Road Trip To Orange

I'd never been to the city of Orange, until I took a road trip with my daughter-in-law Tracy, my mom Dorothy, and four friends, in late June. Tracy had mentioned to me that she thought the Huell Howser artifacts were house in Chapman University, in Orange. I checked it out, and sure enough, she was right, so I got together a group to check out the exhibit on Huell Howser, and explore a bit of Orange. Was I ever glad I did.

 We drove together to Orange, about an hour north of Carlsbad. The drive was half the fun, as it gave us a chance to talk, talk, talk. Orange is just Northeast of Newport Beach. It began as a farming community, first farming grains such as barley and oats, then grapes. There was a blight in the early 1800's that wiped out the grape crop, and in 1873 Orange began farming oranges. They were a huge producer of oranges for decades, but this crop diminished in value during the depression and many farmers went out of business. Today, Orange is a beautiful little community, with lots of Victorian houses, a one square mile historic area filled with antiques shops, thrift shops, and funky clothing stores. Many wonderful restaurants and bars also fill the area, so spending a day there is worthwhile.

  Orange is also the home of Chapman University, a prestigious liberal arts university. That's where we started our tour.  Housed in the Leatherbys Library of Chapman University is the Huell Howell collection. We spent about 45 minutes going through the exhibits, and learned so much about this extraordinary man, who died too soon. He produced and edited most of his shows, in addition to starring in them and determining the content of them. He met famous men and women from all over the world, and had such a down home folksy approach to his interviews, that people just opened up to him. Must be his Tennessee roots. We finished our visit to the library, then moved over to Glassell Street, the main commercial area of town.  Store after store of beautiful antiques, old collectibles, and funky clothing stores made this an area we knew we had to come back to. You could spend several hours browsing the area, building up your appetite, and getting ready for lunch.  There are so many dining choices, you won't be able to make up your mind. One thing I did not see was a Starbucks, or any other chain café or restaurant. I love that. We ate at the Citrus City Grill. What a treat. The restaurant is contemporary, noisy and very upscale. Soups, salads, small plates, and big entrees are all available. Other fun restaurants in the area are Bruxie, Blue Frog Bakery, Filling Station and Rutabegorz .

 If you've never been to Orange, take a day and explore. You will be happy you did. The town is right out of the old U.S., the people are friendly, and the retail shops and restaurants are top quality. In rediscovering Huell Howswer, I also discovered a delightful little town that I will definitely return to.