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 by Tina Swithin
Mmmm....the smell of lavender is in the air! Just a whiff of lavender has the ability to instantly relax me. I look forward to the month of May because I know that I'll be receiving a call from a lovely woman by the name of Lila at Central Coast Lavender Farms. That phone call means that the farm is officially open. There is a short window of time each summer before harvest when you can actually get a sneak peek behind the scenes and into the world of lavender. That time has come!
Head on out to Central Coast Lavender Farm for a unique look at Organic Lavender Farming here on the Central Coast. You will be able to see up close and personal how Lavender is grown and distilled. You will learn about the different varieties of this extraordinary herb as well as its historical uses in both aromatherapy and culinary dishes. You are also welcomed to stroll the many fields of lavender for a unique look at sustainable agriculture. Embark on a seasonal but amazing, self-guided tour of all things lavender.
The Farm is open during bloom on the following dates in 2012:
Friday & Saturday, May 18th and 19th, 10:00 – 5pm. 
Friday & Saturday, May 25th and 26th, 10:00-5pm.
Friday & Saturday, June 1st & 2nd, 10:00 – 5pm
Friday & Saturday, June 8th & 9th, 10:00 – 5pm
Friday & Saturday, June 15th & 16th, 10:00 – 5pm
(Closed June 22 and 23 for the Ojai Valley Lavender Festival)
Friday & Saturday, June 29th & 30th, 10:00 – 5pm
Private tours of the farm are available from mid-May through June. If you are interested, just email the farm to discuss availability. Visit the farm during the Lavender Bloom Celebration where you can tour the fields, enjoy distilling demonstrations, sample lavender goodies, learn about growing, discover the many uses of lavender and much more! Check their website to keep up to date on the Bloom Celebration and more.
While I have lavender on my mind, make sure you add the Central Coast Lavender Festival to your calendar on July 14, 2012. This free event celebrates 'everything lavender' and you will find lavender cuisine, oils, dipping sauces, ice cream and education. You will enjoy demonstrations, vendors, music and children's activities all day long.
Since summer is (almost) upon us, I can't leave you without sharing an amazing, refreshing recipe for Lavender Mint Tea Punch, compliments of Central Coast Lavender. De-licious!
Lavender Mint Tea Punch
6 teaspoons dried mint
6 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon Central Coast Lavender Farms organic dried lavender blossoms
1 liter ginger ale
1 cup purple grape juice
Ice cubes with fresh mint leaf frozen in each
Brew the mint in the water in a teapot for ten minutes. Add the lavender blossoms to the pot. Allow tea to cool. Strain the tea and add the ginger ale, grape juice and ice cubes. If serving in a punch bowl, float lavender buds and mint sprigs on top.
Central Coast Lavender Farm
(805) 233-3288
Toll Free: 1-888-327-6528 Click here for directions to the farm.
Tina Swithin is the Marketing Coordinator and Blog Manager for TravelPaso.com where she writes Pairings in Paso and other blog-a-licious Paso Robles articles. Follow the Paso Robles Insider to get the inside scoop on all the haps in Paso Robles Wine Country.
 By Kris Penick
Cuisine has always been part of California’s Central Coast culture. In the mid 1800’s early ranchers hosted large Spanish style feasts for ranch workers featuring oak grilled beef. This special style of barbecue is now a major attraction for visitors in our region. You can still cruise down Spring Street in Paso Robles any holiday or weekend and find smoking oak pits offering up a juicy tri-tip barbecue meal, pinto beans and all.
While agriculture and great food have always been synonymous, it is the recent explosion of the Paso wine industry that has seduced artisan food producers, chefs and restaurateurs to region. Paso Robles’ rolling fertile hills and valleys, nurturing warm climate, coupled with the bountiful nearby ocean and abundant cattle ranches, also contribute to the allure and add to the diverse landscape of premium fresh food products to choose from.
