Day 19 - Day Trippin' US1 to Big Sur, Cal-i-for-ni-a

California or Bust…

Days 19 – Day Trippin’ US1 to Big Sur, Cali.

Wednesday, November 9^th, 2011

Another beautiful day in Paso Robles… the temperature had dropped and the highs were going to be in the 60’s, with evening temps. dropping in the 40’s.  We had planned a day trip to the California coast and we were looking forward to the fun drive along US1 to Big Sur.  We left about 9am and made the 30 mile drive west on Hwy. 46, a winding mountain road to Cambria, a nice seaside village located midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.  Drew was excited to see the Pacific Ocean and we stopped at the first pull out beach area where he collected a few beach rocks to add to his collection.  He has collected rocks throughout our travels… from Alaska to the Greek Isles and the Amalfi coast.  We drove through the San Simeon State Park which is one of the oldest units of the California State Park System.  The coastal bluff and promontories offered unobstructed views of the ocean and rocky shore.   Sitting to the east and high up on one of the Santa Lucia Range peaks was Hearst Castle built and owned by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst between 1919 and 1947.  Hearst died in 1951 and in 1957, the Hearst Corporation donated the property to the State of California and since that time has been maintained within the San Simeon State Park.  This acreage was beautiful and well taken care of… many of the local restaurants purchase grass fed beef from the Hearst Castle Ranch.  At 80,000 acres, it is one of the largest working cattle ranches on the California coast.



Brrrrrrrrrr

 


Rock Hunting



 


Hearst Castle in the distance

 


Zebras grazing at Hearst Ranch

 About 5 miles further up the coast we stopped at Elephant Seal Vista Point at the Piedras Blancas Beach.  In early fall, the elephant seal colony is populated with juveniles resting and playing some of which are this year’s pups born in December and January and others from one to four years old.  The interesting fact is this is there “home base” in the sense that they return for a few months each winter to give birth and breed.  Adult males spend eight months at sea and four on land.  Adult females and juveniles spend 10 months at sea and two on land.  It’s amazing that the older males make a 5,000 mile trip to the Aleutian Islands twice a year.  They travel along the continental shelf and feed on bottom fish at about 2,000 feet.  They can also stay down for over an hour and spend less then 15 percent of their time at the surface to sleep and rest.  Here we looked at them as big blubbery lazy seals when really they only get to snooze and playfight for only a month or two… the rest of the year they swim hard.


One of the big guys

 


Juvenile Elephant Seal



 


One of the many lighthouses

 We continued to make our way up the coast road that twists and turns between the cliffs and mountain canyons.  Highway 1 hugs very fragile hillsides in this region.  Mud and rock slides are common and we were stopped on several occasions by CALTRAN (California Department of Transportation) workers when the road narrowed to one lane for either road repairs, fallen rock removal or new bridge building.  These bridges not only have to be built in these dangerous places but they have to be earthquake proof too!

About a 15 minute wait.. this time



Brigit in her "caution cone hat"

Guardsticks for Safety?

Just a few more feet...

Advanced bridge building.

One of the older bridges

We were grateful not to be driving the KeyZRV on this road, however there were some gorgeous state park campgrounds on sheer wall cliffs that looked very nice to stay.  We passed through Lucia and Gorda, both areas were especially prone to damaging slides.  It was amazing to see the unique homes that were built on the cliffs and as we entered the Big Sur area, we stopped at the infamous Nepenthe Restaurant.  I had driven past this restaurant probably 2 or 3 times in my youth without Drew and had always wanted to stop… this was my lucky day!  The view looking out over the cliffs is amazing… you can almost see Hawaii…  ;o)



In Big Sur, CA






Fun restaurant with a great view

  


View of the Pacific at lunch

Very Big Sur... "magic bus" and a huge redwoods.

 I drove the 72 miles back down Highway 1… that means Drew had the catbird seat and had the view of the ocean.  I did not look… just kept both hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

We got back to the RV Resort about 4:30 so we could shower and drive down to San Luis Obispo for dinner.  I was excited because we were meeting my niece Nan who lives in Nipomo with her husband, Eric and her brother, my nephew, Chris (C.J.) were meeting us for dinner in San Luis Obispo at 6:30pm.  Chris lives near Talkeetna, Alaska but decided he did not want to spend the Winter there this year so he is hanging with his Sister in Nipomo and hopes to do some traveling...I have not seen my niece and nephew for probably 14 years. 

