Wow. What an experience!
This was my first Fitcation, so I wasn't 100% sure what I was getting myself into LOL. I'm happy to report that it was an indulgent and healthy weekend. I've made new friends, had fun, and am better informed on issues I care about.
Now, confession time, I took a million photos...I've been sorting and editing them so that I can share with you a sample of what we did up in the Paso Robles area. Since there are so many photos I'm breaking this review post into two parts.
Here we go!
When I arrived at the Fitcation meeting room I was greeted by Leah and a whole bunch of swag! Lots and lots of great things that we are now having fun going through and trying out.
So our first activity of the evening was to go shopping in downtown Paso Robles. My favorite store we went to was the General Store. Seriously, such a cute store, and such neat ladies who owned it. We could have chatted all night!
Oh, and if you're ever up there and have a sweet tooth stop by the Brown Butter Cookie Company...the cookies I brought home for my Hubs lasted about 30 seconds they were SO good!
That night we had dinner catered by Fig at Studios in the Park...a really cool studio/art gallery. It was really neat to talk with some of the SIP Certified farmers and staff, I learned so much!
What does SIP certification mean? First off the label you'll see on the wine bottle will look like this...
And when you see that symbol you will know that that wine is made with at least 85% SIP Certified fruit...which has to be audited annualy to varify that it is organic and sustainable. You can rest assured that it considers the whole farm, verifying the farmer’s commitment to environmental stewardship, equitable treatment of employees, and business sustainability. It also prohibits the use of high risk pesticides (toxic air contaminates, cholinesterase inhibitors, groundwater contaminants, California and federally restricted materials). All of the vinyards and wineries we toured at Fitcation were SIP certified.
Ok, now back to Fitcation.
Day two...we started off with a bootcamp workout! (My first by the way!)
Erin Kreitz Shirey is an awesome trainer! Her very pregnant self kicked our hineys...she's pretty inspiring! I kept telling myself that if she could do it I could do it. ;)
After bootcamp we had a bit of free time to get changed and recover relax, so I continued to work on the blanket I'm crocheting.
Next we went to the Castoro winery. I always enjoy going there, it's beautiful and the wine is fantastic.
We had a great lunch there and then got to take a mini wine 101 workshop with Stasi from Unlock Wine. It was really interesting & if you're new to the world of wine I highly suggest taking her workshop.
After sampling wine at Castoto (the Tempranillo 2011 was my fave) we went to Pasolivo to hike through the organic and sustainable orchard, tour the mill, and taste test (my favorite part!). Now if you've never tasted fresh olive oil you MUST put it on your bucket list. It is amazing! I ended up buying some of the lemon olive oil and some pomegranate vinegar. I think I'm going to have to order more varieties online!
The olive trees and surrounding property at Pasolivo are beautiful... here's a peek around there...
Our last stop of the day was at Halter Ranch winery and vineyard. Beauty doesn't even begin to explain how fantastic this property is. Between the historic buildings, gorgeous bridge, winery, vinyard, and wine caves there was SO much to photograph and surprisingly there were large sections that I missed photographing since it was dark by the time I though of taking them...but oh well, there's always next time, and there will be a next time since I can't wait to take my husband there!
After our hike through the vinyard we went back to the Halter Ranch Barn for an Earth Footwear presentation...complete with wine, appetizers, and reflexologists! Hello foot massage!
We got to see some of the new Fall and Winter Collections, and they were generous and gave each of us a pair of shoes! ( I got the Bellflower ones in pewter.)
Oh, and happily they had power outlets in the barn which made for some happy bloggers! ;)
We ended the day with a locally harvested dinner in the barn which was my favorite meal during Fitcation and by the time we were done and back at the hotel I was pooped! I slept like a rock!
Ok, that's the end of the first part of Fitcation. Come back tomorrow for part 2!
disclaimer: All photos were taken by me unless noted differently. As part of the Fitcation I was given a whole bunch of products, experiences, etc. Everything I review is of my honest opinion and experience.
