Wine Country and we aren't even drinking!

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Well day 11 finds us up at the crack, (Kathy is a very early riser and when she isn’t getting me up one of ya’ll back on the east coast is calling). We decided not to go to dinner but eat peanut butter and crackers again last night so that makes rising early easier. It will also be one less restaurant review. Kathy discovered while reading the news paper this morning that the sea lions have been struck with a kidney disease and they aren’t as plentiful or loud as they are in normal breeding season. Good lord, they would break the sound barrier if they were all here and healthy! She also found an obituary with the woman’s picture that looks like she has painted her face for Halloween; I mean can you see this in the News Reporter? Only in California……I also need to add here that there are still hippies alive and kicking out here. I even saw an old vw bus along the beach yesterday.
Quarter Woman has tipped the housekeeping folks in quarters and we still see no end in sight. So, Tony, it looks like you may be in luck and get some lunch money when we get back home. We are going to try to buy a six-pack of Fat Tire for you too but I’m not sure there will be any stores open at this early hour when we pull out. I am praying that Kathy won’t decide we have to walk miles before we leave. Actually she could get plenty of exercise helping me get the 10 hanging bags to the car. We will write more from the road or when we arrive tonight. I’m not sure I can take my eyes off that glorious Pacific coastline and I sure don’t want Kathy taking her eyes off the road. I drove really scary yesterday when I picked her up from the hospital hoping she will drive this morning.
The first thing we thought we should do was stop and gas up because the coast road is remote and stations few and far between. That plan went in the ditch and we drove 100 miles and then pulled in, ole Pearl was starving! The coastal highway was amazing but we went only a few miles before dense fog completely covered the ocean. Most of the way the road was clear (easy for me to say, Kathy was driving). It is amazing to me and I know I’ve said it before but there are MOUNTAINS along the ocean…..we are driving along and then come into the most beautiful forest, huge trees which I think are redwoods but Kathy says are sequoias. This is Los Padres National Forest. We pull into a restaurant that Kathy and Bob stop often, River Inn (I think). It looks like we are in the Blue Ridge only the trees are huge and you would never guess the ocean is just a short distance away. There are many people there to eat even this early. A roaring fire in the restaurant, a large outdoor seating area (too cool this morning for us out there) and a delicious though pricey breakfast gave us a true taste of the California experience. As we leave, I learn from Kathy, that the whole coast from Monterey to San Simeon is California Sea Otter Refuge. Up and down mountains with glimpses through the fog of the blue water, and then as we top a mountain a breathtaking view of the fog which looks like a view from an airplane, that is how high up we are, high above the clouds. In the mountains we are bathed in sunlight and blue sky. We make another stop to stretch our legs at a picturesque place called Ragged Point. Kathy and Bob used to come here and it was just a hot dog stand, now it is a fancy restaurant, art and craft gallery, lodging and gas for $5.19!!! We did not give Pearl a thing there, just took in the air and views. Our first destination is the Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Y’all this place is beyond words, really, this man had a way of entertaining that boggle the imagination. It is worth a trip from anywhere, the rose garden is beautiful, this was his wife’s favorite flower, there are swimming pools that defy your imagination, and an enclave of buildings with interiors that rival the finest European castles. Huge does not begin to describe what’s going on here. William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper mogul began building in the early part of the last century. It is only one of his many homes and was used as a “get away”. We loved the stories of the lavish parties attended by all the important people in the world at that time. In the midst of all this finery, Mr. Hearst would sit in the middle of the banquet table and put the people with the best stories next to him (he always was looking for people with a story, after all he was a newspaperman). He also used paper napkins, and put ketchup and mustard containers on the table among the priceless antiques surrounding him. To give you an idea of the elaborateness of this place, he built an arbor over a mile and a half long so that his guests could ride horseback in the shade!!!
Right across the road from the entrance to Hearst Castle is the roaring ocean and the small village of San Simeon. We had the best sandwich in a little country store sitting in perfect weather.
As we leave the castle in the sky we are delighted to learn that there is wine country ahead. Oh boy, that will be our lodging place. We stop at the first winery and taste….afraid to do anything but taste because of our driving on into town. We pass by many beautiful vineyards with tasting rooms but Pearl won’t stop. As we begin to look for a place to spend the night we discover that this is wine festival weekend and rooms are few and far between and expensive. We feel fortunate to find one room at the Holiday Inn Express which offers us an above the norm room that is very spacious. Did I mention the town is Paso Robles? It is charming and has lots of bistros, restaurants, wine bars, etc. We have a delicious light supper of artichoke bisque and salad, so good because again grown right here mmmmm. The waitress was great and told us there are over 400 wineries in this county. Sure wish we could stay but we will come back here. The town was alive tonight with lots of families, couples, and tourists.
I am so grateful to Kathy for driving all day today; she did it just so I could watch every single vista! I will turn the keys over to her now….she usually is helping me with ideas and words and I am getting all the credit, make no mistake, a lot goes on in that head of hers, she cracks me up when she isn’t criticizing my driving.

(Notes from Kathy) Debby has a way with words and I appreciate her writing this blog. She’s doing a fantastic job at describing our adventures. I’m so glad that she volunteered to come with me and REALLY glad that we’ve gotten along so well. It’s easy when we both agree to “go with the flow”, or “play it by ear”. I do wish that I could have showed her the view of the ocean from Rt. 1. And I do wish we had more time so that I could take her up through Wyoming and Colorado - across Bear Tooth Pass, and then down to Big Bend National Park in Texas, to the Gage Hotel and on to San Antonio. She and Tommy must bring their “grands” one day.
This is a great country, despite what you may hear every night on the news. The people of our country are all so friendly and helpful. Thank you all for your e-mails, comments to the blog site, and your phone calls. We miss you all, but especially Bob and Tommy. We wonder how they can even get along without us. It’s a wonder, huh?  Debby can drive tomorrow across the California desert to Williams, AZ. It’s a straight road and I don’t think she can get in to much trouble.
‘nite y’all! kd

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