We Have Arrived

Matt and I woke up on Tuesday the 30th feeling so refreshed. By why stop there? We headed off to the Spa at Sycamore Springs to really get into the spirit of things. First they have you soak in their special, extra deep mineral hot tubs that are kept at the perfect temperature, to relax your muscles. This was kind of cool because we had woken up early - we still aren't sure what time it is so our bodies have been waking us up around 8 - and there was an enormous fog cloud hugging the trees. We got to float around in our steaming hot tub, and look up to see the green tree leaves covered in wisps of thick fog. Kind of magical actually. After a half hour it was time for massages so we were off to be pampered. Both of our backs hurt from so much car time that this was just what we needed.

Then we had a quick lunch at the resort's rather nice restaurant before Matt headed off to the beach. He was hoping to get to surf for an hour or two now that we had actually made it to the coast. Pismo Beach is supposed to have good waves usually, so he headed there. I decided to hang out in the room and write a blog post (I wrote the 'Sedona, I Love You' there) and read my magazine. I hadn't been able to just sit someplace comfortable for SO long!

Sadly - for him, not for me - Matt was back in less than an hour. He had gone to the beach but it was too flat to go out. He sat on the pier and watched the water for a little and then headed back to me. It's too bad that there haven't been waves for him yet, but I'm sure there will be soon. Next on the agenda was wine tasting, though, so he wasn't too disappointed. We were off to our very first California wineries! As we drove out to see them, the road took a turn and here is my first look at the Pacific!

First we headed to the Independence Schoolhouse Tasting Room. At this one location they pour wines from 5 different labels. They are all made by the same family, but each has a distinctively different style and they let you try a bunch. Brit was so sweet and let us try some of her favorites. She agreed to be in my blog which was lovely.

The wines we tried here were from the labels of Baileyana, Zocker, Tangent, Cadre and Trenza. We both liked the reserve chardonnay we tried so grabbed a bottle of that.

Next we drove to Saucelito Canyon Vineyard where we tried the most perfect zinfandel I've ever had. I'm not kidding. Matt and I both wanted to try some good reds and this place only was serving one white and four reds so even before we tasted anything we figured they would be good. We were blown away. We both loved their Estate 2010 so we got a bottle of that for us and one for Matt's dad as a Thank you for the lovely mini-vacation.

I have to tell you, it is really beautiful in this part of the world. There are hill and valleys and the ocean is close. Everything outside smells so wonderful, too. As we drove to the next vineyard on our list Matt pulled to the side of the road to take a few pictures. I had to ham it up, as usual :)

Our destination was Claiborne & Churchill which was simply great. The guy doing our tasting was very funny and personable. He was interested in talking to us about RI and the wines were great, too. He told us that we should come back the next day because he was going to be dressed up as Han Solo for Halloween. As much as I'm sure that would have been hilarious, Matt and I had to drive on the 31st. We left here with a delicious bottle of Dry Riesling.

Last we went to the utterly disappointing Chamisal Vineyards. The wines were kind of blah, and the guy doing the tasting reminded me of all the jerks in high school I can't stand who thought they were real hot shit. We didn't buy anything here. I will say they had a lovely bathroom though, so if you're in the area and have to pee I highly recommend their ladies room.

Now it was 5 o'clock and the tasting rooms were closing so we drove back to Sycamore Springs. We were both real exhausted so we had a quick appetizer at their bar for happy hour and then retired to our room. I promptly fell asleep because I'm a hundred years old. Matt caught up on his TV watching and later ordered room service for dinner. Not a bad day.

In the morning we made the final drive of the trip. Our destination was the Pasadena Hilton where Matt's dad, Kerry, was kindly putting us up for the final night and taking us to dinner. By now Matt and I were so sick of being in the car we couldn't wait to get there so we didn't make any stops along the way. We did take the historic and very scenic route 1 for part of the drive so there's that. I will never get tired of looking at the ocean.

Here is our crazy journey - at least as far as Pasadena:

The Hilton was perfect. We checked in and rested for a few hours then met Kerry in the lobby at 6 to go out for dinner. We were going to get sushi so I was Very excited. It was a fun night. Being Halloween we did spot some cute kids in costume on the sidewalks and in the restaurant but we didn't dress up. There just wasn't time or desire with all the driving. Instead we had delicious food at Z Sushi, good conversation, drinks at the Yard House, and a nightcap in the Hilton lobby. This was a lovely arrival to LA.

In the morning we checked out of the Hilton and had a few hours to kill before we could go to our apartment. We had rented a furnished place in Valley Village for just a month so we could get organized but couldn't get the keys till 4. Matt and I figured we should take a look around Santa Monica as thats where we want to be so we drove to the pier.

Oh my it is beautiful.

I have at last dipped my toes in another ocean!

We had sushi for lunch - I know, I know, I have a problem. Matt's getting a little sick of it, but I was stuck in the middle of the country without fish for so long!!! And he loved what we had. We were at Sugarfish and both agree they made the best sushi rice that either of us have ever tasted.

Now was time to head to the apartment.

I'm not sure what to say except I'm real glad it's only for a month. Not even a month - I'm writing this on the 3rd so 3 days less than a month. Don't get me wrong, I don't think its unsafe - Matt would never have us in a place that wasn't secure. And there aren't bugs or anything - that I know of. It is just not good.

It hadn't been cleaned well/at all. All the dust has been making Matt sneeze. There aren't any trash cans in the whole place (??). There are only 3 towels - 1 wash cloth, 1 hand towel, 1 bath sheet. There must be 5 air fresheners in about 400 square feet to cover up what, I wonder? And I swear to you, no one washed the sheets. Instead it smelled like a heavy coating of Febreeze was sprayed onto them. Lightbulbs are broken in 3 rooms so it gets dark as hell in here, too. The shower head is so low that I can't even fit under it - I can only imagine Matt in there. And the stupid toilet runs.

Basically a nightmare. I do NOT like camping and this is about that good.

Here is what greeted us when we got in:

Creepy photos, a fake tree, and the world's smallest fridge!!!

Needless to say Matt and I had some work to do. Clean the kitchen and the bathroom and do laundry. We also grocery shopped for some essentials. It is much better now, but we are looking forward to being in our own place for sure, even though we don't own any furniture. We just want our own space in a different area of LA.

To that end we've been calling and looking at apartments. Yesterday, Friday, we drove around a bunch of places and actually found one that was really great. It's in West Hollywood though which is a nice neighborhood, but not Santa Monica, which we want. We have some time though so we'll keep looking. Matt has a stage (that's restaurant speak for an interview) at a restaurant he is very excited about on Tuesday - also a very good thing.

And for those who wonder, here is our car sticker update, in honor of the coast:

Today we're doing more research on finding an apartment or perhaps a realtor to find one for us and then meeting Kerry later for dinner. Must go attempt to shower :)