Vacation, Leg 3

Saving the best for last…

Look who drove all the way over to hang out with us for the last couple days of vacation?

My dad said they’d keep the kids so that we could go out to dinner with our friends.  So to celebrate, we did some serious eating at the Artisan restaurant.  Starting with this beautiful little fig appetizer.

We decided we couldn’t decide on just one app, so we went ahead with this dish of meatballs, ricotta gnocchi, piave, and guanciale.  Do I know what those last couple items are?  No.  Were they terribly good?  YES.

Also this mushroom toast with crème fraiche, bacon, and poached egg.  Phil laughed when he saw this picture and said it just looked like a white blob.  But would I eat this white blob again?  Yes.  And twice on Sunday.  Because hello?  Bacon?

And this pizza which was a special that night so I don’t remember what all was on it.  But also so good.

We initially said we’d just go with a bunch of appetizers and maybe one or two main dishes, but then decided again that we couldn’t decide on just one.  Or two.

So we went with a trio!  Serious eating.

The cute little cocktail I started with was also very nice.  But something sure was making the room start to spin.  I was totally fine, mind you, but someone really ought to do something about that spinnyness.  😉

And finally, this.  We were all more than a little skeptical when our server was adamant that we try this dessert.  A s’mores dish with a graham cracker sherbet.  C’mon, s’mores?!  But one bite in and we were all believers: this was the dish of the night.  Ridiculous.

We were stuffed after all that so we tried walking a little of it off around tiny downtown Paso Robles.

 See here?  This is how a sweet couple poses for a nice, normal picture together.

But us?

We can’t seem to attain normal.

Ever.

Good thing James and Jami managed to overlook our abnormal selves and we all had a wonderful night out in small town Paso.  Or, at least I did.  But my nice little cocktail might have, uh, colored my experience just a tad.

J & J opted to stay in a nearby hotel (can’t blame them- we can be kind of A LOT on a 24/7 basis. Ha.) and came over the next morning to hang with the family.

That’s when we busted out the we-went-away-but-now-we’re-back presents for the kids.  Christmas in June, y’all.

Pro bowler in the making?

Check out that follow through.

Be back soon for the final vacation post!