We passed the test!

Tomorrow we head to Cambria. This has been an annual tradition for us since 2000. Ed and I met in October of 1999 and in January of 2000 he took me to Cambria. It was our first trip together and a bit of a "test" to see if we could stand to be together 24/7 for a few days.

And we both passed! In fact, I mentioned to him the other day how cool I thought it was that we've been together for almost 10 years and I still like him. He thought that was an add comment until I mentioned that with the other two husbands, I definitely could not make that statement. Then he felt okay!

Cambria is a small town on the Central Coast of California - about a 3 1/2 hour drive for us. It's quite beautiful and the place we stay, Fogcatcher Inn, is right on the water. There are 6 second floor rooms that we like and we always manage to get one of them. In the room is a gas fireplace and a little table by the window which is about 50 feet from the water. So all night long we can hear the ocean. One of my favorite sounds. The town has lots of restaurants, shops, and antique stores - and wineries. In fact, the whole area is a mini-Napa. We both like the wineries down there better than Napa because it isn't as commercialized (at least not most of them). There are a lot of small wineries with reasonable prices and it's much more relaxing than the big places in Napa.

The room is so nice that we try to have dinner "in" one of the nights. We drag the table and chairs over to the fireplace. The menu is normally cheeses, meats, olives, bread, whatever we find in the small stores in the area. And, of course, wine. I have a picnic basket always packed and ready to go for any road trips.

Strangely, we manage to come home with several bottles of wine. There is one small place in Templeton that pairs wines with chocolate. Yeah, that's not a bad thing. We went there for the first time about 6 years ago and have been addicted to dark chocolate and red wine ever since. I mean, if you gotta have an addiction, this is a pretty good one.

It usually rains on our Cambria trip and this year will be no exception. But who cares. We get to have a mini-road trip, taste some wine, hear the ocean with the fireplace burning in the room, and just relax for a few days. Oh, and phone reception isn't that great so Ed doesn't get bothered by clients as much. Another plus!

So we're off for a little wind in our hair, sand in our teeth, and smiles on our faces.