Nipomo to Paso Robles

Today started off really great. We woke up very early, got out the door before 8 AM, and headed to Paso Robles. Things started to go downhill once we got into town... our host, Serena, called us and told us to stop by her office just to meet us and give us suggestions for things to do in the area. Once we arrived, we soon realized that maybe today should've been a hotel day... Serena is a massage therapist but also does homeopathic medicine with the use of numerous tools, like a laser from Russia, and some kind of outlawed black box from the 1960's. I think that Serena joined Couch Surfing to advertise her practice since she told us that can't actually advertise what she does... it was an extremely one-sided conversation (we really didn't anything, not even "mhm" or "yeah," for the entire time) where she just told us dozens of examples of what diseases and ailments her laser has healed (such as cancer, diabetes, MRSA, etc) without asking us anything about ourselves! She talked about energy and crystals and all that good stuff for over an hour. We finally broke free around noon; Josh and I got into the car and burst out laughing. However, we were incredibly energetic when we first got into Paso Robles, and after listening to Serena's monologue for like 90 minutes we were completely drained! Perhaps she used her skills to suck out all of our energy?!

We wanted to do some wine tasting but we really felt awful, we just were absolutely exhausted and wanted to crawl into bed. We were even debating whether or not to find a hotel for the night because we were nervous about seeing her later that evening... but we figured the worst was over.

Josh and I finally made it to our first wine tasting around noon. We visited D'Anbino and met the owner, who had a great story! He was a newly retired sound engineer who worked on the TV shows "Deadwood" and "Rome," and the movie "Dirty Dancing" plus others. He even won an Emmy for his work! We really enjoyed the wine and conversation, and our day started to look up!

Our next winery was Anglim; it's owned by a husband and wife and we were served by the wife, who was like a cartoon character! She was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable, though we realized she definitely misread us when she suggested a $58 per person dinner and wine flight at the best restaurant in town.

The third winery was Orchid Hill, and the woman there was very quiet, reserved and spacey... though we did taste maybe seven wines with generous portions. Honestly, they started to taste the same to me by the end...

We got Applebee's to go for lunch (thanks Beba!) and I fell asleep in the car as we tried to find a fourth winery out in the country. We stopped and ate our "picnic" lunch at a nice vineyard, though we didn't even go into the building.

Someone had mentioned that Eberle did tours of their wine caves so we headed over there after lunch. When we arrived, we were told that we had missed their last cave tour so we just started a regular tasting, but our wine server broke the rules and took us and two other couples on a brief cave tour. The caves were pretty neat!

We went to Rabbit Ridge but they don't offer tastings on weekdays, so Josh just posed for a few photos...

The sun was starting to set as we GPS'ed our way to Serena's house. Things again went downhill once it got dark... she lives in a very rural area with no streetlights and it was difficult trying to find her place in the dark. My GPS led us to an intersection where we found her mailbox, so we followed that dirt road for over a mile, passing many nice houses, though none were hers. I wasn't sure what to do but Josh suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no.... I think I know where she lives!" He drove back to the intersection and down a hidden path that led us to a really terrifying trailer in a junk yard, complete with lots of scrap metal and a creepy shack. I was horrified. I really wanted to leave and go to a hotel, but Josh said it was too late. We left the junk yard and drove the dirt road again, though we still couldn't find her house, and I was praying that she did not live in the junk yard. But then... we found her house!! It was just down the main road, and it was an older, regular house; thank goodness!

We met Serena's sister, Kathryn, Serena's nine year old daughter, and Kathryn's four year old daughter. They put on "The Land Before Time" and we ate homemade chicken soup. Serena came home from work quite late and after the girls had gone to bed, she continued to sell us on her laser. Though we had been pretty awake before she came home, she must have turned on her energy-sucking ability because Josh passed out at 9 PM, which he never does. I was therefore left alone to listen to her propaganda. My favorite was when I asked if there were any negative side effects to using the laser... her response was, "Hmm.. side effects? Yes... you get better sleep, more energy, your eyesight improves... yeah, there's a lot of side effects." I tried to change the subject but she really didn't care about anything I had to say; she just wanted to talk about her laser, crystals, energy.... oh my gosh, I'm exhausted just thinking about that conversation.

My high was talking about our conversation with Serena.. though it was a traumatizing experience, we remembered and laughed about her most ridiculous statements for the rest of the day. Josh's high was visiting the first winery because it was reenergizing and the owner was really cool. Josh's low was the feeling he got after talking to Serena... she honestly thinks that the government is trying to kill three generations with vaccines and cancer in order to save social security. My low was realizing that she is using Couch Surfing to advertise her practice :( My "ho" was thinking she lived in the junk yard; that really would've made things so much worse! Josh's "ho" was calling a supermarket because we needed milk... my GPS found one with a Spanish name so I asked Josh to call them and see if they carried milk.. They answered the phone in Spanish and Josh asked, "Do you have milk?" and they asked, "Que?" so Josh used what little Spanish he knows and said, "Leche! Do you have leche?" to which they responded yes (in Spanish) and laughed. First of all, I can't believe we called a grocery store asking if they had milk, and second of all, we could not go to the store because they would've seen us, the whitiest of whities, and known that we were the idiots who called them. (We later got milk at a Trader Joe's.)

