Visiting Paso Robles, CA
Updated: Sep 20, 2021
June 16 to June 22
I chose Paso Robles because it has everything I need. Planet Fitness, Walmart (a necessary evil), low crime rates, and a library with bangin’ hours of operation. Also I used to sell a lot of wine that was grown in Paso so I wanted to check it out.
I spent my first night in the Planet Fitness parking lot. There was a motorhome in the parking lot that was clearly parked there full time so I felt pretty good about my chances. Normally I would go introduce myself to a fellow parking lot camper but this particular motorhome had about 7 shovels strapped to the roof and the windshield was full of plastic bags that looked to be about 50 years old. I'll just assume me and the owner of that vehicle don't have a lot in common. I stayed in that parking lot for 3 nights, no issues at all.
The Planet Fitness staff started to catch on by day 2. I would walk in every morning for a workout and a shower and again at night for a workout and a shower before bed.
Me: Mornin'
PF Front Desk Worker (PFW): Hey, are you sleeping in your car in the parking lot?
Me: Yep! Is that okay?
PFW: Well that motorhome has been doing it for a month now so I don't think anyone cares.
Me: Yeah I saw that, ever seen the person that lives in it?
PFW: Nope.
Me: Huh
PFW: Careful out there.
If you follow along on Instagram you know that I use a website called Trusted Housesitters while I travel. This website is a place for pet owners to search for sitters while they are out of town. In return, the sitter gets a home to stay in. Win win. At this point I had applied to multiple sits but hadn't got accepted because I had no reviews from previous sitters. Finally, after applying for a place in Paso I got a phone call. They wanted to meet me and see how the dog responded to my presence, oh hell yeah, my presence is dope, I'm gettin' this gig for sure.
I showed up to meet the owners and the dog. The dog's name is Jarvey and he's a Doberman. He is a rescue pup and was badly abused as a puppy so he's very skittish. After a walk around the block the owners were satisfied, I was a dog whisperer. They invited me back that evening for steak and seafood and another chance to hang with the pup, I of course accepted this offer seeing as I live in my car. A home cooked meal is a luxury I'm not at all going to pass up. I ended up staying at their house until 11 pm drinking wine and sharing stories. Coolest people ever, so fortunate to get to meet them. After dinner I went back to my "hotel", at least that's what I told them, in reality I drove to the Planet Fitness parking lot to pass the fuck out. The next morning I showed up to the house to see them off and start my 4 day dog sit.
Turns out spending 4 days with Jarvey was exactly what I needed. When I left on day 4 I shed a tear, I mean I actually cried a little. This little bastard ripped my heart out.
When he first realized his people weren't coming back and I was his new person he was a little unsure. After some treats and some walks he warmed up to me. His bed was located in the living room. The guest room, where I was staying, was around the corner. On night one I went to bed in the guest room. After about 5 minutes Jarvey came in and made it very apparent that us sleeping in different rooms was not going to work. I moved his bed into the guest room, unacceptable. I moved his bed back into the living room, gathered some blankets and a pillow and slept on the couch, for all four nights. By night two he was sleeping on the couch with me, he wasn't allowed on the couch, whatever.
Paso Robles is a big wine town so I went downtown a few times to do some tasting and eat. The average temperature over my four day stay was 106 degrees so to be honest, I stayed in for a lot of it. It was the first time in 20 some odd days that I had a kitchen, a shower of my own, and a bed (couch) to sleep on. I soaked it up. I'll link some of my favorite wineries in Paso at the bottom.
I really enjoyed my time in Paso. It was a much needed refresher and a good opportunity to get organized. I took a bunch of professional quality photographs of Jarvey and left them for the owners. They wrote me a kick ass review on the Trusted Housesitter website. This will be very helpful moving forward. Next stop LA area, here we go baby.
Must Visit Wineries: