Going SLO

For the first time in years, everyone I know is traveling to cool and exotic places - except me.

My niece is finishing up her study trip in Rome and will spend another three weeks touring through Europe (her luggage did finally show up and her traveling partner has stopped talking about cutting her trip short, so I expect they will both have a wonderful time).

My friends Debbie and Tim left on Sunday for Tokyo, and my friend Faith is currently in Thailand.

And the Mills family is staying right here in California for the summer. I'm not even going to make the trip to Chicago this week for BlogHer :sigh:

We did manage an overnight stay in Santa Paula last month. And another one, last weekend, in the beautiful Central Coast town of San Luis Obispo.

The occasion was our daughter's return to us after spending a week and a half with my parents in Sacramento. After making the trip up there three times in the last six weeks, I jumped at my folks' offer to meet us halfway that Sunday, at Harris Ranch.

But even the prospect of just half a trip up Interstate 5 (the most boring highway in all of California) was not a pleasant one. So we decided to break it up a little, by heading north on Saturday via coastal 101 and spending the night somewhere up there. We'd head east to Harris Ranch the next day and really only have to deal with the 5 for the trip back to L.A. (with our daughter in tow).

The best part of this plan was that, as much of the rolling hills of the Central Coast are covered with vineyards (making them even more picturesque), we could spend a couple of hours Saturday afternoon indulging in one of our favorite hobbies: wine tasting.

"You know what?" my husband said as we descended into the Edna Valley...

"This is God's country?" I asked -- because that's what he says EVERY time we drive through this part of the state.

"And those mountain peaks are called 'The Seven Sisters"? And they are actually ancient volcanoes?" I added.

He growled. After 18 years together, we know each other too well. And I know that my geologist husband cannot resist giving out little lessons when we pass through interesting territory.

We stopped off at Edna Valley Vineyard, one of several wineries with lush landscaping and a large tasting room. It was a busy day all over the Valley -- between the wine tour buses and the special catered event being held on their grounds, it was hard to belly up to the wine bar, which had a specatacular view of the vineyard and the valley beyond. 

I watched a group relaxing on the patio chairs next to the lushly landscaped lawn, enjoying that view while sipping from a bottle they'd purchased inside, and it was tempting -- but Gareth and I weren't that impressed with the vintages we tasted there, and decided to squeeze in another winery. We continued driving along Biddle Ranch Road and came upon the tasting room shared by two small family operations: Saucelito Canyon and Ortman Family Vineyards. Their room was no less busy -- but it was smaller, less corporate-feeling... and we liked the wines enough to buy half a case.

The tasting rooms close between 4 and 5, so it was time to head to downtown San Luis Obispo, where I'd booked our hotel. As this overnight was decided at the last minute, I'd not had a lot of choices -- and was shocked to discover how much hotels were going for this summer. Our favorite hotel up here, Sycamore Springs, was completely booked, as was the Holiday Inn Express -- and both had about doubled in price since our last visit (when Megan was a preschooler). It makes sense: San Luis Obispo is situated halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, so it's a popular place to stop - especially this time of year.

So I resigned myself to the fact that we would have to pay something in the $200 range and headed for TripAdvisor.com, to see what was available. The San Luis Creek Lodge had availability, so I booked it and prayed that it would be nicer than the place we'd stayed a few weeks ago in Santa Paula.

The mock Tudor building that faced the street looked somewhat promising. The red phone box outside the office entrance was a nice touch. So far, so good.

The desk clerk (or was she the hotel manager?) welcomed us and informed us that we would be in the Craftsman building. This is when we discovered that this unique little bed and breakfast type hybrid consisted of three buildings designed in three very distinct styles, with interior furnishings to match. In addition to the Londonderry (another mock Tudor) and Craftsman buildings, there was one called the Plantation, which resembles a manse from the old South, and offers views of the creek from which the hotel takes its name.

Our room was another pleasant surprise: large, airy and full of whimsical touches, all in the Craftsman theme. The king sized bed was truly a king, the linens were luxurious, the fixtures in the tiled bathroom were fine quality, the amenities were branded by Aveda, there was a small refrigrator, microwave and best of all: free wi-fi. Our room even included a fireplace (too warm a day to use it, but nice to know for future reference). Yes, this was going to do just fine.

It wasn't yet dark, so we decided to head into the little downtown and do some exploring. The city operates a little trolley service between the hotels and motels on Monterey Street and the Mission downtown, so we hopped on board. (Trolleys run until 9:00 p.m. and the fare is just 25 cents). We spent the next couple of hours window shopping and taking pictures of the sights (on my Flickr stream).

We toyed with the idea of doing some more wine tasting; earlier in the day, I'd picked up a brochure for Taste, a high-tech tasting room in downtown SLO, boasting a choice of something like 70 different varieties. It was highly automated; the bottles are inverted and poured from individual kiosks. You purchase your tasting credits at the desk and then insert your card in the slot for the wine(s) you wish to try. This was all a little bit too impersonal for our taste (part of the fun of tasting at the wineries is chatting with the folks who work there -- most of our meager knowledge of wine and the winemaking process came this way). We decided to give Taste a try on our next SLO visit.

Instead, we decided to enjoy a proper Italian dinner at Palazzo Giuseppe, which looked good from the outside... and did not disappoint us when we were finally seated. From cocktails at the bar (where I enjoyed an orange blossom martini) through our appetizer of stuffed zucchini blossoms and entrees... the food was excellent. I was grateful for those final tastes, as I was beginning a new diet the following morning and kept referring to that meal as my last supper.

We slept soundly and comfortably in our room back at the hotel. The San Luis Creek Lodge serves its guests a light breakfast each morning (included in the cost of the room), but my husband was craving something more substantial, so we went hunting for a good breakfast joint. We stopped at Louisa's Place merely because it was there -- we had not known that it is an SLO institution, appearing often on residents' Best Breakfast lists. After dining there, they can have our vote, too.

We left the town feeling rested, full -- and sorry to be heading east into the dusty San Joaquin Valley. I hope we get to return soon.

Comments

[M&Co.]

Well it wasn't a trip to Hawaii, but it sounds like a lovely mini-vacation. And sometimes that's all we get.

[Abby]

I'm not sure if it applies to you or your friends, but we're trying to get the word out about the search for one lucky couple who could win a second honeymoon at the Hotel Nikko San Francisco. The hotel, which is right in downtown San Fran, is conducting a nationwide search for a couple that had their wedding, reception or honeymoon at their hotel 20 years ago (Oct. 1987-1988) during their first year open. It’s a way to celebrate the Hotel’s 20th Anniversary, as well as the couple's.

The only catch is that the couple must still be married, which is no small feat these days! The couple wins airfare for two, six nights in the honeymoon suite, breakfast everyday at the hotel, dinner at ANZU (the hotel’s fantastic Japanese fusion restaurant) and champagne. Here’s a link to the contest rules: http://hotelnikkosf.com/PDFs/CurrentSpecials.pdf.

I certainly hope you’ll be interested in helping us search for the lucky couple!