Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
We made it back...
...to our favorite spot on the Central California Coast, back in our favorite room at the Spyglass Inn in Shell (Pismo) Beach, and back to five days and nights of enjoying this wonderful view. The trip up was uneventful, with the exception of Miss Nica slipping out of her harness walking with Larry in a park in Thousand Oaks as we stopped for lunch. She ran straight to Margaret, thank God, and we continued on our way, though from then on we clipped her leash to her harness AND the loop on her collar!
Sassy and Nica continue to be really great little travelers. We did make one more stop on the north side of Santa Barbara for all of us to stretch our legs, and then continued on, arriving in Shell Beach mid-afternoon. Our vacation had officially begun!
The most beautiful view...
... and the most amazing sunset. Just a couple of the reasons we returned to "our" room, with "our" patio this year. We brought in food from our favorite local Mexican restaurant and dined al fresco while nature put on this incredible show. So happy to be back!
Our first morning in Central California..
...started with a quick trip into San Luis Obispo in search of a battery for Margaret's camera. We found a battery, but also discovered that the battery wasn't the problem, the camera was! Oh well. That's why we travel with two! From there we headed back out to Avila Beach for something to eat. In the past we've driven out on the Port San Luis Pier and eaten at a little place on the end. This year, after checking our "dog-friendly" restaurant guide, we chose a place right in town in Avila Beach, and right across the street from the water, the Custom House. It was a good choice. The waitress brought water for the girls and the two of us enjoyed a late breakfast, plus great conversation about dogs with the couple at the next table. We met the NICEST people on this trip, every where we went, something we noticed and appreciated every day.
Back to the orchards on See Canyon Rd...
There is something about the stretch of narrow road that winds among the apple orchard which brings us back year after year. It feels like fall there, I think, more than most places in Central/Southern California feel. We wanted to get a few of the Empire apples we'd enjoyed from there last year, and we wanted some cider to drink in our room. We were able to find both by returning to a couple of the orchards we've visited in the past. The wedding dress hanging in front of one of the orchard buildings was to be worn by a bride at a wedding being held there later in the day! Larry also checked out the Art Glass Studio on the other side of the the small wooden bridge, while Margaret and the girls hung out in the car. Most of the artist's pieces were pretty modern, but still interesting!
The winery in the orchard...
We'd seen Kelsey Winery on our travels along See Canyon Road before, but had never stopped. This time we did and we were glad. We did a wine tasting there, outside the tasting room in a sweet little pic-nic area, with the girls at our feet. We tried a couple of their wines that are apple and grape blends, enjoyed and brought home bottles of both. The peacocks wandering through the rows of vines are a great touch!
Before heading back to our room, we tried to visit the biggest pumpkin farm/stand we'd ever seen. Tried being the operative word there. Once we got on the property we saw a parking lots that had to be a couple of acres big filled with cars. And, we couldn't even get a decent pictures of the piles and piles of pumpkins for all the people milling around. It was our first clue that it was a holiday (Columbus Day) weekend and everybody was out enjoying the beautiful weather. We gave up for this year - maybe next time!
A visit from cousins...
A Sunday drive to the lakes...
After cousins Dale and Bob headed back to San Jose, we had a nice long day ahead of us to explore new areas. A guide book had mentioned that the man-made lake in Atascadero, near a big municipal park, was a favorite tourists destination. It's a mile long walk or drive around the lake, which is a great place to see lots of wild life. Sassy and Nica stayed in the car - all the birds (lots of ducks) and other creatures would have been just a bit too exciting for them!
As seen along a country road...
We both love photos of old farm equipment. We saw this collection sitting in front of someone's property and just had to pull over for some pictures. Hope they didn't mind! The cola sign just made us laugh.
Lake Santa Margarita...
We had been drawn back to Santa Margarita because of memories of root beer floats we enjoyed there two years ago. Sadly, the general store where we had enjoyed these had gone out of business. But, we were glad we took the eight mile drive from town out to the lake, which appears to be a favorite with fishermen. It's very large and surrounded by rugged terrain. Obviously, the deer weren't the least worried about us driving close by.
The view from down the street...
On the way back to the hotel, we got off one exit early and drove into one of the nearby neighborhoods, just a few blocks away. These are the views from the end of the street!
The wedding we weren't invited to...
California Route 46...
... from Paso Robles to Cambria is a road we've come to know well. And yet, we never tire of traveling it! After driving north Monday morning on the 101, we headed back towards the coast, enjoying this stretch of road as always. There are vineyards, and cattle land, and old barns, and of course, the pumpkin farm, where we always like to stop. The calf was being bottle fed because his mama wouldn't, poor thing.
Sitting on top of the world...
Route 46 climbs steadily as you travel west, before reaching a plateau that offers magnificent views of the surrounding hills and all the way to the ocean.
Yes, that's Hearst Castle...
... in the distance! We drove as far north as the parking lot where tours go up to the castle by bus. We had dogs and no reservations, so this was the best view we'd get this trip. It was such a beautiful day for a drive that we were glad we detoured to the north a bit. And, we found a great place for lunch in San Simeon. Driving back south to Cambria, we saw lots more beautiful coastline.
Back to see the Scarecrows of Cambria...
We just had to go back to Cambria this year to enjoy its October long Scarecrow Festival. And we weren't disappointed! As last year, these are just a few of the many, many creations we saw all over town. What a great tradition for a small community like this!
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped and bought a blown glass Christmas ornament in that wonderful, funky little burg of Harmony, which is STILL population 18. We heard that there's a restaurant opening there - some place else for us to try next time we are in the area!
Hanging out with "the girls"...
... on our patio, after a long day of sightseeing. This gull thought it owned the roof over our room. Chased all others away!
Monday night's sunset...
The "Village"...
... as the locals refer to Arroyo Grande, is just a few miles from Pismo Beach. We'd read about this quaint town recently in a magazine and decided to explore it this visit. We'd hired dog-sitter, Katie, back for a few hours that day, looking forward to being able to go into the many shops we'd read lined the Arroyo Grande streets. We'd also read about the town's historic district and the swinging bridge, so we started our mini-tour there. The museums were closed, but we did enjoy the gardens, and the many monarch butterflies sipping nectar from the flowering trees. And yes, we walked across the swinging bridge, which doesn't really swing, but it does bounce - a weird sensation!
Then we looked for a place for lunch on the main street and found a restaurant that will live in our memories, the Rooster Tavern. We're not "designer pizza" kind of people, but we had a Proscuitto/Fresh Mozzarella/Arugula/White Truffle Oil Pizza that was just incredible. Another place we will most definitely go back! We followed that with a walk on the main drag and a bit of shopping.
More beautiful Wine Country...
After lunch and a walk through "the Village", we headed inland a few miles to the Talley Winery, where we split a tasting. We found three wines we enjoyed, including one that we'll serve with Thanksgiving dinner next month. The grounds are so incredibly beautiful. It would have been easy to sit in front of the tasting room and just soak in the scenery. But, we had one more stop on our agenda - the Wolff Winery, which we had read was "dog-friendly". Nope, we didn't have the girls with us this time, but there's always the chance of another visit. And again, the grounds were incredibly beautiful, with the tasting room sitting on top of a hill adjacent to a lovely pic-nic area. We weren't ready to taste more wine, but we did come home with a couple of jars of interesting fruit sauces! We'll most certainly return another day.
Our last Pismo Beach sunset...
... for this year's visit. We got sandwiches and salads from the deli across the street, opened a bottle of the wine we bought earlier in the day, and enjoyed a sunset dinner on our patio.
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