Vacation in wine country

A couple weeks ago, we all loaded in the wagon and headed up to wine country in central CA. We stayed in Templeton, just outside of Paso Robles in a B&B on a winery. They converted a barn loft into a really nice apartment where we could stay and the noise of toddlers wouldn't bother anyone. Jacob loved the fact that he slept in a barn and he told us that there would be donkeys, kangaroos, doggies and I forget what other animals sleeping with us.

We attempted to get a cute picture of both boys standing in front of the barn. HA!



There weren't any farm animals, but there was a really nice dog, Clover, that the boys just ADORED! We only saw her the first afternoon and Jacob kept asking and asking about her. He still talks about her from time to time. We were pretty surprised that he went right up to her since strange dogs usually freak him out. Guess he just sensed that Clover was a very laid back kinda gal.

Snuggles from both the boys


Isaac was going in for a big smooch here and Clover was ready to reciprocate!

There was a big green lawn where the boys had a blast running around and exploring

The bottom floor of the building in the background is the winery's tasting room


Isaac thinks 'smell the flowers' means licking them. Hmmmmmm


The converted barn was really nice with a separate bedroom, 1 1/2 baths, a kitchen and a big living area. The owner stocked the kitchen with tons of food, lots of yummy snacks from Trader Joes.

Jacob loved to watch cartoons while resting on this huge pillow. They had cable (we don't) so he got to watch cartoons he never gets to see.

Love this picture! They had a book with pictures of dogs from different wineries. I think we paged through that book about 100 times!

We wanted everyone to get as much sleep as possible so we put Isaac in the bedroom and would have just put Jacob in the living room, but that would mean we would have to go to bed at 8:00. Too early! So, we put Jacob in the half bathroom. He thought that was pretty funny. I did feel weird closing him up in a bathroom for the night, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right? The boys slept great, so I guess it was okay.

We visited a goat farm that has over 200 goats! I was hoping to be able to talk to the farmers, but they were busy with a field trip. From what I read, 3 or 4 women own the farm and their families help them with the milking, egg collecting, and making the products that they sell. They had goat cheese, ice cream, soaps, lotions and other beauty products.

Jacob was a little wary of the goats. He kept saying, 'They're not scary. They're not scary.' like he was trying to convince himself.

A LaMancha goat. They don't have big outer ears, just these little nubbins.


They also had chickens, ducks, and a calf.


After visiting the goats, we went to lunch at a little place that features lots of locally grown food, much of it coming from their own garden. Love that! We tried a couple different sandwiches and a lemon tart and took home some flat bread to eat with our goat cheese and a scone for breakfast the next morning.

More attempts at a nice group shot


Isaac checking out some veggies in their garden

After lunch we went to another winery to do some tasting. Alan chose a winery that was kid-friendly. They had a bunch of coloring books and the kids got to taste some grape juice. Wine tasting is definitely more relaxed and enjoyable when you don't have to keep 2 toddlers entertained and from breaking things (which we didn't do a very good job at - Jacob knocked over a candle holder thing, but fortunately only broke a votive candle holder - one you could buy at a craft store for $1 - whew!). We still had a good time and enjoyed the wine and their beautiful grounds. We were disappointed that their pot belly pig, Harley, was napping in his little house and wouldn't come out to greet us.

That night we ate at a delicious Spanish restaurant and afterward the boys had fun playing at the park across the street. Late the next morning we packed up and got back on the road, heading for home. Everything was great until we got to Pasadena when we were hit by a nasty smell followed by Jacob saying, 'Mommy clean Jacob! Mommy clean Jacob!' Guess his lunch didn't sit well with his tummy. Oh, it was a mess! Nothing like cleaning up vomit with baby wipes. He threw up again in San Dimas, but then was fine. Of course this happened in Friday afternoon traffic so what would have been an hour in a stinky car was more like 2. Lovely way to end the trip. The rest of the trip was nice so we'll just remember those parts!