 Known as agri-tourism, foodies are now discovering that Paso Robles offers an inside look at the local farms, ranches and vineyards that shape the flavors of the region, and Paso Robles seems to be able to maintain its approachable goodness. Many locals enjoy sharing stories and history about families who have farmed for generations. Welcoming new producers who have discovered Paso Robles also contribute to the flavor of the region with their passion and craft.
Imagine eating just picked ollieberries warm from the vine, or customizing fresh made goat cheese with local herbs, or sipping different varieties of local olive oil, or dining on farm tables under the warm sun shaded by oak trees after a day of harvesting grapes. When back from a day on the farm or vineyard, picture yourself taking a stroll around the City Park for a do it yourself Downtown Foodie tour. Start at We Olive on Park Street for olive oil, tapenade  and vinegar tasting, step into the courtyard at Thomas Hill Organics for a farm to table snack, and continue to Estrella or Fenomenal eateries for tapas and beer. Stop by Clayhouse or Orchid Hill tasting rooms for an urban wine tasting experience. Then, linger a little longer with a gelato from Powell’s Sweet Shop or enjoy the patio at Vivant Fine Cheese for a wine and cheese pairing.
Satisfy your culinary appetite in charming Paso Robles, California. Friendly farmers, regional food purveyors, chefs  and winemakers will all welcome you. Now is the time to discover why Paso Robles on California’s Central Coast is becoming a favorite culinary destination.
What to look for now?
Artisan cheeses, organic and sustainably grown produce, heirloom vegetables, olive oil, lavender, honey, sustainably grown meat and poultry, locally caught fish, and world-renowned wine!
Central Coast Lavender Farm ~ Seasonal farm stand, U pick, events and tours by appointment. www.centralcoastlavendar.com
Happy Acres Family Farms ~ Goat cheese farm and farm stand. Tours by appointment. www.HappyAcresFamilyFarm.net
Jack Creek Farms ~ Seasonal U Pick garden, tours, events, picnic ground and pumpkins.  www.jackcreekfarms.com
Natures Touch ~ Local produce and products, nursery, and natural food products. www.naturestouchnurseryandharvest.com
Olivas de Oro Olive Company ~ Olive Oil and olive products, olive orchard, tasting room, events. Open weekends & by appointment. www. Olivasdeoro.com
Pasolivo Olive Oil ~ Olive mill, tasting room, events. www.pasolivo.com
Windrose Farms ~Biodynamic farming for professional and recreational chefs. Seasonal Saturday tours. www.windrosefarm.org
Mt. Olive Organic Farm ~ Sustainable & organic produce, olive oil, bakery, lunch, tours by  appointment. www.mtoliveco.com/farm/
Indian Valley U Pick Farm ~ Northeast of San Miguel bring your own container for seasonal heirloom fruits & vegetables. Call pager before coming, 805.227.5660
Stillwater Vineyard ~ boutique winery with seasonal farm stand herbs and vegetables grown on the winery estate. www.stillwatersvineyards.com
First Crush Winemaking ~ offers wine making and blending seminars, and seasonal harvest experiences
Reserve Events & Destinations is a Destination Management Company that specializes in wine and culinary experiences on the Central Coast of California. Groups of all sizes enjoy unique experiences, customized activities and connections to the region provided by their services.
 By Nicole Adams, Promotions Assistant at Tri-California Events
Paso Robles has a lot of to offer in the way of great wine, gourmet restaurants, and boutique shopping. But many visitors don’t realize that it’s also the home base to one of the largest triathlon events in the world. A triathlon is a multi-sport endurance event combining swimming, biking, and running in one race.
For 30 years, thousands have been converging on California’s Central Coast each May to take part in an event commonly referred to as the “Woodstock of Triathlon,” and a well known “icon,” in the ever growing triathlon industry. The AVIA Wildflower Triathlons Festival is more than just triathlon racing. For many loyal participants, the event stands for tradition and community, offering an experience with a lasting impression.
