There is nothing like drinking morning coffee on a balcony overlooking the ocean. Even if there are a few distractions like a lot of flying bugs! Maybe the HEAT of the last couple of days has brought them out. It is supposed to be more seasonal on Thursday so we hold the hope.

We drove over to Avila Beach around 10am. So few people there! We strolled around and did a little shopping.

We headed back to Pismo Beach and had our first treat of the day …. CLAM CHOWDER!

Deb really brought the warm weather with her so we decided to check out the pool in the afternoon.

We had dinner at Vista Steak and Seafood House. It appears that Deb and I have started a new “thing” for ourselves …. Dirty gin martinis with lots of olives! So we started with that and 2 appetizers …. crab cakes and Deb’s ULTIMATE favorite ….

Believe it or not, this simple meal was enough to fill both of us up! So we headed back to Shore Cliff and spent a few hours on our balcony absorbing the sound of the crashing waves and sharing stories, thoughts, and feelings. What a wonderful friend she is to me.

We both slept long and deep Wednesday night.

THURSDAY MORNING brought an unexpected surprise …. our 5-hour wine tasting tour was unceremoniously canceled! So NOW what? We decided that the change of plan was “meant to be,”so we created Plan B.

Grateful to have a rental car, we drove down to SLO (San Luis Obispo). My sister, Kathy, actually lives in SLO, but I’ve never explored it. Armed with Google maps only, we headed to downtown SLO to see what we would see. What a CHARMING small town with beautiful tree-lined streets!

We aimlessly wandered, found some quaint shops, and landed at Novo Restaurant and Lounge on their outdoor patio under a sea of umbrellas and huge trees. We split a yummy salmon salad with California Chardonnay, of course. My girl loves her after- meal, sweet, so …

I thought I read somewhere that the parking garage closes at 3pm (REALLY???), so just to be safe, we rescued our car. But we couldn’t let the day go without doing some wine tasting on our own, so we followed our hearts and ended up at Edna Valley Vineyard.

https://www.ednavalleyvineyard.com/

We spent 2 hours simply relaxing in the shade, chatting, and enjoying the wine and the moment …

Since we only had half a salad to each at lunch, we decided to head back to Ventana Grill for a simple dinner.

We are feeling full, happy, and very very blessed.

Only one more full day left on this marvelous trip.

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