stephenson
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Only mod today was two nights at Summerwood, a working winery and inn ...they were booked but had canc so we are staying there while in Paso Robles area.
Wine train at Napa?
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stephenson
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Mid trip status .... leaving out of LA to avoid smoke etc in San Francisco. Cancelled Monetary and Santa Clara same reasons.
Pismo at The Cliffs - aging, not particularly well cared for hotel that could be magnificent. Great views. Pier for dinner at Avila was great ... sea lions, whales, porpoise, sea otters ... pretty cool - great food at the end of the pier. Wine tour with driver for six of us was fun ... pretty darn good wines within 20 minutes. San Luis Obispo Thursday evening street market was very well attended - nice shops, street food, lots of Cal Poly student, pizza places, bars, etc.
Morro Bay at the Anderson Inn - completely different vibe of a California version of a small New England summer beach community. Music all the time from everywhere - small restaurants - sea lions in the distance - Coast Guard playing national anthem at 0800.
Summerwood Winery on Tuesday-Thursday.
Made resv for the Wuksachi Lodge (Sequoia) before we checked weather - just cancelled when we found out is was going to snow the entire time we were there. Sheesh. Looking for something to do for one night in Los Padres National Forest - recommendations?
Out of LA on 21st.
Pismo at The Cliffs - aging, not particularly well cared for hotel that could be magnificent. Great views. Pier for dinner at Avila was great ... sea lions, whales, porpoise, sea otters ... pretty cool - great food at the end of the pier. Wine tour with driver for six of us was fun ... pretty darn good wines within 20 minutes. San Luis Obispo Thursday evening street market was very well attended - nice shops, street food, lots of Cal Poly student, pizza places, bars, etc.
Morro Bay at the Anderson Inn - completely different vibe of a California version of a small New England summer beach community. Music all the time from everywhere - small restaurants - sea lions in the distance - Coast Guard playing national anthem at 0800.
Summerwood Winery on Tuesday-Thursday.
Made resv for the Wuksachi Lodge (Sequoia) before we checked weather - just cancelled when we found out is was going to snow the entire time we were there. Sheesh. Looking for something to do for one night in Los Padres National Forest - recommendations?
Out of LA on 21st.
Oma_here
Dryer sheet aficionado
I don't know any hotels near Big Basin, but Saratogo is not too far away. Alternatively you can try Ben Lomond or Felton.
Sorry, I live within easy driving distance so I have never looked for hotels
Sorry, I live within easy driving distance so I have never looked for hotels
mh
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Don't know if you are still in Paso area but a really fun day is to rent a limo and go to wineries. Limo drivers have great contacts at small wineries off the beaten path.
Or go to Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez valley for another great wine tasting area. Enjoy!
Or go to Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez valley for another great wine tasting area. Enjoy!
Another Reader
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There is now a fire in the Santa Cruz mountains, so the choice to skip the Bay Area and the wine country was a good one.
stephenson
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At Summerwood Inn near Paso Robles. Very nice - but expensive for us - must keep reminding ourselves to not be too cheap ?
Friends dropped us for car in San Luis Obispo yesterday and then followed us to Summerwood so all could be in same car for tasting tour:
Tobin James - always free tasting, knowledgable attentive staff
Cass - good food but their ice tea was $6 so we talked it over and decided we were prey and should leave ?
Eberle - free tasting for military/retired military, great tour of caves they constructed (think upside down gunite pool)
Daou - $40 tasting fee with wine educator, pompous sounding, VERY expensive wines, beautifully developed hilltop, GREAT views, didn't stay
Dusi - free tasting and great wines!!
More today!!!
Friends dropped us for car in San Luis Obispo yesterday and then followed us to Summerwood so all could be in same car for tasting tour:
Tobin James - always free tasting, knowledgable attentive staff
Cass - good food but their ice tea was $6 so we talked it over and decided we were prey and should leave ?
Eberle - free tasting for military/retired military, great tour of caves they constructed (think upside down gunite pool)
Daou - $40 tasting fee with wine educator, pompous sounding, VERY expensive wines, beautifully developed hilltop, GREAT views, didn't stay
Dusi - free tasting and great wines!!
More today!!!
daylatedollarshort
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I'm glad to hear you were able to make alternative plans. It sounds like a fun time.
stephenson
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Back!
