Blair's Headbangin' Birthday Bonanza

- 17 November 2012 - 

Not sure how but we always seem to make it to Blair’s Birthday.  When she mentioned “Metal” I was way in.  Heavy Metal, Booze, and Old friends what more could you ask for?  We headed up to LA for the weekend and raged our tiny faces off.  

Happy Birthday Blair!!!  We love you.

San Diego Zoo

-11 November 2012 - 

Sunny day at the San Diego Zoo

Wine tasting in Temecula

- 10 November 2012 -

I've lived in San Diego for close to 5 years now and I had never been to Temecula for wine tasting.  Sure enough a Living Social deal came up and we decided to go.  Temecula is about an hour drive north of us so we figured a day trip would be nice.  We got picked up by the trolley at the embassy suites (too bad the place was booked).  The driver kindly handed us a full glass of Champagne (I refuse to call it sparkling wine) and we were off.  Our first stop was Bel Vino.  This was my favorite tasting room of the trip.  The dark lighting and display of barrels made this place seem quite cozy.  We started with the whites and moved up to the reds.  The best white I thought here was the Viognier.  There was a loud group of surly women claiming to be the Fletcher park house wives up at the bar.  I had no choice but to mingle in order to get to the bar and so I did.  Luckily these women had some inside tips and suggested we try the 2006 Vintage Cabernet Sauvignon that wasn’t on the menu.  Or bartender Spencer was happy to pour us a couple glasses of this delicious wine.  By far the best wine of the trip.  So good that we ended our tasting experience on this one even though we had two more samples.  The next winery was Churon.  This tasting room was less about ambiance and more about selling overpriced knick knacks.  I believe the Syrah was my favorite wine here.  The building and landscape at Churon however was quite beautiful.  This is where we had lunch.  One of the best Tri-tip sandwiches I've ever had.  After lunch it was time to move on.  Masia De Yabar was next on the list.  Here people started getting annoying.  A bachelorette party and a mustache / wig party showed up at the same time.  Luckily the ruckus remained inside.  Out in the courtyard was one of the most amazing views I've seen.  I set up shop here listening to the violinist playing romantic covers of ‘Tequila’.  All I could think about was Pee Wee Herman slow dancing on the table.  For about 10-15 minutes I was perfectly at peace here.  I don’t really know how to relax but, this place did the trick.  Sitting there with a nice glass of Champagne listening to the violinist taking in the gorgeous vineyards all in with a Prosciutto sandwich in my pocket and a Compton hat on my head.  My thoughts were interrupted with a five minute warning before we were off to Robert Renzoni.  This place was as Independent as it possibly could be.  I enjoyed the vibe here.  We gathered our last tasting’s and awaited our departure home.  All in all it was a really cool trip.  I’d do it again in a heartbeat.  Cheers!!!