It was fantastic! Bill and I left Friday afternoon after dropping the dogs off at the kennel. It took a lot longer than I thought it would to drive to Cambria, but the views were incredible! We drove down Highway 1, which was along the coast for most of the trip. The road was pretty twisty and turny, but beautiful. We checked in at the Sea Otter Inn on Moonstone Beach, dropped our stuff off, and then headed to Harmony. One of our favorite wineries is there, Harmony Cellars.
They have done a lot with the place since we were there last (at least four years ago). We did a tasting and then got a glass of Barbera to sit out on the patio with and listen to music. It was nice. Then we went back to the hotel, got a bottle of wine, the bread and cheese that I had brought, and some chairs and went and sat by the ocean. It was nice. Then we went in the room and I crashed hard.
The next morning I got up and ran, rather dehydrated. Yet I had a great run. Then I set up my new iPhone 4s and we headed to Paso Robles. First we had to get lunch, so we stopped at the West End Bar and Grill in Cambria. I enjoyed my veg sandwich and Bill liked his fish tacos.
First stop in Paso was Penman Springs Vineyards. Beth is the crazy lady who runs it and she has not changed a bit! She seemed happy to see us again, and I know she remembered us, but it took a while for her to put the pieces together. That was fun. Then we went down the road to Tobin James Cellars. We got to taste a few that weren't on the tasting list, and it was a fun time there too. You can go to Tobin without having fun. After that we went down the road to Eberle. That was a little disappointing. The guy at the tasting bar seemed very distracted and we didn't feel that the wines were as good as we remembered them.
Then it was back to Cambria to get ready for dinner. We made the mistake of laying down and not setting the alarm. We woke up at 5:35 and had reservations at 5:45! We hustled and made it there a few minutes late. We got the table by the fireplace (which was not on because it was too warm). Our waiter brought out a complimentary glass of champagne, the same kind I was thinking of ordering. He informed me that either of the salads would be fine and there was a special dinner prepared.
I had the fig and gorgonzola salad which was excellent. My special dinner was beet gnocchi with a tarragon cream sauce and heirloom carrots. I had contacted the restaurant as I made the reservation to let them know of my food allergies. I emailed back and forth with the chef about likes and dislikes, so I was pretty sure mu dinner was going to be delicious. It was out of this world! The waiter said that he was glad I was getting it because she (the chef) had made extra and would be serving it to the staff that night. I think they will enjoy it too. We split the salted caramel tart for dessert, without the chipotle sauce. As we were leaving, the chef came out to see that I was indeed still alive and that I had enjoyed my meal. She gave me a big hug, thanked me for coming in, and wished me a happy birthday. That was sweet.
We went back to the room and crashed hard. We woke up late this morning and headed out to find brunch. We found Linn's Restaurant. The food was good, and the service unremarkable. But we ate, and that was good. Then we started driving home. I turned off at a vista a few minutes north of Hearst Castle and we got to see Elephant Seals. We watched them for a few minutes and then continued our drive. We picked up the dogs, who seemed to enjoy their spa weekend and came home. The cats seemed happy to see us and the house wasn't destroyed, which is great.
All in all it was a fantastic weekend. Thanks, babe!
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