Day Two: Hello Paso

Joe and I woke up at the Windmill Inn to a hazy, cool morning. By the time we showered and packed the car, the sun had burned off the gray fog and we drove five miles east on Highway 246 to Solvang under blue skies. Solvang is America’s version of old Europe - it is a clean Danish-inspired village with wide, optimistic boulevards and, most likely, strict zoning laws to enforce town’s the quaint but chipper atmosphere that appeals to retirees on bus tours of California’s Central Coast.



We ducked into the Solvang Restaurant, another Sideways location, and “home of Arne’s famous Aebleskiver.” Aebleskivers taste like pancakes griddled into fluffy two-inch balls, smothered in raspberry syrup and coated with powdered sugar. The Solvang Restaurant serves three for $3.80. Delicious. As we waited for our Aebleskivers to arrive, we met Grant & Marge, a retired couple from Duluth, MN celebrating their 49th wedding anniversary. Grant gave me a polished agate from the shores of Lake Superior and he talked with Joe about Memorial Stadium, the old University of Minnesota football stadium. Meeting them along our way to San Luis Obispo, where we obtained our marriage license two hours later, felt like a pretty darn good omen.

We left Solvang at 10:45am and meandered through Santa Ynez and Los Olivos, then turned onto Highway 101 and drove one hour north to San Luis Obispo. San Luis Obispo, also known as SLO, felt like California’s sister city to Boulder, Colorado. It’s home to California Polytechnic State University and, according to the Lonely Planet, SLO is “one of those small cities that doles out urban pleasures and rural charm in equal measure – to wit: drive-throughs are illegal downtown.” It is a charming little place to register for a marriage license, which takes all of 10 minutes to complete at the San Luis Obispo County Government Center. Afterwards, we explored the downtown area and Mission San Luis Obispo del Tolosa before heading another 25 miles north on Highway 101 to Paso Robles.





If SLO is California’s answer to Boulder, then Paso Robles must be the State’s response to Fort Collins. The hills surrounding Paso Robles are less dramatic and the streets are wider, while the people are even friendlier and go out of their way to provide excellent, personable recommendations on accommodation, food, wineries and directions. And everyone seems to know about everybody in town. The folks at the Chamber of Commerce knew our B&B owners and wedding officiant by name. When we arrived at Seven Quails Bed & Breakfast, the Wine Country Run race organizers had sent flowers to welcome us to Paso Robles and wish us a lifetime of joy and love. Plus, rumor has it that someone is sending flowers for our wedding – I’m not sure if this mystery person is a friend of Joe and me or someone from town.



We’ve only been in Paso Robles half a day and we’re practically ready to move here, just like we were moments away from putting the house on the market and moving to Santa Barbara…then San Luis Obispo…and now Paso Robles. It’s simply gorgeous - unpretentious and accessible. Living here is probably very expensive, too, but we’re putting practical thoughts on hold for the next eight days.

We’re having a wonderful, relaxing time so far: we enjoyed a wonderful seared tuna salad and chicken sandwich at Thomas Hill Organics; sampled wine at Erberle Winery; and loved up O & K, the two resident black labs at Seven Quails. In the late afternoon, I took a long bath and Joe settled in for nap before we shared an evening barrel tasting with Dave & Katrina, the Seven Quails B&B owners. We sampled five of their red wines, casked between 2006 to as recently as November 2009, and tasted how a wine progresses from a young, fruity fermentation to a mellow, oak-infused wine.

It was a lovely day and we look forward to more days just like this.