Temecula Valley is truly a Southern Californian gem. From Old Town Temecula which radiates old Wild Wild West vibes to the dozens of magical wineries, it easily tops my list of California MUST DO's. The truth is, Temecula wasn't really on my radar at all until I stumbled across an incredibly unique Aribnb experience that appeared to be on our way-ish between LA and SD. Side note - A little fact about me, I plan a lot of my trips around potentially unique Airbnb experiences and I've never regretted a thing. So, we made the detour off the PCH so we could check out this vintage Air stream located right in the heart of wine country. We arrived around 2ish and only had until noon the next day to explore so we needed to make the most of our Wild West x Winery experience!
I've stayed in Air Streams before and each time the experience is always unique. What's wonderful is that most of them are rebuilt so it's up to the owners interpretation of what they want to leave original, rebuild or modernize. This particular Airstream was rebuilt by the Airbnb hosts who appeared to be an incredibly handy couple. The entire property was landscaped beautifully with succulents and lemon trees as well as reused metal art, structures and decorations. It was nestled perfectly on land that overlooked wineries and rolling hills as far as the eye could see. It offered incredible vantage points for both sunset and sunrise. We also enjoyed taking a dip in the pool then floated around on the floatys for about half an hour. It was the perfect way to soak in the sun.
The airbnb hosts set out a 2 for 1 wine tasting to nearby Vindemia Wineries, which was a convenient 5 minute walk from the Airbnb. It was a lovely little winery that carried mostly a red selection of wine. I'm usually a white fan but the red was really nice and smooth. We bought a bottle of the only white they had and took it back to the Airbnb to watch the sun go down. We stopped on the way to admire the scenery. Grape vines, olive and lemon trees sprawled across the rolling lands as far as the eye could see. In my head I was trying to figure out how I could quit my job immediately and retire here. I could easily live out the rest of my days drinking wine here in Temecula Valley.
For dinner we made our way to Old Town Temecula and enjoyed a lovely meal at The Goat and Vine. By this time we had a pretty good little buzz on, so naturally we ordered a bottle of bubbly to accompany our salad and pizza. The ingredients were fresh and ripe and the portions were quite large. We had extra pizza leftover and enjoyed that for breakfast. Let me tell you, it was just as good the next day.
We woke up at the crack of dawn partially because we were parched from our alcohol consumption the night before but also because we wanted to watch the sun rise. We downed a few glasses of water, made a shot of espresso and made our way to the edge of the property where the hosts had recommended the best views were. I put some music on my phone and there we stood, watching the sun peak over the rolling hills. Moments after the sun began to make an appearance we noticed something floating in the distance. Hot air balloons began to pop over the mountains one by one. All differing in size and altitudes. I tried to snap as many photos as I could without ruining the moment but nothing could truly capture the moment and the 360 beauty that surrounded us.
As the rest of the world began to wake up we knew we only had a few more hours left here in Temecula. Although we had been to Old Town Temecula for dinner the evening before it was too dark to properly see the town in all its glory. We made our way back before we continued on our adventure and I'm so happy we did. We walked the old town and wandered into the little shops that lined the main street. The nostalgia ran high in Temecula, there were many photos of the town in it's early days, featuring horse drawn carriages and saloons. If we wanted to stay awake for the rest of our adventure we knew we needed another caffeine dose so The Press Espresso was our pick. It was such a cute espresso bar. They had house made macadamia milk and an amazing (and pretty) pink baked vegan donut. That makes it healthy, right?
Maybe one day I'll retire in Temecula Valley but for now, I'll just plan to make my way back to visit as often as I can and daydream about the 22 incredible hours that were spent here.
