Tuesday, October 5, 2021

Last Camping Trip of 2021

 It was a lovely trip. Even with all the (minor) issues we ran into! So relaxing!

Drove to Paso Robles RV Living in California - Wine Country RV Resort (sunrvresorts.com) on Wednesday - and yes, our brand new Passport America worked on 2 of the 3 nights stay - saved much more than what our 2 year subscription cost us!

It is not Cava Robles | Sun RV Resorts but it is also definitely NOT 49er Village RV Resort | Sun RV Resorts nor is it Paso Robles RV Ranch - 7 Photos, 7 Reviews - Paso Robles, CA - (roverpass.com).....our pull through site was up near the wall that is also close to highway 46 so there was the sound of cars and trucks but in the night it became background noise....the site was small, we became VERY FRIENDLY with out next door neighbors! LOL. But the swimming pool and hot tub was nice, and very close to us was the adult only hot tub. The store was nice too, even though we did not buy anything there (the hours were kind of inconvenient). And on Friday nights they have free wine tasting from local wineries. The 2 that we tasted were very good! They also had a food truck there that night.

So our first stop after hooking (partially) up was Walmart! Our black sewer dump hose brock! So we had to go buy a new one! But I found my Halloween popcorn balls while we were there so I was especially happy.

We have also had a recent issue with the big window over the couch not staying closed. It came open again on our bumpy way (gotta love California roads!) down there and somehow the string for the blinds broke - or frayed - or was cut....



Thursday IT WAS COLD when we got up! Down into the 40's! And of course, I thought I packed sweatpants but they were apparently at home nice and clean....Took our time with breakfast and showers. And then we went to Award Winning Paso Robles Wines | Eberle Winery. We had been there once before. This time the weather was perfect for sitting out on their deck! And the view over their vineyards was lovely. We really enjoyed all the wines we tasted - and found out that the owner offers discounts to military and law enforcement - as he says "anyone who has to duck bullets" - which we thought was awesome. So, surprise to me, husband decides we need to join their wine club (after complaining we never drink all the wine we already buy!) so we joined a twice a year shipment club...




Back to the campground, and hit the pool. Then got dressed and drove to Cambria for dinner. Once again Ball & Skein & More (cambriayarn.com) was not open - and there was a group of about 5 or 6 women outside the store that made me think of the old Mervyn's ad....open open open! So we visited an antique store, bought 2 slices of pie at Lim's, and had a margarita at Hours & location – Las Cambritas while we watched some Halloween bake off show - never got to see who won!



Last time we were here we ate at www.seachestrestaurant.com, so this time we ate at Home (thesowsear.com). These 2 are our favorite restaurants in Cambria. As always, the food and service were wonderful - but this time the ambience sucked. Very near to us was a table with 3 couples. And one of the women was VERY LOUD.....and the talked incessantly....even taking a phone call while eating at the table! You can tell that all the customers in the restaurant, not just us, were very irritated by her (the people at the table next to us chose not to have dessert because they just wanted out of there). The host was young, and I am sure since this was mid week and in the off season, he didnt want to take a chance of ticking anyone off....so no one said anything to them....AND THEY WOULD NOT LEAVE. They were there before us....they were there after us. It ruined the experience for us.

Friday we again took our time with breakfast. Went into Paso Robles and went to several stores: my favorites Spare Time Book Store and Reminisce Antiques in Paso Robles (reminiscepasorobles.blogspot.com). Got some Christmas shopping done! And also visited a Goodwill store and another thrift store - got myself some socks and some items for the garden.

Here are photos of things I did NOT buy!:




Oh I wanted this pumpkin basket so badly! And the price wasnt bad either (neither were the prices on 2 picnic baskets I walked away from...) but I talked myself out of it....darn it!


And, except for the books, the wine, and Christmas presents here is what I did buy:

Isnt this sweet? I restricted myself to ONE even though there were quite a few, different sizes. different materials, that were darling!


I thought this sign was sweet even though the grammar stinks!

Then on to our favorite restaurant in Paso, www.cowgirlcafe.net and had lunch. Do you see this cookie? These are cowgirl sized cookies! I bought one, and hubby bought one, to snack on on our trip home on Saturday. THEY ARE HUGE! I think they were 2/$3 or 2/$5....it took me days to eat mine (snickerdoodle; hubby had an oatmeal raisin and never even offered me a bite...)




After lunch headed over to what was a gamble, and ended up that we loved it, https://www.tincitydistillery.com/. We thought we were not going to get there in time. First of all, it is difficult to find some of the places that are tucked into the back, or inside of other places.....and there was a large truck unloading in the middle of the street. Told hubby to go around again, and we would park in one of the nearby parking lots - he refused to do that - we will get towed! - and when we came by again we could not squeeze by because now next to the big truck was a Global delivery truck totally blocking what little space there was left....



But the truck driver - delivering cans of hard cider to TIN CITY CIDER CO. - and he told us to pull into their parking lot - that there was a parking place just for us there! And there was! So this place is on our list to check out the next time we are down there.

So we made to it the tasting. And it was wonderful! First of all, they make a canned lemonade/vodka that is SO GOOD that I had to buy one of their last 4 packs.....I am not a gin person but it was pretty good. We were there primarily to try their brandies and we came home with a bottle of their hibiscus brandy AND a bottle of their apricot amaretto! Then husband tried their bourbon (I am not a hard liquor drinker) and I took a taste - oh my that was smooth! Got home and was looking at their site and I saw that a lot of their stock was sold out so I splurged on a bottle of the bourbon (and paid the shipping) to give to hubby for Christmas!

Back to the campground - it was hot today - and we turned the AC on in the trailer - and hit the pool again. Came back, changed clothes and went to the wine tasting. Tried wine from Sculpterra Winery and Sculpture Garden – The Top Paso Robles Winery and Museum - their viognier was very good. And then the other winery had good wine too (I have forgotten the name of that one!) and we found out about some wineries in San Miguel we will be checking out too....

And then to the main reason for our trip to Paso Robles. The members only BBQ at Castoro Cellars | Homepage - our first time going to the BBQ. The first year we joined we heard about the BBQ too late to go - and then of course there was the year-that-wasnt.....We had a nice time. It was a lovely evening to be outside and the music was good - the food was good - and the wine was very good!


See, I can and do drink red wine! This is Pasofusion and I love it!
I never remember the names of all the big bottles (and this guy told me he had to look up the name before serving it!) but this is called a Methusala -  full of Pasofusion!

I told you it was a beautiful evening! We left about 8 PM (after not winning any of the 4 raffles) and there still was no reason to put a sweater or jacket on!

Saturday dawned chilly again! But we got up and went back to Cowgirl Cafe for breakfast. Which was good. And then time to pack it up and leave.....and found that we had to handle for the valve to pull to drain the black tank! What makes it funny was that just that week I was reading something on a forum for our trailer about checking the screws because the poster had lost his.....so hubby was able to get it open to drain (and he tightened the screws on the grey water valve handles before we left.....).

Home again, home again, jiggety jig....to a dog on a hunger strike....not sure if it was because we were gone AGAIN so soon after the last time....whether it was the loss of his big sister.....or he is just on a food strike. When we went to the store I got a couple of cans of wet food and mixed a little into the dry food and he has been eating very well since we got home. He is such a brat! And enjoying his walks too!

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