A Much Needed Vacation

I have not really posted on here since I started the blog... I have had difficulty posting my pictures. Which I still cannot figure out how to do. Does this mean I am an idiot, or just computer illiterate? I am not sure of which one it is but here I am posing again and I cannot add my pictures... Maybe next post.

Despite how hot it has been in the west valley the past couple of weeks, it has been quite nice where I live in the Ventura County Area. Michael and I visited san luis obispo and los robles last week and returned home this past sunday to earthquakes and heat once again. We went away for our anniversary as we did not get to take a trip in April. We did wine tasting, ate good food, and relaxed. I think our favorite thing was wine tasting though. Michael always tends to drink too much which leads him to be all giggly and funny. So I drive and he sleeps as I navigate our way to the next tasting. We have come to enjoy wine tasting over the past few years that we have been of age. We have tasted in a couple places up the coast and have enjoyed it every time. I think there is something about tasting and talking with some of the well versed and knowledgeable people pouring behind the counter, while taking in the the beautiful scenery and interesting architecture of some of the amazing wineries.

I enjoy whites mostly, michael likes white wine as well but also enjoys red. We bought this delicious rose at Rotta Winery. We also purchased a port - Black Monukka from Rotta. It is made from a raisin alcohol which sits in the sun for two years in huge barrels. Then the raisins are smushed and the alcohol is extracted. The taste of this port was delightful. You really just needed a taste to get the full effect of the flavors. But the immediate tastes on your tongue were nuts, caramel, and then this rich delicious aftertaste. We had to have some of that too!

We traveled to Hearst Castle and took a tour. Tour two to be exact. We were able to see the first house that the family built on top of the hill. We wandered from bedroom to bedroom seeing the crazy and overwhelming decor that William Hearst really loved. Gothic style decor, mixed with roman and greek styles filled the house. We also got to see the huge kitchen and two different pools on site. It was awesome. I couldn't imagine living in something like that today. How would you decorate it all? We also took some great pictures of the grounds and just tried to take in the beautiful views from Casa Del Mar which is the main house that the Hearsts built on the property first.

We shopped around in downtown Slo and saw a movie. We visited my favorite gallery downtown, Hands....handsgallery.com Check it out! I got a very delicate pearl bracelet with pearls in variations of pink colors.

On our way home we stopped in Santa Barbara for some more shopping and then to Montecito for a late lunch at one of our favorite mexican restaurants - Cava. If you are ever on your way out there it is totally worth the time!

I cannot wait for another vacation.