Disclosure: The costs of the events and activities for Fitcation were defrayed by sponsors, and the attendees were contractually obligated to write a summary of the experience and also received free swag items. However, the thoughts and opinions I’m sharing in this post are honest and my own.

I left for the airport loooong before the sun on Thursday morning. The first flight, to Phoenix, pretty much sucked. It was dark, and I was in a window seat next to two sleeping men, and all of the flight attendants ignored me for the nearly 3 hour flight. I had a two hour layover in Phoenix, and the shorter flight into San Luis Obispo was slightly better. I was asked if I wanted a drink, at least.

Monica picked me up at the airport, and I got to hang out with BookieBoo and Mr. BookieBoo in the afternoon before everyone else got there. That was really pretty awesome, to be able to spend time with these two people who are the brains and leaders behind the entire Mamavation community.

A few more people arrived, including one of my roommates (Jeanae) and Erin. The three of us went into downtown Paso Robles to explore a little and pick up some goodies from shops that were expecting us. At the General Store (which was a really fun little place where we met two of the shop owners and were joined by a lot more of our group), we sampled THE BEST pumpkin spice toffee (I could’ve eaten a LOT more of it). (The night was organized by Travel Paso for us, and it was so nice to not have to do any work. Seriously.)

We also sampled wine at several different places, and I had not eaten an actual lunch. That lead to Kris, our fabulous hostess for the weekend, sending the three of us off to snack before our dinner in an art studio. Unfortunately, we didn’t get our “snacks” until it was past time to get to the dinner. But, it was really nice to sit and chat with those two girls for a while, outside of the activity of the bigger group and after a really long day.

Friday was an activity filled day. It started with an awesome bootcamp session in a park with Erin (@powerfitness)…seriously, I was sore for four days, but I loved every minute of it. Plus, I found my perfect running partner in Erin….it’s really unfortunate that she lives in southern California. Sigh. We then showered and changed and went out to Castoro Cellars (home of “Dam Fine Wine”), which was my first ever winery visit and wine tasting. We learned about how to do all of the wine stuff (you know, swirl, sniff, sip, spit) and had lunch, explored the gorgeous grounds a little, and snuck super sweet grapes off the vines. (This second picture is my roommate Karen and I under the awning entrance)

After we were sufficiently wined and dined (as if that’s possible), we took a long, winding road to Pasolivo. We hiked the olive orchards (is that what they’re called?), visited the manufacturing facilities (where we learned how they actually make the olive oil), and then went to the tasting room to try out all of the amazing goodies, like the infused oils (tangerine, basil, lemon, rosemary), spices, stuffed olives (OHMYWORD, so good), and jams/jellies/tapenades.

After we were olive oiled out (again, no such thing), we drove to the AMAZING Halter Ranch. We walked through the enormous vineyards and up to a 600 year old tree, where we talked about what the SIP Certified Wine process was all about, and the amazing things that Halter Ranch does to make themselves almost completely self-sufficient and sustainable. It’s really cool, actually….they have areas for natural predators, like owls, to hang out and eat the pests that eat the grapes, they have spots within the acres of grapes that are set aside for little gardens that (I believe) act as bug repellants or boundaries. I don’t remember the details, but there are so many cool things that they’re doing to avoid using chemicals, or excess water, or traps. After we were done under the tree, we hiked back over to see where they make the wine, and store it. The architecture in that area of the property was INCREDIBLE. I want a house like that sometime. And after all of THAT, we had dinner in their barn with the sweet Earth Footwear folks (hello, gorgeous shoes!!) and it was delicious. (Bacon wrapped stuffed dates. Just saying.)

Saturday was another full day of amazing things that I could never do in the Kansas countryside, so I soaked it up as much as I possibly could.

After breakfast, we drove to Hearst Castle, way up in the hills of the central coast. We first saw a movie about the property, which was owned by William Randolph Hearst and dreamed into reality by architect Julie Morgan. I think my very favorite part was in the indoor pool; it was so perfectly still that the reflections of the ornate walls were crystal clear on the water. The whole place screamed “EXCESS!” but it was so interesting, nonetheless (especially the “untold stories” behind the place that we can only imagine and talk about as we walked the grounds).

The beach was next. We took in the waves and rocks, then ate lunch in a picnic area, and then headed down to the warm sand for yoga. It. Was. Perfect. Kia led our group for yoga, and it was so peaceful and relaxing after all of the running around and activities that we had done. (The first picture is Kris and I, who worked SO hard organizing all of this for us and ushering us to all of the places we needed to be). This was my first time seeing the Pacific Ocean, so it was pretty special.

I shared the other two pictures already, but the second one was taken by Pamela, and the yoga one was taken by Kristin.

And THEN, we visited Morro Bay, a “bedroom community” on the beach, where we went kayaking. During the jaunt through the water, we saw seals and stopped off on the beach. It was really, really nice (although the kayaking was a little tough and Deb and I thought we were horrible at it until everyone else said the waves were messing with their steering, too).

We then went into San Luis Obispo and had pizza (there were a lot of gf flavors, and I tried them ALL) and more SIP-certified wine, and then walked around downtown for while. I decided against more wine and had frozen yogurt with chocolate on top instead. Priorities.

After nearly a month of solo parenting, and a birthday that really wasn’t anything to shout from the rooftops about, this trip was EXACTLY what I needed. It was the perfect mixture of healthy food, exercise, fresh California air, education, friends and relaxation. I’m so thankful to Leah, Mark, Kris, Joanna and everyone else that had a part in putting together this once-in-a-lifetime trip for all of us. Oh, and a HUGE shout-out to my girl Monica, who drove me to and from the SLO airport at ungodly hours.