My phone rang at 8:30am this morning, which is VERY unusual. It was John, my colorist, asking if I could come in a little earlier. I told him I could and jumped up to go into the shower. I had a fast breakfast of cereal and chocolate soy milk and then called Eric before I left the house. I stopped at STARBUCKS and headed to PORTFOLIO, which is where John now works. He left HAIRSPRAY, where he used to work, and is still on University in Hillcrest, but just about two miles down.
It’s a very nice, clean, open salon with a parking lot in the back, so it’s very convenient.
He colored my hair and I told him I was driving to Temecula to go to a few wineries with my cousin Audrey, who is visiting from Las Vegas, and her best friend, Bonnie, who lives in San Marcos. My hair is getting a little unruly, but I didn’t cut it today. I told John when I come in next (my last touch-up in San Diego!) I will see if I want to trim it, or cut it really short again. John takes such a long time that even though I got in early, I left just a little before noon.
I stopped at home to change quickly (John ALWAYS gets my shirt wet when he washes my hair), picked up my camera, and headed back out to pick up Audrey and Bonnie at Bonnie’s house. I got there a little before 1:00pm and we headed north to Temecula. I had a coupon for a free wine tasting at one of six wineries on De Portola Road.
It was a gorgeous day for a drive – a bit chilly, but the sun was shining and there were lots of fluffy white clouds in a perfect blue sky. We never stopped talking for a second the whole trip. I could see that the three of us could be locked in a room for a month and never run out of conversation. Audrey is fabulous, because she loves to laugh and when she laughs it makes you laugh, too. Bonnie is really funny and has so many great stories. I was just trying to concentrate on driving without missing a thing going on!
That's Bonnie, Audrey and me -- when we were just gettin' started!
We used Betty to help us get in the general area, but Bonnie knew her way around and we found the first winery very easily. It was called KEYWAYS WINERY. we had a coupon for buy one, get one free, so it was only $5 each for the three of us to have 6 tastings. There were a few that were so delicious, sweet and fruity, but I’m really not a wine drinker, so I only tasted four and gave 2 of my tickets to Bonnie and Audrey, so they could drink more. After all, I was the designated driver!
After KEYWAYS we headed to OAK MOUNTAIN WINERY. This place was very unusual, because most of the wineries I have seen look like a bar, with lots of bottles (and ribbons from awards they have won) behind the bar. This place had big wooden barrels of wine behind the counter. It was very striking looking!
I decided not to participate in this tasting, because although I had less than one glass of wine at the first place, my stomach was pretty empty and I already felt it a little. I just kept the girls company (and Audrey gave me a few sips of hers, too!). We were starting to get hungry (it was after 3:30pm), so we decided to get lunch before heading to the third winery.
Oak Mountain Winery had some items for sale made with corks by very clever crafters. If you drink a lot of wine and have some corks laying around, here are some great ideas!!
My friend, John (my colorist) had recommended a place, but he couldn’t remember the name, so he called a friend. It was very loud in the salon, so I guess he couldn’t hear very well, but he said it was on Faulkner and was called “Tynical.” I thought that sounded VERY strange, but he wrote it down, so I took the piece of paper with me. He said it was a FABULOUS place that was round on one side with a wall of windows and was high on a hill that overlooked several wineries. You could see for miles! He said the food was fabulous, and it wasn’t expensive.
We asked the woman at the second winery to recommend a place to eat and she said PINNACLE on Faulkner. I said, “Pinnacle!!!!!! Not Tynical!!!!” I thought that was such a coincidence that she named the same place, so we decided to go there.
Unfortunately, when we found it we saw that it had already closed. Believe it or not, most of the restaurants there close at 2:30pm and the wineries all close by 4:00pm or 5:00pm. Nothing in that area is open at night. I thought that was crazy, and didn’t really understand, but that’s the way it is! Anyway, we were now STARVING and I was getting crabby. It’s amazing how that happens to me. My mother is the same way. She always says she has to eat every few hours and I’m the same way. It has happened to me numerous times, and it’s embarrassing, because I’m practically growling!
