FOOTBALL FOR BREAKFAST!


 The pass connected!!

Taking Nyquil at 4 am during a coughing fit, has consequences:  I slept 'til 10:30 am which is unheard of for me.  Result:  I woke up to the Clemson-Wake Forest game! Every time we travel out West, the time difference really only comes into play when we want to watch the Tigers or the Panthers.  Football for breakfast just seems strange!  But the Clemson - Wake Forest game definitely held our attention, not being decided until the last second of the second overtime at CU 51, WF 45.  It was a barn burner and a must-win on the road.  

After the morning game, we explored Morro Bay some more.  Again we did a gallery crawl, buying a small photo on metal at Rowen Chase Gallery (their glicee lamps, glass sculptures, and kinetic sculptures were exquisite!)  They led us to another gallery, and then another.  Plus there was another street fair where Dave enjoyed talking to a woodworker and getting hints on applying Abbie's branding iron "stamp" to his work.  We also bought a sculpture for Park's Peak.  You'll have to visit it to see it.  



Rowen Chase Studio


Morro Bay Farmer's Market and Street Fair - just around the corner from our VRBO

Sunday, we had the Panthers and the Saints for breakfast.  This time we got up early enough to have coffee and the Sunday paper first.  The Panthers' win over the Saints was a welcome start to the day!



Then it was on to our last wineries of the trip:  two old favorites - Peachy Canyon and Bella Luna.  Peachy had moved and the wait staff was young and knowledgeable, but lacking the passion we had experienced with Nancy in the past.

We realized that we had time to go by Sculptera.  We had been there before and I love their sculpture garden, though we remembered their wine was mediocre and expensive.  It is what I had hoped Hall might be.  We passed on a tasting and spent 20 minutes roaming around the sculptures.
There were hand cranks to view the kaleidoscope!



Our last winery was Bella Luna.  Jimmy, Sherm's stepson, and Chris served us and we toasted Sherm.  As one of the owners, he was a fighter pilot and continued to race and fly airplanes.  He was killed early in September at an airshow in Las Vegas.  Jimmy said his sister and Kevin (Sherm's partner) were having a hard time, but the grapes were in, and they were moving on.  We only met Sherm twice, but his passing saddened us and we know the wine community will miss him.  We enjoyed their wines immensely and laughed about Keith's and Forest's visits which Jimmy very much remembered.


Jimmy, in the middle and Chris


Sherm with his grandson, Rocco (now 4)

We ended our day as we started our time in Morro Bay, down by the bay watching the sunset as we ate amazing clam chowder, scallops, and mussels.



HOMEWARD BOUND

Monday morning my body decided it was on Eastern Time and I was up before the crack of dawn!  I guess we really are ready to come home.  Our journey north on #1 was as beautiful as the ride down, though the shore had a layer of fog.  We stopped at the Elephant Seal viewing area and were mesmerized by these giant awkward beasts.  I can only imagine how many pounds of fish they must eat a day!  Of course, besides fishing, they don't seem to do a lot!! lol




Our Holiday Inn at the airport is right by the bay with a view of planes landing on what seems to be a narrow jetty.  I remember the first time I flew into SFO I thought we were going to land in the bay!  We will leave tomorrow before dawn and land right after sunset.  The trip was great, but we are ready for some Southern Hospitality!!   This view is right outside our room.


WHAT WORKED AND WHAT DIDN'T
  • Dave's spreadsheet worked (much to my chagrin!)... it had all the addresses and phone numbers and was a handy reference
  • 2 out of 3 VRBOs were great and the one that was not-so-great was workable.  VRBO's were definitely more comfortable and economical than a string of hotel rooms.
  • Renting a mid-size Chevy worked. It had a great turn radius for U-Turns (of which we did many), and good gas mileage (thank goodness!) but was a little hard to get in and out of.  We drove 1300 miles.  But, we missed Ruby our Tesla!  For the first 3 days, Dave kept trying to change gears with the windshield wipers!
  • Basing our visit to the Paso region in Morro Bay worked.  It is so beautiful, the people are quirky, with a hippy vibe and I of course loved the art!  It was convenient for most of the wineries.  Paso would have been closer, but not near as fun (or economical)
  • Paying extra for the VIP ticket to Sensoria was a waste... but Sensoria was cool.
  • We shipped 3 cases of wine which worked and will check one on the plane which we hope will work!
  • Dave bringing the firestick for the TV worked out great.  It allowed us to watch the football games and easily access familiar channels.
  • Dave has a list on his phone of things we wished we had thought to pack, chief among them are nail clippers, Deb's pillow speaker, and an extension cord!
  • Putting times on our calendar in EDT and translating it to PST didn't always work.  Sometimes the calendar "translates" and sometimes it doesn't.  This led to confusion a few times.
  • Early morning flights seem to have fewer problems with on-time schedules (we hope that is true tomorrow!!), and arriving near supper time, helps to get your body in sync faster.


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