SLO part 2

Friday morning we took full advantage of our vacation and slept in till about 10am! We headed over to the Apple Farm restaurant for some breakfast and decided to sample a few things with our credit - including the most amazing cinnamon rolls.  The food was super yummy and the outside patio area was gorgeous with grape vines growing from pots (we might have to try that at home!).  After a quick trip to the gift shop and getting dressed for the day, we decided to walk the Cal Poly campus.  It's funny because I truly did not appreciate the beauty of the campus when I went to school there.  It is surrounded by mountains, there are gorgeous trees all around and the way the buildings are laid out, it feels quite quaint and small.  We wandered the Business building a bit and also the Architecture building for Jim (even talked to a professor and watched classes going on).  After stocking up at the campus store (Go Mustangs!), we drove to Avila Beach.  When I was in school, Avila was just a beach with sand and a few shacks.  They have completely redone the whole area and the little town is so cute.  With shops, restaurants, a couple of wine tasting rooms, and bars, it is the perfect little beach town.  We first walked along Harford Pier and then grabbed a late lunch and drinks at Mr. Rick's in Avila.  We stayed for the beginning of the sunset and put our feet in the ocean (cold!) before popping into the Peloton wine tasting room.  What a cool atmosphere and the friendliest people in there.  Jim tried a few wines and I just enjoyed listening to the history of the winery (with one sip!).  We bought a bottle of wine to open after the baby is born.  After hanging out at Avila, we were pretty tired, so we went into the hottub for a while, then drove into town to grab some wildebread and salads at Woodstock Pizza.

Check out those cinnamon rolls swimming in icing!

The outside deck area of the restaurant

Grape vines growing from pots

Inside the Christmas section of the gift shop

Cal Poly (the "P" on the mountain in the distance)

The back side of the gym

Walking around campus

Football Stadium (that whole building section was not there before)

Front of gym (and new rock climbing walls)

Tank outside of the VA

Harford Pier just past Avila

Looking back toward Harford Pier

Avila Beach!

Cute little downtown Avila

Mr. Rick's

Peloton Wine Tasting Room

Quick stop at the Campus Bottle (down the street from my old apartment) for some drinks for the hotel

After sleeping in and another fabulous breakfast at the Apple Farm restaurant on Saturday morning, we ventured North along the coast.  Our first stop was in Harmony.  It is a tiny town (population 18, but it has says that since I last visited in 1999, so not sure how accurate that is!) with a winery, tiny church, a glass-blowing shop, a cafe, and a post office.  We just happened to be there when a wedding was going on and at first I thought that seemed so odd, but it was the cutest, most well-done rustic wedding I have ever seen.  All the details were just perfect and with the boys playing football in the dirt road out in front, I seriously thought I was in some tiny town in Kansas or something.  Jim just happened to throw on a button-down that day and I was wearing a dress, so we almost looked like we belonged there as wedding guests.  We walked around for a bit (mostly so Jim could see the little church) but then we saw the bride and groom and felt a little uncomfortable and left. :) 

We continued North to Cambria and drove through the town.  It is a cute town as well and we just happened to be there during the scarecrow festival and they were everywhere!  Every shop, every restaurant, the schools, the church, along the sidewalk - scarecrows all over.  It was really cool.  We just drove around for a while, then headed back down South to Morro Bay.  It was a hazy day, but still pretty.  We walked along the main street downtown, went into a little aquarium where you could feed the seals, and then grabbed lunch at the Otter Rock Cafe.  That evening we went to a nice dinner at Novo in downtown SLO.  We sat outside along the creek, and it was really good.  We walked around downtown for a bit afterwards, then called it a night.



Harmony

 

 

 

 

 

 Glass Shop

 

 

 Outdoor wedding - so beautiful

 

 The Chapel

 

 Kids playing football in the street

 One of the main streets of Cambria

 An old school house turned ceramic studio

 

 

 

 Scenic spot on the drive back down to Morro Bay

 

 

 

 

 Had to take a cow picture (they are everywhere) :)

 The rock in Morro Bay

 

 

 

 

 

 They were so loud, begging for food (one kept slapping his back too!)

 

 

 

 Lunch spot in Morro Bay

Jim is always on the hunt for good hot sauce :)

 All ready for our nice dinner

 Novo Restaurant

 

 My "fun, fruity, non-alcoholic" beverage :)

 

On Sunday, we decided to try breakfast at the Big Sky Cafe in town.  It was definitely busy and had a granola, healthy vibe.  I thought the food was really good, but Jim preferred the Apple Farm and I have to agree.  We checked out the infamous Bubble Gum Alley before packing up and heading out of town.

 

Big Sky Cafe

Bubble Gum Alley

 

 

 

What an incredible way to celebrate 7 years and a baby boy on the way with my husband.  We both loved it in SLO and definitely plan to go back again soon.  To top everything off, Ben had the best time with Grandma and Papa over the weekend.  Grandma stayed at our house and Ben went to school Thursday and Friday (even had a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch on Friday), then they headed to my parent's house for the rest of the weekend.  They took Ben to another Pumpkin Patch with rides, a couple of parks, a couple of trips to McDonald's, and they said he didn't ask about us once!  We even Skyped with them once, but Ben just said hello real quick, then started running away from the iPad!  That made me a tad bit sad, but also amazingly reassured that he was in great hands.