Mike and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary by visiting a bed and breakfast in Paso Robles, which is about 90 minutes south and inland from Monterey . Although it doesn’t have the notoriety of “ Napa ,” Paso Robles is the second-largest wine producing area in California with more than 26,000 acres of vineyards, creating an absolutely beautiful drive.
We spent two glorious, quiet nights and three kid-free days at Seven Quails Vineyard. It’s a small bed and breakfast with only two rooms, but our stay was nothing short of amazing. The bathroom had a HUGE tub, our room had its own private porch where we drank coffee each morning and listened to the hummingbirds as they drank from a tree merely 5 feet away, we each started and finished a book and the hostess cooked an amazing breakfast both mornings. The property is located on about seven acres and the vineyard starts literally just outside the front and back doors of the house. The host gave us a tasting of their wines, which they have made from their own grapes, and gave us a lesson in tasting and about wine in general.
It was hard to miss the large riff along parts of the highway during our drive so one morning Mike asked the host about the San Andreas Fault Line. As it turns out, the riff we saw was part of the Rinconada Fault, but the B&B was merely 25 miles from Parkfield, the earthquake capital of the world. Being the adventurous couple we are, we decided that an outing to this small town was required… and a small town it was! Parkfield has a population of 18 – yes, 18 – with one main road that can’t be longer than ½ mile. There is one school that is about the size of the chapel we got married in, a library that is in a trailer that’s roughly half the size of a normal trailer and one firetruck that eerily resembles a red short bus. But hey, at least we can say we visited the earthquake capital of the world!
We took the scenic route to Parkfield and unintentionally created road kill. Here’s a picture of the creature, although I’m sure most of you guys won’t complain that we killed it.
Josh is getting bigger and bigger every day, just like my belly. He’s traded walking in for running and is starting to eat at the table with mommy and daddy. He dances anytime there's music and is experimenting with falling backwards and jumping off the sofa. He ate an entire piece of halibut earlier this week when Grandpa and I went to Phil’s Fish Market for lunch and he’s eating chicken regularly too. Whew! We thought we had a self-proclaimed vegetarian there for a little bit…
Earlier this month Mike finished the Spring semester at school with A’s in all of his classes. Since January, he has been making a huge push to complete as much as he can before baby #2 arrives. As you can imagine, he has been an incredibly busy man these past 6 months with working full time, taking 9 credits at the college, father, husband, surfer, church worship leader and designated letter helper - free time wasn’t exactly in the schedule. Mike of course will downplay all of the sacrifices he’s made these past few months, but that’s just how he is.
Despite the relief of the semester being over, the studying hasn’t ceased. Mike is currently studying for two certifications, with one of the tests on the 25th and the other to be taken before summer is over. I don’t think the man knows how to “rest.”
He’s really enjoyed surfing since he got the board, but it’s unfortunate that prime surf season is during the winter months here… for the past two weeks, Mike has anxiously watched the waves on his way to work and scoped out the local surf report online and to his dismay, the ocean has been as smooth as glass. It’s beautiful to look at and great if you’re into kayaking, but not so great if you like to hang ten. He’s hanging in there, but I think he may go a little crazy if he doesn’t get into the water and catch something soon.
Our church held a bake sale to benefit local families hurt by the recession. I made mini-loaves of breakfast bread - apple cinnamon and banana chocolate chip. Both were delicious and at the request of the resident taste tester, I've made batches of each variety since the bake sale for our own consumption. The bake sale was a hit with over $430 raised. The next activity will be a BBQ lunch where all of the money raised goes to charity. Not only is it so great to have found a church home here, but it's extremely rewarding to be able to give back to the community and help those in need.
Although we haven’t written much about it, the biggest news in our house (apartment) would be my ever-growing belly. The countdown is officially on with only 5 weeks left to go. Our calendars are now marked with weekly doctor appointments, hospital visits and pending visits from family for after the arrival of #2 – which, if you haven’t noticed, is the official nickname of the baby since we don’t know the gender. Some say it’s a girl, some say it’s a boy, but we’re all going to have to wait to find out. To those wanting to visit, let us know ASAP so we can tentatively mark dates in our calendar. We’d love to see everyone, but we need a few days of downtime between visits to at least wash the sheets!