A scenic 45-minute drive northwest from Paso Robles (and past Lake Nacimiento) will lead visitors to Lake San Antonio, home of Wildflower. Taking place May 4th-6th, this three day festival will attract over  7,500 athletes and 20,000 spectators! What makes it so special? A weekend full of camping, live music and entertainment, wine tasting, a healthy lifestyle expo, and of course some world-renowned triathlon racing!
Wildflower features the following three triathlon races:
Long Course Triathlon: 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run
Olympic Triathlon: .93-mile swim, 24.8-mile bike, 6.2-mile run
Mountain Bike Triathlon: .25-mile swim, 9.7-mile bike, 2-mile run
Camping spaces are available on a first come, first served basis and passes are available for purchase here. Spectators not interested in camping will need to purchase a Festival Entry Pass and a Daily Parking Pass. View the complete schedule of events for the weekend. Visitors are encouraged to join in the fun and experience what makes Wildflower so unique!
Tri-California Events is located in both Pacific Grove and Paso Robles, and has been serving the triathlon community since 1982. We specialize in producing, managing, and running high quality events focused on the needs of our athletes. We produce "The One and Only" Wildflower Triathlons, The San Francisco Triathlon at Alcatraz, The Triathlon at Pacific Grove and Scott Tinley's Triathlon.
 by Amanda Wittstrom-Higgins
The renewing spirit of spring is always reflected in the vineyard. The skeletal vines of winter come alive with fresh green shoots, and in later spring, little “flower” clusters begin to appear. During this flowering stage, the process of pollination and fertilization sets the crop for the coming vintage.
At our estate Margarita Vineyard on the historic Santa Margarita Ranch, the real springtime flower show is found in the surrounding hills and meadows, where more than 30 different species of wildflowers have been identified.
For this reason, we offer our Ancient Peaks Winery Spring Wildflower Tours every Saturday in April from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., departing from the Ancient Peaks tasting room in Santa Margarita.
These guided tours include a gourmet boxed lunch and a Central Coast Wildflower Book, and they conclude with a sampling of Ancient Peaks wines at the tasting room. The cost is $40 per person ($30  for Ancient Peaks wine club members), all inclusive.
Santa Margarita Ranch spans more than 14,000 acres of mostly open space across numerous habitats, elevations and soil types. Our sustainable ranching and winegrowing practices have accelerated the restoration of native flora in the surrounding landscape.
The result is a striking blend of wildflowers and other intriguing plants. Indian paintbrush, lupin, buttercups, Johnny jump-ups and poppies are among the flowers that flourish at the ranch. The pink-red Indian warrior also abounds, feeding on the abundant chaparral. Another interesting find on the ranch is soap weed, a fibrous plant Native Americans used as a natural soap. They also dried it out to make rope. The ranch was home to indigenous peoples for more than 10,000 years and currently offers visitors a glimpse into what life was like in this untouched part of the world.
Don’t expect to see waves and waves of color on our tours—our landscape is too diverse for that. Our tours are more educational in nature. Yes, you will see plenty of pretty flowers, and since our guide is a local horticulture major at Cal Poly and a local horticultural fanatic, you will also be exposed to flowers and plants that you wouldn’t notice at first glance.
The past winter in Paso Robles and across coastal California was unusually dry, but we’ve been blessed with a few March rainstorms that have greened up the hills and boosted the wildflower season. I hope you can come out and see the show with us.
Amanda Wittstrom-Higgins is a fourth-generation Paso Robles native with deep family roots in local agriculture and ranching. As the vice president of sales and marketing for Ancient Peaks Winery, Amanda oversees the national distribution and direct sales of Ancient Peaks wines, as well as the winery tasting room and visitor experience.
By Matt Browne 
I’m sure everyone that loves Paso Robles would come up with a different set of answers to that question. I’m hoping some of you leave your answers in the comment section below…for now I will give you my answer.
