Los Olivos Birthday Trip
For my last three birthdays, I’ve traveled abroad and went on yoga retreats and it has always brought me so much joy. Last year, I spent my entire birthday month in Cambodia and it was incredible. I’m very forunate to have been able to travel abroad as much as I have and explore the world, learn about different cultures, and connect with new people.
This year, my birthday is a little [a lot] different because of all the unexpected challenges of 2020. With all the challenges come new lessons and opportunity for growth. And there were definitely a lot this year! But it didn’t stop me from celebrating or going on my annual birthday adventure. While my adventure was a lot smaller this year, I’m so happy I was able to get away to Los Olivos in wine country for one day and one night with a friend. My birthday was a couple weeks ago in November but I hadn’t had a chance to sit down and share it with you until now.
Los Olivos is only a 2.5 hour drive from Los Angeles. We stayed at the Fess Parker Inn right in the middle of the cute town. Unfortunately because of Covid, the town was quiet and a lot of businesses were closed but I still enjoyed the short getaway. One night at The Fess Parker Inn includes a free bottle of wine in your suite and two free tastings at the Fess Parker Vineyard and Ephiphany Winery. Service at the Fess Parker Vineyard was amazing. They treated me to probably almost 10 wine tastings outdoors on their patio because of my birthday. Afterwards, we took a quick dip in the pool at the inn and enjoyed pre-dinner cocktails and a delicious shrimp appetizer by the fire.
That night, we dined at the new restaurant at the inn called Nella and it was absolutely fabulous. We started dinner with a truffle flatbread, an entire plate of mortadella (it’s my favorite charcuterie meat as well as my friend’s), and mussels. Then we shared a duck entree and ended my birthday dinner with profiteroles and an espresso martini. My belly was very happy and my experience at the Fess Parker Inn and Vineyard was so wonderful.
The next day, we drove through the rolling hills, had our last tasting at Ephiphany, and enjoyed an outdoor lunch at Los Olivos Wine Merchant Cafe before returning to Los Angeles. It was a more low-key birthday than my previous years, but I’m grateful that I was able to do something to bring me a little bit of joy, given the circumstances of the pandemic this year.
