The day after Atticus's birthday, Andy and I left early for a flight to California. We arrived in San Jose at 10:30, got our car, and were off. We decided to take Highway 1 to San Luis Obispo because it is just one of those bucket list things that people say you have to do. It was longer this way, but the views were incredible. We stopped at Carmel by the Sea for lunch. This was such a cute town that honestly felt like you were in another country. We walked down to the beach and from there you could see the Pebble Beach Golf course. After taking that all in we decided that we had better get on the road again, but I absolutely want to go back so that we can spend a little more time here. Andy has even found a little hotel for us to stay in on our next trip.
As we continued down the road we stopped here and there at different lookout points. It was all so beautiful. Unfortunately I lost a signal so I couldn't look up the exact spots to see everything. There is supposed to be a waterfall that we missed seeing, but we did take a detour off the beaten path that led us to Pfieffer Beach. It was a beach with purple sand due to garnet deposits. It also had a key hole arch that was really neat to see. Unfortunately the wind was bad, and so we didn't stay too long because sand was pelting us in the face.
We decided after that excursion we better just get going down the road so we stopped less. We did however see the Elephant Seal beach, and the seals were practically up to the shoulder of the road. We didn't stop, but later thought we should have gotten some videos for the kids. They are into Happy Feet right now.
We made it to Pismo Beach, and into our room later that afternoon. The views were so amazing, and every room has an oceanfront view. We got settled in, and then went to get lunch at a little Italian restaurant down the street called Giuseppe's. It was really delicious and we got a bottle of wine from their local vineyard. After dinner we walked around the town a bit, and then went back to the hotel.
We decided to get into the jacuzzi for a while only to find out that they had just refilled it, and it was lukewarm. After getting the courage to get out into the cold, we ran back to the room for hot showers instead.
The next day we were up bright and early because of the time change. I took a walk around the property, and Andy went on a run. We met up for breakfast, and then got ready for our wine tour that was at 10:40.
Our sommelier was Loyal, and he was great. He took us to Clairborne and Churchill first. This was one of our favorite wineries. It is small, and in a building made of straw. We had a library tasting which means it was just us at a table with different wines to sample and a charcuterie board to munch on. We loved their granache and bought two bottles of that.
Next was Kynsi winery. This one had a lot of outdoor seating, but very small inside. Unfortunately it started to rain so we just stood at the counter to try the wines. This place was nice, the wines good, but not as nice of an atmosphere as the first place.
Third was Sextant, and I loved this one. This was the place that we stopped to have lunch while tasting wine. This is also where I did more tasting and less dumping, and that caught up to me. The sandwiches were good, and we really liked the two people working here. It was lively, and just fun.
The last one was Verdad and that was a place in Arroyo Grande that was a tasting room for a couple that each had their own vineyard. We ran into a man that heard us talk about Kansas City, and he said his son just moved there from Boston. He said he moved into an apartment in the One Light building which led Andy to talk about athletes that have places there including Mahomes. Turns out, his son is going to play for Sporting KC. He gave us his name and we said we would watch out for him. After looking him up, we realized he is a good soccer player so he should be a good addition to the team.
This was our last stop so we wrapped up, and he drove us back to our hotel. I decided to lay down for a minute, and that turned into the rest of the night. Five hours of wine tasting took it out of me which made me feel bad because I know Andy really wanted to go out to a nice dinner. Instead it was pizza in the hotel room, and me sleeping.
The next day I was revived, and we walked to Pismo Beach to Old West Cinnamon Rolls. Such a yummy place that only makes cinnamon rolls and coffee. After we ate, we walked down to the pier to watch the surfers for a bit, and then continued on through town to our hotel.
Next we went to San Luis Obispo for the day. Andy and his parents gave me a massage at the Hotel Madonna for my birthday. It is such a quirky fun hotel that was built in the 50's. Each room is decorated differently so that they didn't make the same mistake twice. So many fun little details. The spa was very much the same. They took the time for little details, from the sugar scrub shower, and the tea room at the end. Once we were done with our massages we went out to the pool area for a bit. The sun was shining, and I could have sat out there all day, but it was lunch time so off we went.
The downtown was really great with a lot of choices for lunch. We went to Firestone Grill to try their tri-tip sandwich and it was delicious. After that we just explored the town, and stopped into the Mission there that was founded in 1772. Very neat to see.
Later that afternoon we met one of the guys that Andy has worked with that lives there for drinks, and then we headed back to get ready for dinner.
That night we ate at Ember, and it was the perfect end to our trip. Great food, and staff. I was really sad to see our trip end so soon. Such a neat area of California that is kind of a hidden treasure. We are already planning when we can get back there because it has so much to see and do.
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