Newport Beach to Nipomo

Diana made us another delicious breakfast this morning before we said goodbye to her and Jordan. After packing up our suitcase, Josh, Greg, Garrett and I went to the Volcom-sponsored skate park for a bit. Josh rode a skateboard for the first time and Garrett showed off what he's learned in two weeks... I still can't get over how athletic and balanced he is! Josh was the only person older than 10 who was in full protective gear, and the only person period who was wearing boat shoes.

Before heading to Los Angeles we said goodbye to Greg and Garrett. I am so glad that I contacted Diana because we had a fantastic time with her family, and I'm also really glad that we decided to stay two nights! This was our first time staying with a host for more than one night and it really made a difference and I really hope we get to see them again some day. It started to rain as we left Newport Beach which made sightseeing in Los Angeles slightly difficult and the traffic slightly worse!

Josh and I weren't interested in seeing that much of Los Angeles but we did have just a few things to check out. One of them was the La Brea Tar Pits, located right in downtown LA. Unfortunately the rain made it look a little like a pond... also unfortunate is Josh's face in this photo!

We also drove along Hollywood Boulevard and Josh forced me to take this photo of the street sign... he was very excited to be in Hollywood, and his enthusiasm definitely made up for the terrible weather!

Our favorite stop was the Griffith Observatory. It is perched on top of a hillside overlooking the whole city and we got some really great photos even though it was pretty cloudy.

Josh REALLY wanted a photo of the famous Hollywood sign so we waited (like 45 minutes) for the clouds to clear and managed to take a few pictures!! It is a lot smaller than I expected...

We headed out of LA after spending just a few hours in the city, which was really all we wanted! The drive up to Nipomo was beautiful, and I'm very excited to drive more along the coast as we head further north in the coming days.

We arrived at our host's house quite late, even though we hate arriving at someone's house at night. We learned in Lovington that more rural locations are really scary in the dark (at least to me), and we relearned that as we tried to find Don and Lucy's house... two of the routes my GPS gave us took us to two different dead ends. Don finally directed us to his house and we stayed up talking to them for quite a while! They built their house in 1980 and it's actually a dome, and Don also built two large garages for his enormous car collection. Josh loved looking at the classic cars! They also told us about their awesome-sounding trip to Egypt and gave us advice on where to go in California and Utah, since they've done a lot of traveling over the years.

Josh's high for today was seeing the Hollywood sign!!! ...My high was how excited Josh was at being in Hollywood. He continuously sang the chorus to "Hooray for Hollywood"... complete with jazz hands. It was really fantastic!!

Josh and I shared the same low today: leaving Greg, Diana, and their kids! We had such a good time with them. Josh's "ho" was looking like a "wanker" at the skate park, wearing a helmet, knee pads, elbow pads... and Sperrys. My "ho" was a sign we saw at an LA gas station... I guess I'm pretty ignorant, but I had no idea what Soju or Jinro were when I saw this billboard:

It was really bizarre to have no idea what someone is advertising!! (I later looked online and now I know what they are selling!)

Day two in Newport Beach

Josh woke up early with Greg, Garrett and Jordan and went with them to a running club training meet. Josh thought it was a club for adults but it was actually kids mostly between the ages of 8 and 12. He also thought that it was going to be an easy three mile run but it ended up being twice that plus hills! Greg and Jordan ran eight miles at about a seven minute mile pace, and Josh ran six miles with Garrett at an eight minute mile pace. This is a family of runners... today was a slow day!! All of the kids in the club are very fast; one 11 year old girl is a world record holder for running a mile in 5:03!

Diana made us an amazing breakfast of beans, rice, eggs, and guacamole. We discussed our options for the day and obviously LOVED the idea of going surfing! After loading up the surfboards and wetsuits, Garrett and Greg treated us to In 'N Out Burger... it was the first time we had it, and it was delicious! He then warned us to not swallow too much salt water otherwise the burger would come back up... When we got to the beach we got a quick lesson of how to surf and obviously took some goofy photos.

Greg brought his camera and underwater case, and took a bunch of photos of us "surfing."

Actually, that last one is of Greg. He was fantastic! I know it might seem unbelievable, but Josh also stood up numerous times and really did some surfing! Unfortunately there isn't any photographic proof, but I swear it's true! I managed to "knee surf" a few times and just once barely got both feet flat on the board before tumbling off. We had a great time and Greg and Garrett were so helpful and patient!

Josh, Greg and I were exhausted when we got home but Garrett still had energy, so he and Jordan went to a trampoline gym for a few hours. These kids never get tired! Later, Greg and Diana took us to dinner at Taco Mesa; we have been ridiculously spoiled by this family!! They told us more about their background and we learned that Greg is the CEO of his own networking and IT security company, and its success has allowed them to do a lot of traveling: they recently got back from a three week vacation in Australia and New Zealand. They also have a very interesting educational philosophies: they do not send their kids to school or home school them; instead, they are home "taught," free to learn any subject as they wish. It sounds pretty wild but it works for them!

