What I'm Wicked Into: Wine Tasting And Kickin' Back (In Paso Robles)
Good morning, guys!How's everything going this week?I don't have too much to report other than I signed up for my yoga studio's 30 Day Challenge. That means 30 consecutive days of yoga practice at the studio. I was a little hesitant at first to sign up, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I was just making up excuses (I don't have time, I will be too sore, I have a busy work month...).On my way out of the studio, I signed up and accepted the challenge. We'll see how it goes. The challenge wraps up on Oct. 4, just 4 days before my 30th birthday. I figured it would be a nice way to end my 20s. ;)Anyway, on to today's post!
Over Labor Day Weekend, Sam and I made the 3.5 hour trek up north for a lil "wine-tasting-and-kickin-back" getaway.It's time for another California travel recap! (In case you missed my post a couple months ago, here's even more about some past road trips we've been on.)When: September 1-3 (LDW)Where: Paso Robles, CA (via airbnb: here's where we stayed!)Why?: Wine, guys. And, of course, quality "Samari" time and a new destination to explore.Here's a look back at our stay in Paso Robles.FRIDAY we headed out of LA around 3pm to try and avoid some of the after-work holiday traffic. The extreme heat here had caused some canyon fires nearby and closed the 210 near us, so the traffic of the 5 was UGLY until we got out of the city into the rolling hills of central CA.
It took us the expected 3.5 hours to get up to "Paso" (as the locals call it) and we had about an hour or so to unwind in our airbnb before heading out to our dinner reservations at The Hatch in the downtown area.A few family members/friends have been asking us why we like airbnb so much. Personally, we love that every experience/home is different. Hotels are nice but they can be too cookie-cutter sometimes and often lack personality/that homey feel.All the airbnbs we've stayed at have been different, spacious, have all the major necessities, and the hosts have been very accommodating/helpful with planning in the area.Back to The Hatch.Here's what we ate: chicken fat toast with a pimento cheese spread, The Hatch hot wings, white cheddar grits, and fire roasted mushrooms with aioli. And, of course, a couple cocktails! Mine was called "Thyme and Roses."Everything was great and we could tell this place was popular—and for good reason.
We walked around a little after dinner to check out the cute downtown streets, and then headed back to our home for the weekend to kick it.We were both pretty exhausted.
Our airbnb was great. We had booked it about two months ago. (Tip: book your airbnb well in advance to secure your dates.) It was central to everything we wanted to check out, and our hosts and accommodations were perfect.I loved the separate entrance (far right) and outdoor space.
SATURDAY we enjoyed a hearty breakfast at a local favorite, Joe's, and then headed out for a day of exploring.
Just look at those biscuits and gravy. Damnnnn....
Our first stop was Eberle Winery and the fact that they offered free wine tastings and cave tours was extra cool.Saturday was hot, hot, hot! Good thing they had shade and misters.
Guests can reserve this private dining area in the caves for a date/parties. Cool, right?
Each barrel holds around 300 bottles of wine. That's what I'm talking about! :D
Their wine and the view from their balcony area was great! We grabbed a bottle to enjoy when we were back in LA.
Next up was Cass Winery, a spot recommended to us by the people at Eberle. We weren't really expecting to have lunch there but after the server filled up in on their Benny Burger, we decided to split it. It was super good!
After those two stops, we decided to kick it for a bit back at our airbnb. Day drinking can sneak up on you, haha! Plus, the heat had become pretty bothersome.
Later on—after a couple hours of napping—we got ready to check out some stuff on Sam's list... the local breweries.(On Friday, Sam's going to share his first beer review on TGG!)Our first stop was Barrelhouse Brewery. They had live music, great beer, and such a cool layout of games, grass, and picnic benches. I would definitely hang here if Barrelhouse was in LA.
We wish we lived closer to here for sure. What a cool vibe!Right across the way, we could hear this super jammy music that we loved and realized it was another band at Tin City Cider. We both looked at each other and said, "We gotta get over there!"
This band, Proxima Paraba was AWESOME—very funky, soulful, and a definite crowd-pleaser. We could tell they were a local favorite when everyone was up on their feet.Oh, and Tin City's cider was amazing!We called it a night after the second band. ;) It was a sure party over there. We loved it!SUNDAY we lazied around for a bit before checking out of our airbnb and heading to breakfast at Springside Restaurant. I had their blueberry pancakes. Yum!We decided to check out on more winery before heading home down the coast and Sam picked out Chronic Cellars, which is actually a wine we love getting at Whole Foods.
They have the funkiest artwork, too, so we grabbed some merch after our tasting.Then, we started to make our trek back home and decided to go the longer way home which took us down Route 1. We made stops at Cambria, Cayucos, and Santa Barbara before finally landing home.The breeze in Cambria felt heavenly after a weekend spent in 100-degree weather. Even a 15-degree difference felt incredible. Plus, their cute little downtown was very picturesque. Same goes for Cayucos.
Pit stop for smoothies and coffee in Cayucos.
A microburst hit Santa Barabara about 2 hours before we got there. We both were like, "What happened here?!" until we finally asked some locals about what we missed.
After grabbing some Thai food for dinner (pad thai!), we hit the road again and finally made it home around 9pm.It was such a fun trip to Paso but definitely exhausting too. Good thing we had one more day to chill before the work week started back up!Thanks for reading,Ari
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