All this and Heaven too...

I think I failed to mention that in the middle of the Olympic fortnight, (which I don't know about you, I enjoyed very much), we escaped to California's central coast. The Handsomest Man Alive seems to have a talent for finding recently opened hotels that are running deals. That's how we found our beloved Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas. The first time we went there, I was afraid that I'd miss being on the strip. Now, I can't imagine staying anywhere else in LV. This time, the HMA discovered El Colibri Hotel in Cambria. The El Colibri has only been opened for three months and it is fantastico. Nestled along Moonstone Beach Rd., with a wine bar in the lobby and fireplaces and flat -screen TVs in the rooms. The only downside is that the entire town of Cambria doesn't get AT&T cell phone service -- which is a little freaky if you're addicted to your PDA devices the way we are. It's like the start of some kind of scary movie -- a couple goes to a small picturesque town on the coast of California and checks into a new hotel -- and at night a misty fog rises up from the swamp and they're never heard from again. Ok, that's not what happened. It's just my wild imagination. On the way to the hotel we took a scenic side trip through Paso Robles. I have a soft spot for this little wine town because it's the birthplace of my little Roxy. We found ourselves on a gently curving roadway covered in a canopy of trees with long golden rays of afternoon sun peaking through the leaves. We went around a corner and down into a little valley where a 1880s Victorian farmhouse that's now the Halter Ranch winery appeared. Behind the main house there was a wine-tasting cabin and people gathered around an outdoor fireplace. We stopped for a wine tasting...and they gave us chocolate too. Are you kidding me? Yum. When we got to the hotel, we went through a list of restaurants to find one that could give us a reservation at the last minute on Valentine's Day. (The HMA eschews planning ahead -- even though he's really good at it.) That's how we found the Indigo Moon Cafe where we dined on halibut and beef tenderloin. More Yum. The next morning we had reservations at Hearst Castle for Tour #2. Neither one of us had ever been on that tour of the Castle, and we both agree that this one is on top of our list of favs -- it includes Hearst's private rooms on the third and fourth floor and a servant's view of the kitchen. If I was one of Hearst's guests -- I'd be in his library all day reading his books. Or in the indoor pool flirting wildy with Cary Grant...

The true meaning of its name...

The native Indians named the place Leelanau, or the land of delight. I prefer to call it home.