I moved here in November of 2003, right before the big earthquake hit the Central Coast. I think that Paso Robles has truly come alive since then. The downtown is a vibrant center filled with wonderful food, wine, beer, art, and small boutique shops all surrounding the beautiful park that is home to Friday nights concerts (photo below) through the summer as well as many holiday-related events throughout the year.
This town has become known for its wine but one of the most impressive things about this place is all the OTHER stuff that there is to do. There has been an annual cigar event, a hot air balloon festival, home shows, ag and ranch events, an art festival, classic car events, food related events; we’ve had the Amgen Tour come through twice, we have upcoming beer events, well known entertainers at the Mid-State Fair, the Olive Festival, the Lavender Festival and several other things I know I must be forgetting; but I think you get my point.
 After living all over the state of California, Texas, and Kentucky…Paso Robles is the first place in my 35 years that I would call "home". The diversity in events and activities along with the warmth of the community really gives the individual an opportunity to connect. All this along with the rolling hills and vineyards allow you to hop in your vehicle (or on a bicycle) and head in any direction for an amazingly beautiful drive.
My advice to visitors and new transplants…get involved, go to the events, meet new people, be part of the community rather than a bystander, and do all the adventuring you can in this paradise called Paso Robles!
Now it’s your turn; what is it about Paso Robles?
Matt is a 10-year Paso Robles area resident. He and his wife Annie love exploring the Central Coast looking for food, drinks, and adventure. You can follow their adventures on their blog at HootnAnnie.
by Shonna Howenstine
It was recently brought to our attention that everybody loves Fridays. And free stuff. And Paso Robles.
 So, with us being the progressive tourism office that we are, we’ve decided to combine these three things and conquer the world. Well, maybe “conquer” is the wrong word. Perhaps “enliven” or “enhance” or “improve” would be better in this instance. We have SUCH a cool program that we’re calling Friday Giveaways. And it’s legit - we officially launched it last week and gave away two tickets to the 20th Annual Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival!
Continue reading "Introducing Paso Robles’ “Friday Giveaways”" »
By Tamara Richardson
I am a certified professional when it comes to playing in Paso Robles and the luckiest girl in town. I happen to have 3 of the best jobs in Paso Robles: I’m the Manager of the Paso Robles Children’s Museum, a mom and “Aunt T”. As the mother of two grown children, I often need to borrow my niece and nephew to truly “Play in Paso” and have learned a bundle in the process. I will happily share the knowledge monthly for seasonal ideas for family fun in Paso Robles.
 My 3 year old nephew Dylan and his 2 year old sister Allie regularly volunteer to play with me in Paso Robles. Our play dates are affectionately known as “Aunt T. Time” and run the gamut of family-friendly activities in and around Paso Robles. Most of these activities are FREE!
My latest playdate with Dylan included a stop at the Paso Robles Pubic Library located downtown. The large fish tank caught D’s attention right away; we then built a block castle which was hardly a challenge for D. because he is the owner of a construction company (LOL!), chose a handful of books and headed out on our next adventure.
Our next stop was just a few steps down the block - Cold Stone Creamery. We ordered a kiddie scoop of ice cream and D. felt so big reaching in his pocket to pay the owner Carole for our tasty treat. Carole really made D. feel special. Our local business owners are kind, friendly and attentive to our children and I LOVE THAT!
My playdate with Allie began with a text: ”It is Allie’s Aunt T time!” which is code for "she’s up from her nap". To make each date with my 2-year-old niece special, I choose to do different activities. This time Allie and I headed for a special adventure at Sherwood Forest, a local park located at 220 Scott Street. This park has wonderful play structures for children of all ages, including me! Allie and I went down the slide at least 30 times and played a mean game of Hide and Seek! This park provides a lot of natural hiding locations if you are 2 but also includes good safe visibility for adults to supervise this fun activity.
