Continuing South
We were headed back to the coast (again) and passing through Paso Robles on the way. Paso Robles is known for its wineries so we got out our Harvest Hosts map and found somewhere to stay overnight.
Harvest Host in Paso Robles
Tobin James Cellars is a western-themed building sitting on 71 acres of vineyard. The staff directed us to park our trailer in a big asphalt lot. We tucked ourselves out of the way and managed to be just about level! The store had lots of fun items to look at and even a Calgary Stampede poster on the wall. We sauntered up to the bar, grabbed a seat, and started wine tasting. After several generous pours from the lovely staff, we picked a bottle (or two) and headed back to the trailer.
Another Thousand Trails
Seven am rolled around and so did some loud salsa music outside our trailer. The vineyard crew were up and working away and we decided to embrace the vibrant tunes and make some breakfast. Then it was back on the road to Rancho Oso Thousand Trails near Santa Barbara. The end of our drive was a long skinny road down to the campground. It was a good thing we didn’t have to pass another trailer on our way in. We eventually pulled into the expansive property and were excited by the warm sunny weather and a large campsite.
Santa Barbara
Morgan insisted that we drive into Santa Barbara and I wasn’t against getting my toes on a beach ASAP. We stopped at Marshall’s department store and got to have an entertaining experience with the Amazon locker. It was fun to punch in the authorization code and wonder which of the little blue doors was going to pop open. Morgan handed me one of the parcels and it turned out to be an early Christmas gift, a Mighty Mug!
Story Behind the Mighty Mug
Now, why would Morgan have decided all of a sudden to buy me an impossible to knock over mug? Well, it might have had something to do with a mild Tricia meltdown the week before. We were just getting ready to leave a campsite and I absentmindedly left a full mug of coffee on the counter. Then I swung my arm around (not sure why) and knocked said full mug all over the floor. As Morgan helped me clean up the mess, I guess he made a plan to prevent another coffee catastrophe.
The Best Dog Beach
It was beach time. Wookie told us he had been waiting long enough. Luckily Santa Barbara had a long stretch of golden sand that allowed paw prints. Arroyo Burro Beach County Park was one of the most beautiful dog beaches we had ever seen. It was an incredible feeling to kick off the shoes and feel the soft sand beneath my feet. We laughed at Wookie darting over to the water and then running back away as the water crept up near his little toes. There was a good chance we would find an excuse to enjoy this place again.
