Sorry we haven't posted for a while. Been living in the forests of California. We'll try to catch up. . .
After spending so much energy in the havoc of L.A., we needed some relaxation in the countryside. Paso Robles sounded like just our kind of place. We reached in the evening, but didn't waste any time freshening up and heading out to Vinoteca, a beautiful wine bar in the town center. It was 'local's night' and with a wink, the bartender said she would love to help us pick a few great glasses of wine at the local's discount. A few Pinot Noirs and Syrahs later, the bar manager joined us to suggest his favorite vineyards for our wine tasting tour the next day. We added his favorites to the list of wineries that Kyle had recommended and took his card so we could drop his name for VIP treatment.
First stop in the morning was J. Lohr. Second, Bianchi. We then headed West out Rte 46, to find the smaller, boutique vineyards. After a lengthy, windy drive through very young vineyards, we reached Hearthstone. It was closed. Next on the list: Jada. Closed! Denner. Closed. Apparently, these "off the beaten path" vineyards only open Thurs - Sunday. So, instead of tastings, we made a few calls and learned we could buy our favorite, or highly recommended, wines at Albertson's Save-On. We bought 18 bottles of wine.
We meandered over to the organic farm where they had tastings of local olive oils, notably the buttery oil made from Arbequina olives, but we couldn't get the RV up their twisting dirt driveway. So, we stopped back in to Albertson's to pick up the same olive oil. We had one last tasting at Denati, before we headed back to the Pacific Coast Highway, hoping to catch the sunset on the coast.
The vistas on Rte 46 as it rides to meet Rte 101 are absolutely stunning. As we stopped for a evening snack of Golden Grahams on the cliffs, we could see a giant pyramid rock rising from the ocean in the distance. We would have to backtrack, head back South, but we decided we just had to go see it. Another hour of driving and we were right at the base of the Morro Bay rock. As the sun was setting, we watched sea otters playing in the surf and giant sea squirrels drinking from little pools of fresh water collected in the rocks. We took a long walk on the beach, swinging giant sea kelp, before parking up over the dunes, and fell asleep listening to the surf crash against the rocks.
The next morning, we were up early to get a full day at Hearst Castle. Mary Lou (and Kyle) had visited before, but she was super excited to show Nicole. All she kept talking about was the pools, the pools, wait till you see the pools. We girls have little desire for fame and fortune, but it sure is fun seeing how the other .0002% live. We hung at the back of the tour group and giggled the whole time about who we would invite up to our "Little Ranch", and all the naughty things we would do up there. Mom always loves to see the Siena Contrada flags, since she lived under one for a while, and partook in Il Palio. And the pools, oh, the pools. . .
I have no idea how we found out, maybe a little birdie told us, that Rte 1, North of Hearst Castle, might be closed. So, we checked, and sure enough, it was closed due to a landslide from when the Japanese Tsunami hit the West Coast. We had to backtrack South, cut back over to Paso Robles and then head North on 101 to Monterrey Bay. Before the sunset we had time to backtrack South on Rte 1 to Big Sur. Around each and every bend in the road is another awe inspiring vista of mountain, beach, and sea. . .
At one particular viewpoint, just North of Big Sur, we stopped to take photos of the waves crashing mightily against the craggy rocks. As Mary Lou was setting up her shot, Nicole realized that there were some fat, blubbery things draped all over the rocks. Elephant Seals? She pulled out the binoculars, and sure enough, some twenty elephant seals flopped all about. Mary Lou asked, "What is the commotion over there?"
Nicole shifted the binoculars. "There is a big sea gull that seems to be chasing after a little seal. Oh, wait. . . he seems to be following the big elephant seal, and she is pissed. Oh! Wait, I think. . .I think that elephant seal has just given birth to that little one! Like, just right now! The sea gull is after the mother's after birth! I can see it still hanging out! Ew!"
So that we could see and enjoy more aquatic animal life, we stopped over in Monterrey Bay. They don't allow RV's on the 17 mile drive around Pebble Beach, but, we did pony up the dollars to go see the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. Good show. Our favorites were the glass dome ceiling full of nonstop circling sardines and the sea horse exhibit. We must have stood for half an hour watching the sea dragons and the leafy-kelp-looking sea horses. What all creatures this planet has. . .
Click here for the photos!
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