Bbq and Sunsets

Had another great BBQ dinner at Mo's and enjoyed a lovely sunset. 

Central Coast and Pismo

Had a great time wine tasting at some beautiful vineyards- Sort it Out Cellars- 50's rockabilly feel with vintage pin up model labels, Carivintas- an animal friendly cellar that donates a portion of their proceeds to animal rescue, Kalyra-the place they meet Sandra in Sideways, Fess Parker- yep, owned by the guy who played Daniel Boone and Davey Crocket, and Foxen- also featured in the Sideways movie. Monarch rounded out the group. 

Chatty wine makers

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We embarked on a Sideways wine tour and met a number of new friends. Unfortunately, these friends live 1600 miles away and are vintners. Interested in why a particular grape tastes different when the weather had been dry? How about when the moon is full on three consecutive frost months? These are people who want to talk. And also talk about wine. Anxiety about meeting new people? Wine tasting is not for you. We bought more wine than we should have, but some of it was just to not have to talk about the damn wine any more. Oh yes- also a hidden gem at Monarch winery in Pismo and the old golden retriever, Tucker, who greets tasters. Lonely wine pourers and many animal friendly folks. On to bbq and beautiful beachy sunsets.

Pea Soup and Wine?

Started the day with Anderson's famous split pea soup. A fixture since the 1920's, they make a bold assertion that people not only love pea soup, but that they want to eat massive quantities of it. The Traveler's Breakfast is a stack of hot cakes, two eggs, breakfast meat AND a large bowl of pea soup. To top this gut buster off, a plate of toppings. Truly a breakfast for champions- or a family of 8. Headed to some of the Sideways filming locations ( like the windmill motel that has seen better days.)

San Diego: Halloween, Top Gun, and The trolley

Friday was our "first day" of vacation in San Diego, as Amanda didn't have a full day of seasons and I had come in the night before.

I was to be relaxing by the pool, however due to issues at the car rental place (which was housed in a double wide trailer), my mission was to find a car.

We had a good breakfast as Buster's at the village shops near the hotel. And then I set out to get a car at a reasonable price.

Thankfully, I was!

SixT car rental came to the rescue and then some!  Got a brand new Hyundai Accent with less than 400 miles on it!

Car secured, and Amanda's sessions over, we started our vacation with wine tasting, checking out the "trick or treaters" in the Gas Lamp quarter.  Finish the night off at the KC BBQ joint as seen in the film Top Gun.

Today, we left San Diego for the town of Buelton and The Anderson's Pea Soup Inn.  We saw the Windmill Inn, The Hitching Post II- both from the film Sideways.  HP was too busy and we just wanted to chill so we didn't eat there, but did have a couple local beers from the Solvang Brewing Co.  Good stuff!

Now, for some pics!