The first day there was absolutely gorgeous.
We got to our hotel around 9:30am and waited for our limo bus to pick us up at 10am. That’s right, I said it. ;) Ethan booked a tour for us to go wine tasting! I was a little apprehensive about the whole thing, but that was one of the most fun days I have ever had. A big part of that was the group of people that ended up being on the bus with us. I was mostly nervous about getting stuck with a bunch of wine snobs and what-have-you, but our group ended up being so much fun: 4 hilarious co-workers on a work trip (mmhmm ;)) and a sweet couple, Mike and Rachel. The driver, Tommy T, was also amazing and he cranked up the tunes for us while he pointed out the different wineries we passed on the way to our destinations.
{Disclaimer: the very fancy, nice-looking pictures? Those are courtesy of Rachel Kohl of Rachel A. Kohl Photography. She is the sweetest girl and does gorgeous work! As far as the other pictures go? They are an assortment from Ethan and my janky camera phones. :)}
The first winery, South Coast winery, was my personal favorite as far as wine goes. The bartender knew exactly what wine to let me try, but she was exactly the type I was afraid would end up on our tour bus. She corrected Rachel on how she was holding her wine glass and after Ethan and I proceeded to tell her we’ve never really had wine before, she tossed snooty glances through the duration of our stay.
Neither of us cared much, though. We sipped our delicious wine (I discovered I’m a white wine girl), munched on some crackers and chatted with Mike and Rachel.
After the wine tasting was over, we browsed the grounds (which were gorgeous), took some pictures and talked about our dream to own a big piece of land.
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| {Winery #1} |
The second winery, whose name is escaping me right now, was nothing special. While the grounds were gorgeous, the wine was not to Ethan or my liking and I later regretted having any tastings there (you’ll see why).
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| {Winery #2. The picture on the left is us with Mike and Rachel} |
The third winery—Oak Mountain—was where we had lunch and it was my favorite winery by far. The view was simply stunning, the bartenders were the sweetest, most down-home people you would ever meet and the wine was wonderful. Actually, Ethan and I more got hooked on the raspberry champagne they had there and after having a couple tastes, we went out to the balcony and looked at the view and took pictures.
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| {Winery #3. p.s. the bottom left picture? yes, that's my boyfriend. he is so cute. also, i can't stop creeping on his very muscular forearm. mmm. and bottom right? my favorite picture from the whole trip.} |
We also ran into a man there who took a liking to us. He started sharing about how he owns a pool business in Temecula and every so often during his rounds, he stops in at Oak Mountain winery to enjoy a glass of his favorite wine and enjoy the view. He was the cutest little man and Ethan and I agreed that he knows how to live better than most people.
My favorite part of the trip, though, was when we climbed back into the bus. By this time, no one was quiet and the bus was shaking with loud voices and laughter. Tommy T. poured all of us a glass of his favorite white merlot (which was DIVINE, by the way).
And while all this was going on, one of the 4 co-workers leaned over to hand Ethan a bottle of raspberry champagne, saying that was a gift from their group so that they might thank him for his military service. Ethan’s face in response was priceless and he gave his humble thanks while I tried not to cry. It was, hands down, the most precious moment of the entire day.
The 4th winery, Miramonte, was a blur to me.
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| {Yeah, this picture basically sums it up.} |
By this time, I was up and going to the bathroom every 5 minutes (not an exaggeration) and…let’s just say I was VERY warm and fuzzy. Ethan and I only used one of our 5 tastes while we were there and just sat and enjoyed a conversation with Mike and Tommy T.
Now, I’d like to tell you all that I maintained rather well, but seeing as I try to be extremely transparent on this blog, I must admit that this was me shortly after we got off the limo bus:
Cute, huh? I had no idea wine would turn me into a big pile of mush, but alas, I was so toasted, I could barely stand up.
{Note to self and others! 2 wineries is more than enough. Never, ever do 4. Unless of course, you want to look like that.^}
Anyways, I spent the next 4-5 hours trying to sleep it off. When I finally woke up, Ethan took us to a steakhouse where we enjoyed the entire restaurant to ourselves. We ended the night with Ethan sipping his raspberry champagne (and me gagging at the prospect) while we sat and enjoyed the hotel hot tub. It was perfect.
The following morning, I woke up to pouring rain. It was glorious. For breakfast, we enjoyed waffles and eggs and coffee while staring out the window at the downpour. I couldn't have possibly been much happier.
The rest of the day, we spent walking around Old Town Temecula a little bit, making the important stops (i.e. the Old Town Root Beer company to buy an assortment of root beer and chocolate sodas). We wanted to drive back to Orange County before traffic hit, so we left early. But only after we drove up the hill to look out at the city…and to take in the view of the most perfect rainbow who bid us adieu.
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