Paso Pause

 From Temecula we drove north to Paso Robles, a favourite region for us leading to our 4th visit in the past 12 years. With over 200 wineries, specializing in Rhone-style wines, a handful of nice golf courses and many nearby towns and small cities to visit, including close proximity to the Pacific Ocean, it is a place that has kept us interested over the years. All of our previous visits had been during the fall harvest, but this time we were fortunate to arrive just before the Spring Release Festival where almost all the wineries had special week-end events going on, including a big tasting party at our RV Park. With week-end live music at many of the wineries we decided to pick one winery for the day, tasting wine, purchasing a bottle to sip on and then sitting back, listening to good music on patios. At the Locatelli Winery we rediscovered an old favourite, Jill Knight, a musician we first encountered at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco 20 years ago. We had a good chat with her between sets.

On weekdays we played some golf, lazed around the pool, and made day trips to nearby places. In San Luis Obispo we came across another unusual sight, Bubblegum Alley (picture below), while a visit to the SLO Mission (founded in 1772) was a more traditional experience. Another day we drove over to Morro Bay where we walked along the seaside Embarcadero and enjoyed fresh seafood. There were numerous sea otters close to shore, and some with their newborn babies on their abdomens while resting in the water. Later on, we made some purchases at the Atascadero Farmer's Market which took place at the small town's lovely Sunken Gardens downtown park. Another day trip to Cambria offered a walk along their 2 km seaside boardwalk, listening to the waves crash and viewing the sprouting wildflowers. While there we discovered Nitt Witt Ridge, a rather unusual hilltop home overlooking the Pacific.

Following a two week stay in Paso Robles, we drove back over to the coast to continue our slow drive north. The Elephant Seal Rookery captured our attention while driving along coastal highway #1, with hundreds of seals relaxing on the beach and waddling back into the water when hungry. We spent one night at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and another at Carmel by the River RV Park, and at both places our small motorhome seemed very tiny when surrounded by the huge California coastal redwoods. We are now in an RV park just east of Santa Cruz, near Felton, where even more redwoods exist. Yesterday we toured around beautiful Santa Cruz, watching experienced surfers deal with large waves, and walking along the massive wharf where groups of (mostly male) sea lions feasted on schools of small fish, while others lazed away on the wharf timbers. Today we played an April Fool's joke on ourselves. We showed up at the Roaring Camp Railway for a ride up a small mountain through a redwood forest, only to find out that our reservation was for yesterday. In spite of the trip being sold out, the friendly staff fortunately managed to accommodate us. The one hour ride took 250 tourists through the towering redwoods up to a summit and back with the steam engine working overtime. Following the train ride we moved over to nearby Henry Cowell Redwoods SP where we walked along a 1.5 km loop trail feeling like dwarfs. A short visit to a local winery patio capped off a great day.

Tomorrow we will head further north along the coast, bypassing San Francisco which we have visited several times before, in search of new discoveries.

Welcome to Bubblegum Alley in San Luis Obispo. The wall on the opposite side looked the same, with brighter colours meaning fresher gum. The city has cleared the walls several times but I suspect they have now given up and accepted it as a tourist attraction.

Our Paso Robles RV Park brought in 6 wineries to provide free wine tastings for the park guests. It was a nice way to kick-off the start of the Spring Wine Release Festival in the wine region. 

The spring wildflowers were in full view everywhere we walked. This colourful scene greeted us while strolling along the Cambria boardwalk.

While visiting the Maritime Museum in Cambria, we came across this submersible. It was built to rescue personnel from submarines trapped below the sea. Up until 1970 the U.S. Navy realized it had no other means to save underwater navy lives, so several of these were built.

The Elephant Seal Rookery, close to San Simeon and Hearst Castle. The seals generally come ashore to breed with bull's having small harems. We must have caught them after a heavy workout, because they all seemed very tired!

The Lone Cypress Tree at Cypress Point. It is the emblem used for all of Pebble Beach Golf Club's merchandise.

Since we usually plan only a few days ahead while on trips, we ended up playing at the poor man's Pebble Beach, the Pacific Grove Golf Links. My partner was in fine form, undeterred by the nearby ocean hazard.

Our site amongst the overpowering redwoods at the Santa Cruz Redwoods RV Park where we are currently staying.

While walking along the Santa Cruz seafront we came across these sea lions resting on the bottom pilings of the 823 metre long wharf. There was a marine reserve around the wharf area so we observed hundreds of them, either relaxing or feeding on the many schools of small fish.

While walking in Henry Cowell Redwoods SP we came across the popular Fremont Tree. I took this shot while inside the opening at the base. To give you a better idea of how large the inside of this massive redwood tree really is, watch the following video......    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_BhJwi0Qu0

Nearby Felton had one winery in town, the Hallcrest Vineyard. After being in the shade of the redwoods all day we craved sunshine and enjoyed a bottle of their Estate Zinfandel on their patio.