Travel, travel, travel. That’s about all I seem to be doing these days. This weekend it was an up and back trip to Atlantic City, apparently called “The City That’s Always On.” Hmm.. that could be wrong on so many levels. AC really is the slummier version of Vegas. And talk about slummier, I don’t want to be too negative but Spirit Airlines was an eye opening experience for me as well. Coined as the “Ultra Low Fare Airline”, they really lived up to the name. The airplanes are old and dirty. The flight attendants are as old as my grandmother or 8 months pregnant, bless their hearts! I actually didn’t know you could fly when you’re that prego. Even the passengers were a unique breed of first time flyers, snow birds, and budget travelers. At least they were on time, didn’t lose my luggage, and got me up and back safely without incident. I will never complain about Southwest again. Or at least for a really long time.
This trip to Atlantic City was for the Altantic Baking Expo, held every two years at the convention center. On Sunday, I gave a tasting demonstration to about 100 bakers on the showroom floor. We talked about selecting the best coconut oil, Kelapo obviously, but also about the characteristics, like bright white in color, flavorful coconut aroma, and mild sweet taste. Then the next morning, I gave an educational lecture on coconut oil that went more into the health and wellness about using a plant-based saturated fat such as coconut oil. In my spare time, I walked around the showroom floor and tasted cakes, cookies, and brownies! I cut myself off very quickly and am so glad that our regular tradeshows are in the natural foods industry, otherwise, I’d probably gain 200 lbs. There was also a cake judging contest and I took a picture of one of the culinary student’s entries, “Alice In Wonderland”. Very cleverly done.
The whole weekend went great, just a small coughing spell after the second presentation because I was suffering from a head cold. I must not have taken enough coconut oil beforehand! Then it was back to the airport to catch up on my reading and also the history of Atlantic City, which includes several of the real life Atlantic City leaders now fictionalized in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. I saw the real Nucky Johnson (not Thompson as in the show) and the Commodore, both respected and not completely crooked politicians as portrayed in the show. By the way, when does that come back on the air and is everyone still upset over Jimmy’s death at the end of season 2? What a finale!