Fun Month has arrived and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I had a truly Great end of September/beginning of October week, and I’m hopeful that the rest of the month is going to be chock full of thrills and adventures. I’m fairly confident that Great things are on the horizon.
1. I spent the week in Idaho learning all about potato harvesting and processing with my friends at the Idaho potato commission. This trip was so Great for so many reasons. Although there were other bloggers there, there were also chefs, writers and other food service professionals. It was so cool to not only learn about different types of jobs in the food industry (A guy who develops breading flavors?!?!), but also to be able to see their perspective on our shared experience. I also loved being on the farm and seeing the entire process from planting to harvesting, all the way to french fry/tot/potato flakes production. Truly fascinating stuff. On the flip side of farm life, I also really enjoyed seeing the ins and outs of factory life. Not only the wildly amazing machinery, but also the people who worked there. I think sometimes I forget that there are real people out there working in a factory every day to ensure we get just the right size french fry. It was humbling.
2. Beyond the educational part of the trip, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Idaho. What a beautiful state! I saw incredible, colorful fall foliage (a real treat for this California girl), woods, farms, mountains, and even volcanic rock. I went horseback riding and ice skating; all the things that are pretty much unavailable to me in my corner of the country. It was really Great to go to a place that I didn’t have very high expectations for (sorry Idaho), and be blown away.
3. I know I already mentioned the people, but the group we were touring with was by far the greatest part of my week. To be surrounded by men and women of all ages, from all parts of the country who are dedicated and passionate about what they do, and so willing to share ideas was beyond Great. A special shout out to my new friend Faith, who’s birthday we celebrated while we were there. Gotta love a cake with the state of Idaho outlined on it!
I’m happy to be home again with the pups and The Hubs, and I’m looking forward to my first Fun Month weekend. Stay tuned for tons of new content coming soon to this blog. It’s going to be a busy holiday season.
Linda Whittig says
So wonderful to be able to share our great state with you Betsy and honored to have been able to kick off Fun Month with you! Hopefully we’ll be a hard act to follow!