This weekend I went to San Luis Obispo to hang out with some friends, see a dance show, go wine tasting, eat at my favorite restaurants, cuddle with Kerry and Fran, etc.
Tyler, Max, and I left Friday around 4 pm. We cruised down highway 68 (apparently it is one of the most beautiful highways - says Max) and then mobbed down 101. After stopping in Paso for a few of Chili's margaritas, we continued on our way. Our first stop in SLO was at BevMo. I grabbed a 6 pack of
Hoegarden; people are always raving about it and the one time I could have tried it (Avila Beerfest, June 2009), they ran out!
We went over to Victor and Clay's house next, watched the Nuggets/Lakers game, and then eventually walked downtown to
Black Sheep Bar and Grill (1117 Chorro St, SLO). That's where my old roomies were! I was so excited to see them I could have peed in my pants! I miss them so much :( Luckily I did NOT pee in my pants, that would be messy. Instead I just sort of gave them lots of hugs and kisses. When the bar closed we hopped in my car and went to get some late night grub at
Chilie Peppers! (791 Foothill Blvd, SLO). So very freshman/sophomore year of us! Kerry and I split a carne asada burrito that was about $6. I had some sort of salsa/hot sauce concoction with my burrito half and it was amazingly delicious. Especially for 2:30 am.
We drove to Pismo and walked into our hotel room (
The Cliffs) and managed to find bed space for 6 people! We set the alarms for early-ish, considering it was almost 4 in the morning!! After waking up, grabbing coffee in my work mug, showering, etc, we made a quick trip to Forever 21 so that I could get an outfit to wear wine tasting. Do you know how hard it is to walk into the second largest Forever 21, give yourself a half hour to cover all that ground, and come out with a winning look? Ridiculous! I found this satin-y tank top that I could use for work, so I decided to get it.
Fran Kerry Andrew Tyler Max and I went to
Natural Cafe (698 Higuera St, SLO) for lunch and were joined by Jake, Krish, Megan B. and her bf James. Kerry, Fran, and I all ordered the same thing, the Old Town salad ($7.25 full, $4.50 half). THAT SALAD IS SO GOOD! Mixed greens, short grain brown rice, carrots, feta cheese, tomato, and a scoop of guacamole! Add a little bit of heaven (Tapatio) to the salad along with their yummy tahini dressing, and you've got yourself a treat of a lunch! After a sad conversation regarding tandem bicycles, I decided it was about time that I left to meet up with Kali for her Birthday wine tasting celebration!
Kali and other AOII alums were all at this mysterious "MVP" location. When I arrived, I grabbed a mimosa YUM and, despite the fact I had eaten lunch, grabbed a slice of breakfast casserole that Mandy made. About ten minutes later we went outside and up rolls the stretch Excursion limo! It totally reminded me of what prom should have been like. However, I was a shy girl in high school who never got to experience the whole big-group-limo-fun-blah-blah-date-dances. You know what? Who cares! It's never to late to go to a ball... or be serenaded... : )
I digress. Wine tasting was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. We went to
Tobin James (8950 Union Rd, Paso Robles) and
JanKris (not
Jan Hagel, the cookie) at 1266 Bethel Rd in Templeton. Everyone was enjoying themselves, if you catch my drift. I like to think that I draw a good cat. By the end of our time at JanKris, I could not, for the life of me, remember how to draw the cat that I always draw. Does that make any sense? I had a great time. WINK.
After wine tasting I.... well, I don't know what happened. But eventually I made it to
Firestone Grill (1001 Higuera St, SLO) with everyone and had my second favorite salad from the San Luis Obispo region - the Steak Cobb Salad.
After dinner we went and "watched"
Orchesis' dance concert ((Continuum)).
Apologies if this is overly descriptive, but right now I'm watching the Super Bowl, (16 to 17, Colts, with 7 minutes left!) and I am doing laundry, and I just feel like giving a thorough account of the weekend. After Orchesis, we went back to Clay and Victor's place and played beirut. Fran and Kerry came over and took me with them to the downstairs bar:
Creekside Brewing Company (1040 Broad St, SLO). Random, took a break to put in my light clothes, got to see some crazy plays and now Saints are up by so much! COOL. I like it when games are exciting like this!
You might be thinking, is it still Saturday night in this story? Well, yes. Yes it is. After the downstairs bar we went to the cast party for the dance show, and hung out with all of the Orchesis girls (and boy). I loved seeing everyone there - the dance girls are so classy and artsy, inspirational almost in a hipster sort of way. Next stop: Kathleen's house. We stayed there for a bit, ate cute little peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, I reunited with my estranged curling iron, and then we drove to the Cliffs. Another 4 am night! Sheesh!
I woke up at 8 am, grabbed some coffee (love my work mug!), and sat in the hot tub at the Cliffs. It was absolutely gorgeous out... that hotel has spectacular views. Hot tub > Shower > Drive back to SLO > more coffee with my little, Allison at the Starbucks on Foothill. It was really nice having time to catch up with her.
I had a few final errands to run before leaving SLO. Stopped by Vic's to grab my wetsuit and leftover salad. Went to
Sidewalk Market & Deli (1401 Osos St, SLO) to pick up lunch. Freshman year the boys introduced me to Nona's Deli, which is contained in the Sidewalk Market, and it's been love ever since. My all-time favorite sandwich from SLO (and at least top 10 overall) is the Godmother
sandwich ($6) from Nona's. Salame, peppered turkey, and provolone with the works (minus the olives [EWW] and mayo). HEeeaaavvvVVVVeeeeNnnnnn! I bought 2! Godmother sandwich for lunch tomorrow too :)
With both sandwiches in hand, I went to High Street Deli, where everyone else was eating. We said our goodbyes, stopped by Ed's to get a shirt, and then went back to Vic's because I forgot my computer charger there. Then we got onto 101, and drove all the way back to Seaside.
What a weekend. I wish I could spend more time in SLO, being ridiculous and silly with old friends. There truly is no better place to live when you are between the ages of 18 & 23. While I'm sad that I had to leave, I'm also very hopeful for the upcoming months. There is a lot to look forward to and this weekend was just the start :)
