Day 1 in Newport Beach, CA
Our home for the next four nights. A spacious bungalow with a view of the golf course and Pacific Ocean. Because someone’s got to do it.
Bob has a business trip that will take him away from Montana for a few days. It happens to be in Newport Beach, California. OK, I'll go. We fly out of Kalispell, Montana to Salt Lake City, and then to John Wayne International Airport, Orange County and in 20 minutes we are at the Resort at Pelican Hill. It is 65 degrees here. It is 17 lovely but frigid degrees in Montana. This is a good break.
We’re not in Montana anymore. A beautiful olive tree in the rotunda at the Resort at Pelican Hill, Newport Beach, California. In December.
A woman drives us to our room and points out two large houses on the hill -- one belongs to Kobe Bryant, the other one belongs to Jay Leno. Nice neighborhood. We settle into our room and then meet two friends/business partners for dinner at the Pelican Grill, located at the golf club inside the resort.
The exterior and interior of the Pelican Grill, one of four restaurants on property at Pelican Hill. There may be more, but I can count. Especially restaurants.
It is comfortable with an understated interior, large sports bar and open kitchen. Since we have all been traveling, we are all pretty hungry. Three of us start with a delicato squash soup with pepitas (toasted pumpkin seeds) and a chili oil drizzle. Bob opts for a mixed greens Caesar salad, since romaine lettuce is in "time out" these days. We are all pretty happy with our choices.
Our appetizer and main course selections. Traveling makes one hungry. We fixed that in a proper fashion.
For the main course, I choose rack of lamb with a delicate demi-glace sauce, and sides of broccolini and wild mushroom for the table. Bob gets the half organic chicken, roasted with shelling beans, braised greens, pickled mustard seeds and natural jus. I did not take pictures of our dining companions' meals because I was too tired to be obnoxious. Dinner was delightful, and somewhere between the soup and the main course, these lovely carolers came by to serenade us. Quaint!!
Tableside carolers. The woman on the right hit some ridiculous high notes! Quite good.
After dinner, we head off to bed because tomorrow is another day. The guys have meetings and golf, and I don't. Gonna explore a little, take some pictures and tell you about it. Please follow along, hope you enjoy!!
Somewhere between Salt Lake City and Santa Ana, California, headed to Newport Beach, CA. for a few days. I miss my dog.