Sunset at Site #82

We met in downtown SLO and for a Wednesday evening, it was busy… there were restaurants of every cuisine, lots of bars and nightlife, clothing stores, knick knak stores, etc.  Nan and Chris decided on a nice quiet Thai Restaurant where we could visit and catch up on family and life… a little overwhelming to cover 14 years.  I miss eating good Thai food and Nan made great choices to enjoy family style… and with a bottle of Eberle Cabernet Sauvignon.  I really wanted to tell Nan that we were getting married on Friday (at Eberle)… but we hadn’t and couldn’t tell anyone.  The city is full of history and after dinner we strolled down to the Mission Plaza to see the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa which was founded in 1772 by Father Junipero Serra.  It was the fifth mission in the California chain of 21 missions.  We said our goodbyes… until we catch up again on Saturday.

Our drive back to Paso took about 45 minutes… tomorrow we explore Morro Bay.

Day 18 - Exploring Paso Robles Area

California or Bust…

Days 18 – Exploring Paso Robles area

Tuesday, November 8^th, 2011

We woke to another beautiful morning… although it was cool, the air was clear.  We caught up on some office work and completed some online utility payments for Cora, Drew and Maye… even though we are on vacation there are still bills to pay.  We also needed to get a few provisions and there was a nice Kohl’s (which I couldn’t resist), Target and a WalMart close by… we picked up some new rugs for the RV.  We drove through the City Center of Paso Robles which means “Pass of the Oaks” and then North on 101 to see the San Miguel Mission.

Our site at the Wine Country RV Resort overlooking the vineyard

One of the many missions along the Camino Real Trail

Brigit and Riley were with us and as we planned in Sonoma, we looked for dog friendly wineries to visit.  After San Miguel, we drove into the rolling hills and vine covered mountains West of Paso Robles along the San Marcos and Chimney Rock Roads.  The hillsides were covered with large properties with either acres of cattle or vineyards or both.  It seems that great wine grapes only grow in beautiful places!  The roads were also lined with prairie dog burroughs and squirrels running up and down the oak trees.  Brigit, who is no “foo foo” poodle, has her eye on anything with four legs.  She particularly has it in for horses and cows and went ballistic over a long horn steer.  It seems the only way to calm her down is to open the window and let her think she might have to confront one of these large animals.

Longhorn

Our first stop was at Justin which had kind of a French Provincial style to the winery and a quaint Inn and Restaurant.  This sustainably-farmed vineyard has produced internationally acclaimed Bordeaux blends since 1981.  Drew loved the Cabernet Franc… of course… and I liked several of the red blends and the Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.  Next stop was an award winning winery that we had heard about… Tablas Creek on Adelaida Road.  Founded by the Perrin family of Chateau de Beaucastel, Tablas Creek is Pasos’ Rhone pioneer, dedicated to organically-farmed estate Rhone varietal wines and Chateauneuf-style blends from Mourvedre.  We loved the wines here so much that we became wine club members.  Now on to the Calcareous Winery on Peachy Canyon Road.  Calcareous is an adjective used to describe the type of “limestone” soil in this region with high PH and low acidity.  This winery has produced award winning Rhone and Bordeaux varietals and blends.   Calcareous was built on top of one of the mountains and from the tasting room we enjoyed a 50-mile panoramic view.  Drew was surprised at how much he liked the Syrahs that had a very nice balance with a fruity finish… we became wine club members here as well.

Cabernet Grapevines

Justin Vineyard Cabernet Grapes

50 mile panoramic view at Calcareous Winery 

On our drive down out of the mountains, we saw a few deer and then Drew thought he saw a crab in the road.  Living in the Florida Keys, you often see land crabs crossing the road, but not in the vineyard hills of Paso.  OMG… it was a tarantula!  We backed up to take pictures… he was as big as the palm of your hand… Florida scorpions have nothing on this bug.  Then another 100 yards further down the road, and we were still talking about the tarantula, a huge wild turkey strutted across the road.  He was standing about 4 feet tall, with a nice red beard.  He better take cover this close to Thanksgiving!

Big Hairy Tarantula

Head for the hills turkey!!!

