Beach have to flaunt their camaraderie and community involvement each year with their exciting Clam Festival!

Pismo boasts a laid-back, yet sophisticated lifestyle with plenty of beach activity and arguably the best cinnamon rolls on the coast (I'm talking about YOU, Old West).  The annual Clam Festival kicks off with a Wine Walk on Friday night and continues throughout the weekend with live music, entertainment, a chowder cook-off (naturally) and even a clam dig. Saturday morning's parade is a showcase of local talent, businesses, schools and any other groups who enjoy marching in formation.

Have a few bucks handy to participate in chowder tasting, and B.Y.O.B.B. (Bring Your Own Bread Bowl) if you're fancy like that.

Riverbank Cheese & Wine Exposition - 10/13/12 - 10/14/12

These should get me through the weekend.

Riverbank Cheese & Wine Exposition
Riverbank, CA

My favorite thing to do at events like these is to compliment how well someone "cuts the cheese" as they slice into a big block of cheddar.

Actually, that never happens.  I'm far too immature to pull that off with a straight face.

I'm not sure what exactly defines this as an exposition; all that really matters is that there's a ton of cheese and wine for the taking...and that's never a bad thing.  On top of that, over 200 vendors will be selling crafts, antiques, and non-queso-related snacks to balance out all that dairy.

Stroll around, sip some wine, and finally learn what "bandaged cheddar" is so you can finally sleep at night.