Nice time last day in Paso Robles area - a few more wineries including Lohr, Nelson, Eberle, Hall and Halter ...frankly, they all had great Zins and Cabs, but didn't care much for their whites.
Took an extended drive through the Los Padres to get to Santa Barbara via Hwys 166 and 33 ... fun drive that ended up in Carpinteria and then we backtracked to Santa Barbara.
Hmmm ... Santa Barbara was less than I thought it would be. Pier was nice, great tour of the old mission, even though there was a bit of revisionist history related to Spain's treatment of the local tribe. Downtown was nice in some areas and street people/street musicians/street kids in others. Great restaurant was Zaytoon (Lebanese). Don't think SB warrants the press it gets. Stayed at aging inn downtown (Hotel Santa Barbara) for walking convenience ... surrounded by Irish and other types of bars ... further up State St it gets better, but ...
Nice drive down beach towards LA - went to Pt Mugu Naval Air Station for grins - continued the drive and had lunch on the beach in Malibu at Bob's Morris' Beach Cafe (Paradise Cove) - very interesting location, nice pier, nice beach, very expensive food - but, still a place to drop in on one time.
Dinner downtown Manhattan Beach - great pier, great restaurants and bars, BUT, MB is getting pretty crowded.
Stayed at the Renaissance Hotel next to LAX - a great location - drop off rental car across the street at either Avis or Budget the night prior to departure, walk to hotel, and leave on very efficient shuttles to get to LAX in 5 minutes.
Fun trip summary:
- skip Pismo Beach
- Avila was small, but cute
- like Morro Bay a lot with excursions to wineries and beach, etc
- Cambria to north of Morro Bay was nice
- could spend more time in Paso Robles including staying downtown (many like PR more than Napa and Sonoma, both of which, according to some, have oversold).
- other than the old mission, I don't think Santa Barbara is worth visiting (unless you simply must have the latest Ferragamo slippers
)
Nice time last day in Paso Robles area - a few more wineries including Lohr, Nelson, Eberle, Hall and Halter ...frankly, they all had great Zins and Cabs, but didn't care much for their whites.
Took an extended drive through the Los Padres to get to Santa Barbara via Hwys 166 and 33 ... fun drive that ended up in Carpinteria and then we backtracked to Santa Barbara.
Hmmm ... Santa Barbara was less than I thought it would be. Pier was nice, great tour of the old mission, even though there was a bit of revisionist history related to Spain's treatment of the local tribe. Downtown was nice in some areas and street people/street musicians/street kids in others. Great restaurant was Zaytoon (Lebanese). Don't think SB warrants the press it gets. Stayed at aging inn downtown (Hotel Santa Barbara) for walking convenience ... surrounded by Irish and other types of bars ... further up State St it gets better, but ...
Nice drive down beach towards LA - went to Pt Mugu Naval Air Station for grins - continued the drive and had lunch on the beach in Malibu at Bob's Morris' Beach Cafe (Paradise Cove) - very interesting location, nice pier, nice beach, very expensive food - but, still a place to drop in on one time.
Dinner downtown Manhattan Beach - great pier, great restaurants and bars, BUT, MB is getting pretty crowded.
Stayed at the Renaissance Hotel next to LAX - a great location - drop off rental car across the street at either Avis or Budget the night prior to departure, walk to hotel, and leave on very efficient shuttles to get to LAX in 5 minutes.
Fun trip summary:
- skip Pismo Beach
- Avila was small, but cute
- like Morro Bay a lot with excursions to wineries and beach, etc
- Cambria to north of Morro Bay was nice
- could spend more time in Paso Robles including staying downtown (many like PR more than Napa and Sonoma, both of which, according to some, have oversold).
- other than the old mission, I don't think Santa Barbara is worth visiting (unless you simply must have the latest Ferragamo slippers
)
Teacher Terry
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A good friend of mine grew up in SB and wanted to return. She had Alzheimer's but not that bad and her DH was dying from cancer so the 4 of us decided to make the trip while it would still mean something to her. WE rented a beautiful house that was cheaper then 2 hotel rooms and had a great time. Some of her childhood friends came to visit and the area was so beautiful. A festival was going on which was fun. WE stayed 10 days and had a great time. If we had just gone to sight see we would not have stayed so long though. Probably will never go back but enjoyed it. Also her DH knew all the great places to go, eat etc so he was the tour guide.
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