We wanted to also stop by Eberle Winery to say hello and have a taste of their great Cabernet Sauvignon.  Eberle is where, by chance, we decided to have our wedding.  I had called several wineries in the Paso area and the determining factors for Eberle were; they had a beautiful deck with views of the Coastal Mountain Range and sweeping views over the Estate Vineyard, they were dog friendly and the owners had two black Standard Poodles – Cabernet and Roussanne, the event staff were so accommodating, the price was right, the wine was great and we had a back up option to be married in the wine cave in case it rained.  It must have been fate, because after we had decided to be married at Eberle we were trying one evening to decide on a wine for a special dinner and we wanted a Cabernet Sauvignon.  We found a bottle of Eberle Cab that we had purchased months before that at one of Leanne’s Wine Tasting events in Key Colony Beach… that sealed our decision.  We were greeted by the free roaming poodles and the gracious, inviting tasting room staff.  One of the winemaker employees loved Riley Doodle and mentioned how much he loved GoldenDoodles and quickly showed us pictures on his phone of his cute girl Doodle.  We met Gary Eberle, a former Penn State Football player and the founder and owner of the Winery, who rounded up his poodles to leave for the day.   http://www.pasowine.com/wineries/profile.php?winery=13    The Eberle staff locked the doors behind us and we headed back to the Wine Country RV Resort for the evening which was about a half mile down the road… how conveeeeenient!



View at the Eberle deck.



History of the Paso Robles Appellation and Winemaking –

Although history of winemaking and wine grape growing was introduced by the Franciscan Friars circa 1790 and some Zinfandel production in the 20’s and 30’s… it was not really until the late 60’s and early 70’s that a new generation of vineyard pioneers brought university training and financial resources for large plantings to the Paso Robles area.  Read more…

http://www.pasowine.com/pasorobles/history.php

Day 17 - Sonoma, CA to Paso Robles, CA

California or Bust…

Days 17 – Sonoma, CA to Paso Robles, CA

Monday, November 7^th, 2011

Exiting the River Bend RV Resort at about 8:30 am, we drove about 10 miles to return the rental car at the Sonoma County Airport.  Back on Hwy 101 South we had to make a decision whether to drive way East around San Pablo Bay to avoid traffic and construction or drive South near Oakland… we opted for South because of the time of day and luckily there was not too much stop and go traffic.  In the distance, we could see the Golden Gate Bridge and the skyline of San Francisco.  We drove South to I-580 and crossed the Richmond San Rafael Bridge, then driving through Richmond, Berkeley, Oakland… and on to I-880 through Alameda, San Leandro, Hayward, etc.  It is just amazing to see the millions of people which inhabit Greater San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose.  An area only 25 miles wide by 60 miles long has over 7 million people… I guess that is not so much when compared to Greater Los Angeles/Riverside/Long Beach at almost 17 million people.  And to put this all in to perspective, the little city of Marathon where we live has a population of just under 10,000 and five traffic lights. 

Heading East over the Richmond San Rafael Bridge

Double Decker Bridge over San Pablo Bay

View South of San Francisco skyline

Once again, we were glad to get through the traffic of a Metropolitan area.  We were back on Hwy 101 and the cities and towns were fewer and farther between.  Even before getting to Gilroy, the “Garlic Capital of the World”, we could smell it.  We made a quick stop off the highway to pick up some fresh garlic, garlic chips, garlic butter spread, garlic powder and garlic ice cream… okay, just kidding on the garlic ice cream… but we would eat it if they had it.  We continued on to another agricultural region called the Salinas Valley and known as “The Salad Bowl of the World” for it’s production of lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, asparagus, etc.  You could see the richness of the soil and the farms went on for miles.  The temperatures had recently dropped in this area and there were frost warnings so the fields were full of laborers either picking or covering the crops.

This portion of Hwy 101 is also known as the “El Camino Real Historic Trail” and dates back to the Spanish Colonial era in the 1700’s when it was known as the King’s Highway, however,  it was little more than a horse trail.  Then as early as 1906, the State of California placed mission bell guideposts and signs along the highway as the “first signed automobile route” in the nation.  This section of the road also connects a series of missions, pueblos and presidios.  We saw Mission San Juan Bautista, Mission Nuestra Senora, Mission San Miguel and later in the week Mission San Luis Obispo.  Throughout the day, we were driving through the Sierra de Salinas and Coastal Range… another point of interest was the  small town of San Ardo where there were hundreds of oil wells and tankers sitting on trains waiting to be loaded.  We understand that San Ardo is the hub of the oil industry in Monterey County.

We drove past the City of Paso Robles to Atascadero which is the location of one of two San Luis Obispo County offices.  We had to be at their office no later than 3:30 pm to complete our marriage license application… and as you know by now, we were approved.  We then backtracked 12 miles to Paso Robles to get a rental car for the week.  We arrived at the Wine Country RV Resort about 5pm after a 305 mile day.  This is one of the nicest RV parks we have ever stayed… we were in site #82 which backed up to a beautiful grape vineyard and winery.  We got settled in and did several loads of laundry.  It was nice to know that we had six nights in Paso Robles and that we were centrally located for some day trips, more wine tasting and our wedding on 11/11/11.

