So we move on...You're probably tired of the Winery signs, right?  OK.  Here's a little critter just outside the York Mountain tasting room.  He was eating the cat's food and refused to hold still for a great shot...



On to another newer winery...



Sorry, I forgot - no more signs...



Oh shit - another sign...Well I had to include it anyway.  And yes, I used the front door!  This place was Zin Alley and they only made 3 wines.  One Zinfandel and two dessert wines.  We're loaded with Zins, but the dessert wines were like silk.  Sweet and clean with an incredibly smooth finish.  We got one of each.  We ran into an old friend inside...



We took Highway 46 from Paso over to Highway 1 and headed South towards Morro Bay on Sunday morning for the trip home.



It was a peaceful drive and quite senic...





This was the little town of Cayucos, where we had dinner on Saturday night at Hoppe's...



It doesn't look like much, but the food was magnificent.  We were seated in the window on the left and watched the ocean and the sunset during dinner.

The rock at Morro Bay looked surreal with the top obscured by the low hanging clouds...



We stopped at Morro Bay for breakfast on the way home and got another great view of the rock...



One last wine stop on the way home, the Latitia Winery, known for their sparkling wines and Pinot Noirs...



This is the view from the top of the hill looking down towards US 101.

Well, I could go on and on and on, but I've got to go pull a cork!

Just got back yesterday from a four day wine-buying spree...uh, I mean vacation in Paso Robles.  Drove up Wednesday morning and hit Los Alamos about 10:00 am.  Once we got out of "LA" it was a nice drive.  Our first stop was Bedford Thompson (in Los Alamos).  A small "boutique" winery known for their single variety wines such as 100% Mouvedre.  Here's a couple of shots at the tasting room "downtown":

We found friendly dogs just about everywhere!  We also stopped in Santa Maria to visit McKeon-Phillips Winery, but for some obscure reason, I failed to take any photos there.  Also you may assume we bought a bottle or more at every stop!

Next stop was Tobin James in Paso Robles.  As members of the James Gang, we were able to stay in the guest house at the winery.  There are three bedrooms and we were upstairs in the Tobin James Room.





It had a little kitchen and even a laundry room!  Cisco is the hound "guarding" the grounds and tasting room and, as you can see, he takes his job very seriously.





Next morning it was off to Justin.  High end wines.  We picked up a couple of splits.  There were only 6 left after that and we spoke with some folks the next day who said those were sold out when they got there.  Sunny was looking after the tasting room at Justin.



We worked our way along one on the well-traveled wine roads stopping here and there at the wineries we were interested in or which had been recommended by fellow winos.





We arrived at Halter Ranch and saw the most beautiful restored house.  We were hoping the tasting room was inside, but it was a private vacation home of the owners.





Naturally, there was a guard dog inside the tasting room...



On to our last couple of stops for the day, and we passed through so much beautiful wine country...






Last two stops, Dover Canyon and Turley.  Turley arguably makes some of the best Zinfandel in Central California.  Picked up six bottles.  Somebody STOP me!





Irie keeping an eye on things.



Last stop of the day!  On to dinner in Templeton at Ian McPhee's.  It's easy to find, right across from Templeton Feed & Grain.







Don't know who Andre Tchelistcheff was?  Look him up!  Probably the single most influential person in the entire history of wine making in all of California.



This gentleman was having dinner in McPhee's and was a real cowboy, complete with hat which he took off as he sat down.  I had to take his picture.  He was amused, but let me shoot him.  A classic.  I think I'll do a b/w or sepia tone version.



Time for bed.  A king size bed with a feather mattress on top.  Tune in later this week for Paso Robles - Part Deux...

We'll be at the track all weekend for the Long Beach Grand Prix.  Well, actually we'll be there all days, spending the evenings at home relaxing in the spa.  It's a good life!

Good Friday Evening - The computer is s funny thing.  It gives you the ability to keep track of thousands of files, songs, photos...  You can also lose stuff!  Where did those pictures get off to?  Well, whilst roaming around tonight, I found a few shots I'd taken a couple of months ago which had been missing.  I now present for your consideration...A maple leaf.  Hope you like it.

                                       

Here's a shot of my "Hottie", Miss Parker and your humble narrator at the Long Beach Grand Prix a year or two ago...
  

Good Morning - I'm so very glad Spring is here.  Time enough to sit in the back yard with a glass of wine and relax after work.  It's time to get some ribs and fire up the BBQ on the weekend.  Hope you have a great day today.

Here's a shot from a few years ago - BBQ at the track...Well, actually grilling
                            

Good Evening - Long weekend - When I lived in Redondo Beach (mid '70's) a bunch of us would always take a cocktail down to the beach at sunset and sip as the sun went down.  Tradition.  Enjoy...

                                                  

Good Morning - Long day yesterday.  Cousins from Seattle arrived at 2:00.  Wine and conversation till around 6:00.  Headed down to La Palapa for dinner on the beach.  Got home around 8:30 and went for a dip in the spa.  Very relaxing.  Fresh strawberries and angel food cake for dessert, then to bed.  Here's a colorful little flower shot....