Stay tuned for more "Child's Play" posts for family activities that are inexpensive and FUN!
Paso Robles Children’s Museum
623 13th Street Paso Robles, CA 93446
www.pasokids.org
(805) 238-7432
Tamara Richardson is the Museum Manager at the Paso Robles Children's Museum where she plays professionally and enjoys every moment of it!
by Tina Swithin
 One of my favorite childhood memories on the Central Coast was visiting Hearst Castle with my family. The bus ride up to the “castle in the sky” with my grandparents and the anticipation as we stepped off the bus was something I will cherish forever.
This past weekend was a special weekend for me as I had the pleasure of creating those memories again but with my own young daughters.
My daughters, Makena and Kailani are five and seven years old so anything castle-related is a big deal in our world. I spent about a week prior to our trip discussing the castle, the history and Mr. Hearst himself. I didn’t want them to think this was Cinderella’s castle at Disneyland—I wanted them to fully appreciate the experience that was in front of them.
Before leaving for our journey, I was able to uncover some tips for families planning to visit the magnificent Hearst Castle.
Continue reading "Paso Robles: Exploring Hearst Castle as a Family" »
By Matt Browne
One of my favorite things to do is go exploring in Paso Robles with my wife in search of great  scenes
and views. The question is, “what makes a great scene”? I would define that as a place that you can become absorbed in, lose track of time, and not want to leave.
We have found several places that we end up visiting time and again because of the unique view, vibe, and scene. So here’s a short list along with the reason why we enjoy the place, but keep in mind, these are just a few of the places to enjoy here in paradise.
Calcareous Winery- An amazing hilltop view with a great patio to sit on and enjoy a picnic and a glass of wine.
DAOU Vineyards- This tasting room boasts the highest elevation in Paso Robles for a tasting room and phenomenal views over Paso Robles.
Highway 46 West Vista Point- An amazing turnout on 46 West overlooking beautiful hills and Morro  Rock in the distance.
Chapel Hill- Out Highway 46 East on the left hand side (Shandon area) there is this great private chapel surrounded by rolling hills and vineyards. We have parked at the bottom numerous times and hiked up the hill to the top to enjoy the scene. The building is beautiful and the views are fantastic, especially if it is wildflower season!
Farmstand 46- This awesome deli style restaurant on 46 West is a great spot to sit and hangout with a glass of wine and one of their incredible sandwiches while watching the world drive by on Highway 46 West.
Downtown Brew- This spot is located in downtown Paso Robles across from the park and it’s upstairs. We try to get a spot by the window so we can enjoy the great view of the park while enjoying a beer and lunch. There are several other places downtown with cool patios to hang out at: Paso Robles Inn upstairs deck off the bar, Pappy McGregor’s, Berry Hill Bistro, and Villa Creek.
Paso Robles Downtown Park- This really is the core of this amazing city. The downtown square is a great place to enjoy a picnic, read a book, or simply watch the happenings of the city.
Edward Sellers wine tasting room- This is one of those wineries that is right in the thick of it, as are so many in Paso Robles. Rather than the hilltop view you are right down in the vineyard and the surrounding hills and oak trees just make it a great place to get lost in.
Now it’s your turn, go exploring to find your favorite scenes in Paso Robles!
Matt is a 10-year Paso Robles area resident. He and his wife Annie love exploring the Central Coast looking for food, drinks, and adventure. You can follow their adventures on their blog at HootnAnnie.
by Tina Swithin, Travel Paso Robles Alliance
 Are you still seeking that special gift for the one you love? Luckily, I’ve done the work so you can rest assured that you’ll have the best gift under the tree. I happily continue on my quest to bring you the very best gift ideas in Paso Robles. The theme for this series is quite simple: Rest, Relation and Pampering in Paso Robles.
Continue reading "Give the Gift of Rest, Relaxation and Pampering in Paso Robles" »
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