County Office in Atascadero

Marriage license in hand... woot woot

Day 16 - Wine Road Food & Wine Fest (Day 2)

California or Bust…

Day 16 – Food & Wine Fest (Day 2)

Sunday, November 6^th, 2011

Beautiful, cool foggy morning on the Russian River and we were looking forward to another day with family at Day Two of the wine fest.  We let the dogs run and play to release some energy because they would have to stay in the RV for the day.  For those of you who ask… “Do the dogs like the RV?”… We have to think so, it’s their home away from home.  They have their toy bin, dog food box, mutt matts, and a routine.  Brigit and Riley are very comfortable and happy that they have the day to rest… at home they would generally sleep all day.

At about 10am, we left to fill the rental car with gas and then drove to our Brother’s condo in Windsor where we started the morning off with wine, cheese and crackers and planned our winery stops for the day.  Again much of that decision was based on the food pairings. 

Our first stop was at Mueller.  Ritchie & Liz had picked up their Festival tickets at this winery on Saturday and loved the Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder with Creamy Polenta & Pinot Noir Reduction.  It was a good starting point for Sunday too… it was near the condo and had nice wine and food… let’s go!  

The air was brisk but we had sunny, clear skies… we all piled in the mini-van with wine glass in hand.  The Mueller winemaker was pouring his wines and explaining his process of making sauvignon blanc which we all enjoyed very much… he allows the yeast to stay in the wine a little longer which softens the taste and neutralizes the acidity.  He also explained how they make their Pinot Noir Reduction recipe… they let it simmer down to almost a syrup over a two day period… it was worth the time!



Mueller Wine Barrels





Writing our names on the wine glasses.



Then on to Windsor Oaks on Chalk Hill AVA (American Viticulture Area) where we were greeted by Julie, the Winemaker and enjoyed Lobster Chardonnay Bisque with Meyer Lemon Oil.  Next stop Rodney Strong… it is a larger production vineyard with major distribution all over the country.  However, we sampled a reserve cabernet that only had limited cases produced and would normally be saved for their wine club members and events like this.  Just down the road on Old Redwood Hwy. was Acorn Winery… a smaller winery with very nice Zinfandels and Syrahs.  It was nestled on the hillside and had some neat cool old farm equipment… complete with maybe a 1960 Lamborghini tractor.  The Lamb Shanks braised in cherry & guajillo chile sauce with mashed acorn squash was amazing with the Acorn Heritage Vines Zin.



All I want for Christmas...




The Wine Tasters at Rodney Strong



Large production in Oak




Thomas Jefferson was a smart man!



Large production in Stainless



Lamborghini at Acorn Winery




Hillside near Acorn Winery




1950's Chevy Flatbed Wine Truck

 




Ready for some barrel tasting?

 

Our next stop was to Healdsburg Square, where several of the even smaller wineries share a tasting room.  Here we enjoyed wines from Hart’s Desire, Holdredge, J. Keverson, Skewi’s, Sapphire Hill, Hudson Street, and Bluenose Wines.  Wow… yes, a tasting overload!!!  It was now difficult to discern the really great wines from the great wines.



We're going in!!!!




Tasting overload



On to Alexander Valley AVA… this is the second to the warmest valley and has a western exposure…  it is the largest and most fully planted wine region in Sonoma.  Even at late afternoon, the sun was still strong, high and bright.  We went to Medlock Ames, a winery by day and cute bar by night.  Then on to White Oak, a beautiful Tuscan inspired winery with palm laden landscape.  A fun band was playing which brought some great energy to the wine tasting where we enjoyed Autumn Rock Shrimp Corn Chowder paired with a Russian River Valley Chardonnay.  It was 3:30 and our last stop was the Hanna Winery.  What a beautiful place to finish… complete with a rainbow over the rising moon!



Medlock Ames Winery




A dedication to Melissa, the Greek Bee Goddess




Tuscan style at White Oak Winery





White Oak tasting room



Beautiful landscape at White Oak





Colleen at our last stop... Hannah Winery





The view from the Hannah Winery deck





The end of our Wine Road Fest...



The wine glass is finally empty...



Our Sonoma visit is about to come to an end.  We went back to James & Colleen’s condo, shared and downloaded pictures and it was time to give hugs and say good bye to the family.  Ritchie and Liz were headed back to Victoria BC via US1 on Monday and James and Colleen would be going back to Utah on Tuesday.   Drew and Cora’s KeyZRV adventures continue in Paso Robles!