Yesterday, instead of going into work, several new OCR associates and I embarked on an all-day excursion in a van across Orange County.
(No, seriously. Company-encouraged.)
We traveled along the coast, explored areas in the valley and saw the county’s two largest attractions in Anaheim (Disney and baseball).
The trip intended to give us a taste of Orange County — to educate us about the history and culture of the diverse areas we cover and to encourage us to learn more about the county’s 34 distinct cities.
I didn’t realize how vastly different parts of Orange County were — how one city hosts one of the largest Hispanic populations in the country, while a neighboring one hosts one of the largest Vietnamese populations. (And then you have Laguna Beach, home to the self-titled reality show and “The Hills,” and Newport Beach, home to the beloved fictional television drama “The O.C.”)
So, I’ve decided to make a “bucket list” of sorts — a list of places I want to go this summer while I am virtually 15 minutes away from all of it. I also plan to road-trip to L.A. and San Diego, among other places, but I’m saving those bucket lists for a different time.
I’ve started with a few things that come to mind, and I’ll (try to remember to) update this as the summer continues, and (maybe, if I remember) I’ll even do a wrap-up at the end of the places I’ve been. (And if you’re an Orange County pro, feel free to chime in with suggestions.)
And though I’m sure I’ll get to do a lot of these things, I have my priorities straight:
If there’s one thing I am absolutely not leaving Orange County without doing, it’s eating a frozen banana from the Balboa Island stand that inspired the Bluth’s business on “Arrested Development.”
THINGS I MUST DO IN ORANGE COUNTY THIS SUMMER:
Watch Disneyland fireworks.- Order a frozen banana from Sugar & Spice Frozen Bananas on Balboa Island.
- Attend part of the month-long O.C. Fair in Costa Mesa.
- Order a grilled cheese and animal-style fries off In-N-Out’s secret menu. (These are everywhere. There’s even one 10 minutes from me next to a Chick-fil-A.)
- Visit Fashion Island, the infamous upscale shopping center in Newport Beach.