I have always enjoyed traveling during wintertime. Most of my happy solo backpacking trips back in India happened during winter. So did my long motorcycle trips with my partner in crime, Nikhil aka frozencolor. Many a time on such trips as a bachelor, I used to imagine a future when I will be embarking on such vacations with my soul mate. Now that I have found her, it’s an exciting time in my life as I get to explore some wonderful destinations with her. For our last trip of 2023, we chose to do a road trip and stay within California in the interest of time and convenience. Also, I have come to learn that this state is a country in itself with everything you might look for in a vacation spot, readily available someplace nearby. And the weather is almost always just… heartwarming! We planned a week-long cusp vacation to bid goodbye to 2023 and welcome 2024. Our pick to ring in the new year was someplace pretty, quiet and peaceful – not a dead town with nobody around but not a bustling city with ostentatious bells and whistles on New Years Eve either. There were quite a few worthy contenders but the winner this time was Paso Robles.
Having been to Paso a couple of times already, we knew what we were in for. The drive was spectacular with California 46 bringing the drama. Magnificent skies and open roads flanked by hillocks, rainbows, meadows graced us all the way till Paso Robles. We arrived in time for our check in at The Adelaide Inn where the lobby was spruced up for the holidays with a festive Christmas theme. Our receptionist guessed that we were an Indo-American couple from, well, our looks. She mentioned that she would love to attend an Indian wedding someday as there is always some drama and an angry “aunty”. I joked that there was nobody angry at our wedding (that we knew of). We then proceeded to our room that was simple, clean, spacious and provided all the comforts we could ask for. The television cabinet was pretty neat with sliding doors to conceal what’s inside i.e. the TV. I got excited about the Starbucks across the street and got a coffee as soon as we settled in. The weather stayed around 50-60 degree F (10 to 16 degree C) making us feel the cozy, holiday charm of winter.
We were quite well-prepared for this 2-night stay at Paso Robles, having made reservations for most major meals. Our first dinner was at Taste Craft Eatery – a wonderful slider and cocktail place in the heart of downtown Paso Robles. We got there ahead of time so we walked around the streets, as we usually like to do. We entered a general store called “General store” with a cool collection of items. Here, I indulged in my last impulse buy of 2023. You see, I have been growing a bit of a paunch, giving me a cute but undesirable ‘skinny everywhere else but big and round in the middle’ kind of shape. My goal for next year is to make my body a bit more symmetric and desirable to people who don’t love me already. So when I saw a book titled “Salads”, I knew I had to buy it so that I can incorporate it in my meals for all of 2024.
Two young ladies greeted us outside Taste and one of them escorted us to our table deep inside the space. Our drinks and food at Taste were quite delicious. I am usually a beer guy and Summer, though not a big drinker, likes whiskey better than beer. This time, we switched preferences with me getting a whiskey sour and Sumer going for a blood orange beer. The Hometown house salad was very satisfying and our variety of siders (two “Duo”s) did the trick for a nice, satisfying dinner. The next morning, we simply walked to the nearby Margie’s Diner and had a lovely breakfast sticking to our usual choices – Denver omelette with potatoes for me and oats with fruits for her.
That afternoon, we had a reservation at Calcareous Winery – one with some fond memories for us. On our last trip to Cambria when we got engaged, we had driven down to this winery to make the calls and inform our loved ones about my moment of courage when I went down on my knee, and Summer’s moment of weakness when she said “Yes”. This time, we were visiting this beautiful winery as a married couple. We took in the gorgeous view, enjoyed their tasting with an impressive list of wines (one white, three red and a bonus), and split a lip-smacking burger that was brought in looking like Julius Caesar.
After the short drive back to town, we visited the cute Spearhead Coffee Shop for a little sip-and-chat. We then made it for our reservation at Buena Tavola for some cocktails, salad, and pasta. My experiment with Negroni for a cocktail did not go down well with my taste buds (lesson learned!). The ambiance at this restaurant was akin to what I had watched in the movies. It was a cozy Italian place with tables near enough to each other that it felt like one big community dinner. We could easily overhear conversations but we tuned into our own in a few minutes. I tried my best not to stare too long at other people’s food. We finished the meal with a memorable chocolate soufflé which was plated like a champ.
Our next plan of action was to take a sneak peek at the big event that was the talk of the town – the bonfire. Wherever we went, everyone we interacted with asked us if we were going to the bonfire. Naturally, we were intrigued. Thankfully, the downtown park where this event was happening was just a block away from Buena Tavola so we found a convenient parking spot nearby for the whole evening. As we started walking towards the park after dinner, we could already sense the hustle-bustle from a distance. The whole town seemed to have assembled at the downtown park for this bonfire surrounded by well-lit, decked up trees and happy party-goers grooving to a LIVE band. And here I witnessed the irony of life, as I saw three firemen throwing huge logs in a bonfire to keep the flames going up.
We walked around the bonfire, clicked some pictures, exchanged some smiles with strangers, danced to the music for a bit, and decided to call it a night to head back to our champagne and chips at the inn. The remainder of the night was spent watching the saucy Sigourney Weaver, sipping champagne, and finally wishing each other a Happy New Year at midnight – our first one as Mr. and Mrs. 😀
The next morning, on New Year’s Day, we took off on our first road trip of 2024. More on that in my next post.