Last weekend it was all party, all the time, as we trekked north for Joe's wedding in Paso Robles.
We drove up right after work, and got back Sunday evening around 8:00. In between, there was wine tasting, wedding rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, games in motel rooms, the wedding, the reception, and more partying!
Wine tasting in Paso Robles was interesting. Libby and I went with Dustin, Katie and their baby Elijah to Castoro Cellars, purveyors of Dam Fine Wine - Castoro meaning beaver in Italian. The wine seemed alright, though we're not experts. We especially enjoyed the Gewürztraminer, though they're much better known for their Zinfandels - which are pretty dry and spicy. Elijah is a very charming little kid, full of smiles and good temper, so it was a pleasure to be around him for a few days.
The wedding itself went really well. I didn't notice any hitches, everything was beautiful, and the deed got done. Honestly, that's all that's essential, right? It was a bit hot, but thankfully the wedding was at 10:30 in the morning, and a light breeze made it tolerable. Still, we sweated a lot in our tuxes; I don't suppose shorts would have been appropriate attire?
The reception also went well, with dancing and speeching and toasting and caking in all of the appropriate places. The bride and groom looked pleased with themselves, and everyone else looked pleased with them, too.
That evening Libby and I walked to dinner with Phil and Luke at a Thai restaurant in downtown Paso Robles, which was fun. The food was good, the company was better, and we wound down the weekend laughing and reminiscing until late at night.
The next morning we had breakfast with Luke, Lem and Phil before hitting the road for home. That road turned out to be a long one, as we extended it with stops and hit heavy traffic on the 101 - so we weren't surprised by its duration.
Our first stop was at Cerro Alto, which is a campground off the 41 north of San Luis Obispo. This was a great place to visit - it was bustling with bird-life, even in the very middle of the day. While we wandered through riparian and pine woodland -- transitioning on the upper part of the road to pine-oak woodland -- we enjoyed good views of Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Wilson's Warblers, and Warbling Vireos. None of these commonly breed in southern California's riparian woods anymore, so it was a lot of fun to see them.
There were two highlights, though - one was a singing male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. These eastern birds are quite rare here, though annual in small numbers as spring migrants in California. Perhaps this bird is lingering through the summer. It was beautiful, and we got a good look at it for a little while before it backed out of sight through some willows.
The second exciting moment was when some imitation Pygmy-Owl toots I was using to attempt to attract some skulking birds got the attention of a real Northern Pygmy-Owl, who tooted back! I was able to solicit another series of calls, too, before the distant bird quieted down. Unfortunately we were unable to actually see this fierce little diurnal owl, but even hearing it was pretty thrilling.
The rest of the drive was uneventful. We had lunch in San Luis Obispo, danishes in Solvang, and traffic in Santa Barbara. We listened to some Chesterton on the iPod, and were happy as clams when we finally got out of the car at home. A good weekend!
There are lots of pictures on Flickr.
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