Our Trip to Visalia

Hey everyone! In my previous post, I mentioned the fact that I went to Visalia, CA for an interview. Visalia is a small, agricultural town about three and a half hours away from where Alejandro and I live. As my dad likes to say, "It's in the boonies." I don't necessarily agree that it's in the boonies, but oh well.

First of all, the hospital that I interviewed with provided Alejandro and me with a complimentary room at the Marriott for two nights. The fact that they were willing to pay for me to stay at such a nice hotel was a positive factor! After all, they wouldn't want to "waste" money on someone they didn't think was worth interviewing, right? Here are some pictures of our hotel room.

King bed in our room

Bathroom and vanity

TV and desk area

The first night we were there, we decided to find a place to eat that was within walking distance. We found this cute, little bakery in downtown called The Lunch Box. Their sandwiches were delicious and their cookies were really good too!

Whimsical decor inside The Lunch Box

Half turkey, cranberry, & cream cheese sandwich, turkey, bacon, & avocado salad, and a cookie

Free passion tea lemonade with a Pair It Combo and a free cookie of your choice for checking in on Yelp (I got an Almond Joy Cookie)

When we got back to our hotel, we decided to rest for about an hour and a half, then hit the gym! The hotel's gym was actually really nice. There were plenty of machines, free weights, mats, complimentary ear buds and towels, and TV screens on the machines. I didn't want to stay up too late that night since I had my interview in the morning.

The interview went really well! It was a bit nerve racking, though, because on the itinerary that the company sent me, I was going to meet with three different panels. I've never been interviewed by a panel before, let alone, multiple panels. However, everyone I met was really nice and personable. My interviews and tour lasted for about two and a half hours. Yes, you read that right, two and a half hours! After I was dropped off back at the hotel, Alejandro and I had a little over an hour to relax before going on a community tour with a realtor who would show us around town. 

Alejandro and me before meeting with the realtor

The realtor picked us up from the hotel and drove us around for an hour and a half. She showed us some neighborhoods she thought we'd be interested in living in. My gosh! The houses were really nice and super cheap compared to where we currently live! A house that would typically go for $1 million dollars was less than $300,000 in Visalia! She also gave us some recommendations on where to eat that evening. We decided to try a microbrewery called Brewbakers Brewing Company, which was also in downtown. 

Raspberry Apple Ale

Cup of chili

Garlic fries with ranch dipping sauce

We were really happy that we chose this place. Alejandro ordered their club sandwich, and it was no joke! The sandwich was huge and looked so good! I didn't try it, but I'll take his word on how good it was. See that raspberry apple ale? If you're not a huge beer fan, this would be perfect for you! It had a nice touch of sweetness and wasn't overpowering at all. It wasn't that strong either. Afterward, we walked around downtown for a bit to walk off the food. Then, we decided to go to a hookah lounge to end off our night.

Sahara Hookah Lounge

Our hookah with Fumari lemon mint

We enjoyed our time in Visalia. I hope I hear from the hospital soon! I would love to work with the team they have there! 

Hope you're all having a great weekend so far! 

In Words, With Love,

Vanessa Mae