The next place we found was CAROL’S, where Audrey and I had eaten a lovely lunch a year ago when we visited the wineries. Unfortunately, that place was closed, too! At last we found a place called MERITAGE at Callaway. I was so crabby I wouldn’t even get out of the car. Bonnie offered to go and see if the place was opened and then did a “happy dance” in the parking lot when she saw that it was. We were euphoric!
We decided to get a bunch of their tapas-style appetizers – fried crab wontons, margarita pizza, seared ahi tuna, steamed muscles in a delicious broth, steamed clams in a delicious broth, and shrimp cocktail. It was really good and we thoroughly enjoyed it all!
Audrey treated us, which was so nice and after being so hungry we were so happy to have such a delicious meal, which really hit the spot. This restaurant also was up on a hill overlooking all the grape fields, but they’re just sticks right now – nothing’s growing yet, so it was kind of barren, but still beautiful. We were outdoors, and it was pretty chilly today, but they had those great heat lamps that keep you nice and toasty. Audrey was cold, because she’s used to the Las Vegas heat, but she was happy under the warmth of the heat lamps!
After our lovely late lunch we headed to a third winery, which was one that Audrey and I had been to last time. It’s called LA CEREZA and we remembered that they had great wine, beautiful artwork, and lovely wine and other merchandise to make entertaining in your home more fun and festive. LA CEREZA is the place where I first saw Anton Arkipov’s art work (they have for sale a few of his smaller originals, which cost over a thousand dollars, and also have some of his artwork on labels on the wine bottles!). It is where I first fell in love with his art and I have now become one of his biggest fans!
Once again, I let Audrey and Bonnie do all the drinking and I just enjoyed their company. I knew we would be heading home after this tasting and I wanted to have my wits about me!
It was after 5:00pm by the time we headed back to San Marcos. We had had a lot of laughs. There were a few moments there when Audrey was laughing so hard that Bonnie and I were afraid she might have an accident! At one point, when we couldn’t find an open restaurant, Audrey pulled out a small bag of oyster crackers, which they give you at the wineries. I thought they give it to you to kind of coat your stomach, since you’re drinking a lot, but apparently it’s to cleanse your palate! Shows how much I know about wine drinking!
Anyway, I told Audrey, “Don’t open them! If we can’t find an open restaurant we may be sitting in the car dividing those up!” We were all laughing, but Audrey was doubled over and could hardly walk. I’m actually laughing now, just thinking about it.
It was just getting dark when I dropped the girls back home at Bonnie’s. Audrey is leaving tomorrow afternoon, so I’m really glad I had a chance to see her and Bonnie while she was here. I don’t know when I’ll get to see either of them again, so I’m really glad we were able to do this today. It was fun and they are both really great company.
After I dropped them off I came back to the apartment and relaxed for a while. Then I had some salad, which I had made last night. I really wasn’t that hungry, so I didn’t eat until 9:00pm. I watched AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, which I had DVR’d the other night. It is the first episode in Cycle 12. As always, there is one girl you immediately hate. All I do is wait for her to get eliminated. She was in the bottom 2 in the first episode, but managed to survive.
Tyra always has a few that have special needs – one cycle had a girl who was legally blind; another was autistic, still another had Lupus. This year there are two special girls. One is badly scarred from an accident when she was a baby. The scars are mostly on her stomach and legs, and she is so brave, because she wants to show that you don't have to hide your true self. This is who she is -- and she's really beautiful.
The other girl has Epilepsy. Unfortunately, the girl with Epilepsy was the first to be eliminated, but it is so encouraging to girls all over the world to see that you can overcome any kind of physical or mental disability you might have and achieve anything you want. All of these girls are beautiful, but there has to be something that makes them stand out – something special they bring besides their physical beauty, that makes them a Top Model. This is one of my favorite reality shows, so I’m looking forward to the rest of the season!
I don’t have any plans for the weekend, which is fine with me since I had a pretty busy week. I’m looking forward to relaxing, doing laundry, food shopping, and starting to pack. I have to start sometime, don’t I?