A Little Bit of Paso, at Home With Me

 
My husband and I had every intention of going back to Paso Robles this fall. Even though we knew we’d need to bring what would be at that time our eight-month-old. But then, well, reality set in and an $800 flight cost, plus layover, plus car rental, plus almost 3-hour drive with said eight-month-old and I started to get, um, nervous. Which really isn’t what vacation is about. Right? So as much as it hurts my heart to say (I swear I lived a past life in Paso or something — I freakin’ love that area), we are not going to Paso this year.
BUT, we are bringing a little Paso to our abode here in the Midwest in a few fun ways.

1. Sit outside more.

Sure, our backyard may not have anything close to the views you get of the gorgeous vine-covered rolling hills in Paso, but drinking wine al fresco is pretty fabulous. And being outside is just relaxing. So we’re making a point to get out more and …

2. Embrace the vacation mindset.

I think that one of my favorite things about Paso is not only how beautiful it is, but how open and free I feel like when I’m there. It’s like there are more hours in the day, and I just take everything in more. Here at home, that means being more mindful, sipping on my coffee a touch longer than normal and just slowing down.

3. Go farm to table.

Everything is just so darn delicious and tied to the land in Paso. And here in the Midwest, especially in the fall and summer, we have plenty of in-season foods that are fantastic. So while I may not be able to get fresh seafood like I can in Paso, I can get really awesome buffalo and hit the farmers’ market for meal inspiration. And outsource a few other goodies, like …

4.  Liberally drizzle on the olive oil.

You can literally take the taste of Paso Robles home with you with Pasolivo olive oils. They are DELICIOUS. Hand-picked and pressed on site, their orchard is gorgeous and the olive oils they put out are amazing. The plain kinds are off-the-charts good, and the flavored varieties (hello there, Rosemary) will take any dish up a notch. It seriously takes any regular ol’ thing (like the tuna salad below) and makes it sing with Paso flavor.

5. Drink the good stuff.

This is an obvious one but it needs to be stated. Drink wine from Paso! Although I’ve found a few bottles here and there from Paso in wine stores around here, I’ve found that my favorite Paso wines I actually have to order and ship. It’s well worth it though. Well worth it. A glass kind of transports you.

6. Conserve water.

Seriously. I may be hundreds of miles away, but it just makes sense to be mindful about resources, no matter where you live.

7. Seek out closer travel options.

Besides doing things like this, we are loading up the car and driving a couple hours to what’s considered the heart of wine country in Missouri: Hermann. We’re renting a cute small little farm house for a couple of nights and plan to go tasting. Wish us luck with the little one … and you know I’ll share how it goes — and how the wine is!
When you’re jonesing for a destination but can’t quite get there, how do you make do? —Jenn