After dinner, we watched "Shutter Island," but it had been such a busy day that everyone slept through at least part of the movie!

Josh and I share the same high today: Josh actually standing on the board and surfing a wave! It was so great especially because it only took him 30 minutes of trying to actually succeed! My low is that I'm not really strong enough (or I don't have the right technique) to paddle out against the waves... I got knocked around quite a bit! Josh didn't have a low for today :) My "ho" was getting out of the ocean and realizing that a lot of water had collected in my wetsuit around my ankles... it looked super gross! Josh's "ho" is that he was outrun by eight year old girls (not that it was a contest)... I had no idea that kids could run so fast!

San Diego to Newport Beach

This morning, Mike cooked us a delicious quiche for breakfast. We had a great time talking to Fanny and Mike for a while before packing up and heading out, after Mike gave Josh some oranges from their yard.

We went back to Heather and Jeff's to take down the tent, make lunch, and repack the car. It was so nice of them to open up their beautiful home to us!

We left San Diego and headed straight to Newport Beach, leaving early enough so that we missed rush hour traffic!! We arrived at our host's house and were introducing ourselves to Diana just as her husband and two boys came home. Garrett and Jordan, ages 11 and 13, had been at the skate park before Diana's husband, Greg, picked them up after he finished surfing. Josh was immediately excited to be there when he saw them putting away surfboards and skateboards!

We spoke with Diana and Greg for a while in their backyard and Greg gave us a few suggestions for things to do outside while it was still light. We liked his idea of a bike ride so we quickly unloaded the bikes and rode down to Balboa Island.

The houses on the island were small but really gorgeous and we had a great time biking and walking around. The ride was just six miles but extremely hilly, especially the route we took back. It was dark by the time we arrived back at the house; the skyline looked really pretty after the sun had set!

Greg generously ordered Thai food for everyone for dinner and we ate with the family before watching the movie "Red," which was suggested by the boys. The Pad Thai was delicious and the movie was good too!

Josh and I shared the same high for today (again!): talking to Fanny and Mike in the morning was really great. I'm glad that we were on such a relaxed schedule because we got to spend a lot of time with them! My low was the enormous hill we encountered on our way back from Balboa Island... it was really steep and seemed infinite. Josh's low was the very unexpected $5 toll to get to Newport! Such an expensive toll! Josh's "ho" for the day was thinking he could teach the boys something about skateboarding... Diana told us that they had just started it a few weeks before, but it was obvious that they didn't need any help! My "ho" was feeling like a voyeur as we walked around Balboa Island because it is really easy to see inside of the houses, but I realized that they must like to show off their homes because every window was left open!

Day three in San Diego

Last night was extremely windy and we really felt like our tent was going to blow away... Josh even woke up in the middle of the night to check the stakes! We ended up waking up after the kids had gone to school so the house was pretty quiet when we made it to the kitchen. I made breakfast and we ate it outside, enjoying the great weather and view!

The first place we visited today was the Birch Aquarium. We arrived in time to see a fish feeding and later I touched a starfish in the tide pools!

Our next stop was La Jolla where we saw an area of the beach sectioned off for the seals because they like to lay out on the sand. It smelled terrible but it was neat to see all of the seals enjoying the sun. The water was really beautiful here!

We drove south from La Jolla to Point Loma and visited the Cabrillo National Monument. Josh borrowed some binoculars from the visitor center and loved looking into the naval base and trying to see the nuclear submarine. The view was fantastic: you could see all the way to Tijuana!

The next stop was downtown San Diego. After biking to a cute frozen yogurt shop in Little Italy, we enjoyed a late afternoon ride along the boardwalk of Seaport Village, passed the USS Midway (Josh loved it!) and rode down one of the piers.

We again hit rush hour traffic heading back to Heather and Jeff's but made it back in time to join Jeff and the kids for dinner. We read bedtime stories to Jack and Avery before heading to the house of Josh's great-aunt, Fanny, and her husband, Mike.

We had a great time talking with Mike and Fanny for a while before heading back south into San Diego for a reggae show. It was at a Irish pub but every Thursday they have "Shamrocks and Dreadlocks;" we drank some cheap beer and listened to live reggae-esque music before heading back into San Marcos.

Josh and I shared the same high today: we both really liked getting to talk to Fanny and Mike! Josh's family is so nice! My low was the smell near the seals... they are cute but gosh, so smelly. And their back flipper/tail thing is gross. Josh's low was the wind during the night... thanks a lot, Santa Ana winds! My "ho" was not really being able to enjoy the music at the show because of some questionable characters... and Josh's "ho" was playing Carpool Cop: we missed the entrance into the carpool lane so as we drove in the adjacent lane, Josh eagerly pointed out every car that violated the "two or more passengers" rule... it was hilarious.