Aspen, Tyler and Moses play on the beach.
Tyler and I decided we needed to take break from the South Shore before the winter hit, so we headed for the Central Coast on Friday night. We stopped around 3 a.m. and parked in a State Park parking lot, but I had a hard time falling asleep because empty parking lots at night creep me out.
We woke up early and took the dogs for a walk on the beach, where Aspen proceeded to roll around on top of a dead creature. She wreaked.
On the way to Cambria we stopped for lunch at the Rocky Point Restaurant — the place where the chef Tyler works with got his start. It's 10 miles down Highway 1, and the nearest town is Carmel. The place eerily reminded Tyler and me of the Manor because it was right on the ocean, not near a town, and had a similar menu (with the Early Bird menu for seniors too).
After lunch, we arrived in Cambria and checked into the pet-friendly Cambria Pines Lodge, which had a pool, hot tub, restaurant and a large room waiting for us. It took both of us holding Aspen down in the shower, but we managed to wash the dead creature smell off her.
The 2 1/2 days and three nights we were in Cambria, we ate a lot of food, tasted wine, and had afternoon tea at a tea house. The town is a small, funky place, and it has tons of great food. Most of our time was spent planning where we'd take the dogs, and finding the next place to eat at. If you ever stop through Cambria, have afternoon tea at the
Tea Cozy, and eat dinner at the
Black Cat Bistro. Those were our favorite spots.
On our way back on Tuesday, we stopped for a few wine tastings along Highway 46 in the Paso Robles region. All the tastings are between $5 to $10, and you get to keep your glasses. It's a wonder we made it back without breaking any wine glasses. All the wineries are small, and have distinct personalities. We liked
Four Vines,
Linne Calodo and
Lone Madrone.
Here's the some of the visual documentation from the trip:
