I’m writing this from my RV in one of our West Coast happy places: Morro Bay…hence the title of my newsletter.😉

What is it about the beach that facilitates an escape from work and routine so brilliantly? The minute we handed the keys to our exhaustively resuscitated old home to our lovely new renters, we knew it was time to get away. So I booked us spot in Morro Dunes RV Park.

But, to my surprise, we managed to get all our packing and last-minute stuff done a day early, so on a lark, I started looking for a 1-night stop on the way to the coast.

Score! Hartley Farms in San Miguel, CA.

Nestled in the rolling hills just east of Paso Robles, the 37-acre wedding destination also has a few RV spots available. What a fun find! Spring in wine country is not to be missed. And host Barbara’s origin story is the thing romance novels are made of—two people finding each other, falling in love, and with hard work and lots of effort creating together a haven for future love stories. Check it out: hartley-farms.com

And to Paul’s delight, Barbara’s cute little store “The Jam Shack” held a treasure trove of delicious jam options (he’s a jam guy). We tested out the peach/jalapeno with our dinner back at the RV. It didn’t do much for the salmon, but—OMG—the kale went from just-healthy-for-you to absolutely delicious!!

The next morning we walked the entire trail around the property then packed up for the short drive south. You know us, right? Whenever possible, we prefer the “road-less-traveled” option. Which in this case means turning off Highway 101 at Atascadero onto Highway 41. It’s hard to believe that this road goes all the way from the ocean to Yosemite National Park, but it does. And this branch includes a whimsical yard of metal dinosaurs, sprawling trees, and avocado ranches. Here’s one of the oak canopy.

This road also leads straight to our RV park of choice. It’s relatively large (150+ spaces), but so well organized and perfectly placed with both a bike and walking trail to town. Window shopping, pricing fresh crab—$22.90/lb GASP!—and stopping to enjoy the flowers, informative signs, and interesting art made for the perfect, lazy afternoon.

Finally having the time to sit a read is a highly underrated gift, in my opinion.

Which….drum roll, please…was just signed to become a holiday MOVIE!

Leah, my friend, I’m so happy and excited for you! Major congrats to you and Tule. Love you both!

And speaking of Tule, here’s a quick reminder that Sweet Home Cowboy is still FREE for a very short time. Don’t miss out on this lovely story in the 12-book LOVE AT THE CHOCOLATE SHOP series.

Oops, I almost forgot to share our fab sunset. You don’t come to the beach and fail to gather at water’s edge when the sun sinks in the west.

Happy reading,
Deb

PS: Many thanks to my reader friend Nancy Petersen for sharing her mother’s delightful words of wisdom with me. Nancy, thanks so much for the smile and giggle. These are brilliant! Our mothers were true treasures.