Beautiful sunshine... just another California kinda day...Kristy dropped us off in Hemet, CA to pick up our rental car...a cute little Mini Cooper. Kristy was on her way to San Diego to take Molly for her final vet checkup.
Entrance into the Merrill's Estate
Dana and Marsha's Home and Vineyards
Finally reaching our destination, we entered a code at the tall gate and wandered into the Pomar Junction Vineyard. Our home for the next week was the guest house to the home of the owners.
This cute little cottage must have been the original home of the owners way back when the vineyard first started...it had high ceilings and a large open room/kitchen with two bedrooms and two baths off to the sides. It was completely remodeled with an extensively modern electrical system...Each electical plate had four to eight controls over lights, fans etc. The cottage was decorated with the neatest antiques....lots of oaks and the kitchen had all blue glassware...I just loved it!
The landscaping was so beautiful...you could just relax right here without going anywhere!
Did I mention the main house was 4000 square feet upstair with nine bedrooms, 4000 square feet downstairs with an additional bedroom,a expansive wrap around porch that incompassed the whole house, a 10 car garage, heated endless swimming pool, hot tub, tennis courts, a tremendous barbecue, 10 stall horse barn, gated riding ring and flower gardens that had to keep a full time or two gardener busy....vineyards expanding beyond the green grassed property line as far as the eye could see. Larry and I thought...."Whoa!....This is place is gonna be ALRIGHT!"
The Pool
That evening we had a nice ice tea out on our private front porch and would you believe it....a bobcat came strolling between the pool and our little nest. We were in AWE of this magnificant creature. Each day we strolled around the property and found all kinds of wildlife...rabbits, parrie dogs, antelopes, deer, squirrels, chipmunks, and yes a ....Jackalope....a huge rabbit with super tall ears. Reminded us of the kangaroos in Australia except it had larger ears.
One day we enjoyed exploring Paso Robles, a nice western town with a great city center park surrounded by quaint cafes, restaurants, and shops. The people were very friendly.
We also drove down to Pismo Beach for a day trip. It brought back memories of long ago when Larry and I camped out on the beach for free. It was amazing then to pick up all the sand dollars that you could ever want. Today teens were surfing and boogie boarding the waves....in wet suits. The water was quite cold and the air was chilly. Horseback riders meandered up the beach. RVs, campers, and cars were still allowed to drive out there and spend the night for a fee of $ 10.00. There were many there already since it was Easter holiday weekend ahead.
We also enjoyed the little town of San Luis Obispo. Clean and quite with the neatest artistic pictures drawn on their telephone contector boxes. What a great idea for making your town look more artsy.
The final night of our visit, the vineyard owners, Dana and Marsha , invited us to their monthly Pomar Junction Vineyard Friday Night Wine Festival. The blues music was great!
People from all over the area brought their own chairs and extravagant picnic baskets of cheeses, crackers, and other delights and were having a super time dancing and just getting ready for the holiday weekend out on this gorgeous hilltop with two of the tallest California oaks surround by miles and miles of vineyards.
Barbecue was served and everyone had just a fantastic evening. We enjoyed getting sunset pictures of their winery with the train theme.
It was just a great way to end our stay in Paso Robles.
Sunset at the vineyard!
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