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PASO ROBLES AND PETITE SIRAH

Today is the beginning of summer.  From Condé Nast:  How Summer  Solstice is Celebrated Around the World:

The summer solstice occurs in each hemisphere annually, when one of the earth's poles has maximum tilt toward the sun. The result is the sun reaching its highest position in the sky, causing the longest day of the year. For thousands of years, the solstice has drawn people together for ancient celebrations, from gatherings at Stonehenge to romantic rituals in Belarus.

I yesterday featured red wines, and particularly spotlighted Paso Robles and Petite Sirah.  I have one more story that has nothing to do with either, but is relevant because of close proximity and utter fear.  In these drives between Stanford and Oxnard up and down Highway 101 from 1958 to 1962, we also always passed by Atascadero.  Here is located the Atascadero State Hospital.

  • This all-male maximum-security forensic institution houses mentally ill convicts on its 700+ acre grounds.
  • There are 1239 beds.
  • From Wikipedia:
For several years beginning in 1959, a series of unfortunate and tragic accidents occurred at the hospital. A number of escapes and violent incidents in addition to widespread community concern led to a special investigation of the hospital's problems which ultimately resulted in a revamping of its organization, administration, and treatment programs” beginning in 1961. The 1960's were also a troubled decade for Atascadero, plagued by internal dissension, staff rebellions, and occasional scandal."

  • This is overkill, but some notable patients have been:

  • Anyway, on one of our drives going north getting close to Atascadero, listening to the radio, there was an alert.  
    • A prison break, and a number of patients were wandering around the general area.  So the message was to watch out and report if you see any suspicious characters.
    • I recall the scene well.
    • 101 sometimes is hilly.
    • Just as we were getting close to this mental facility, our car broke down.
    • We were close to the top on one side, and could see the valley and how the road rose up about a mile or two away.
      • We immediately saw a person walking towards us, at least a mile away.
      • What do we do?  Where the car stopped was far from anything that looked approachable. 
      • We waited, hoping a police car would pass by to pick that person up.
      • Nope.  So do we make a run for it?  But to where?  We could not see any sign of other life.  No buildings.  Nothing.
      • So we stayed in the car.  We had no weapons.
      • In those days there were no mobile phones.
      • A shabbily looking guy walks by, and past.  Disappears.
      • That's it.  We survived.
    • Paso Robles is 14 miles from Atascadero.
On that note, something more pleasant.
  • We have drawn together a tentative itinerary for us to finally visit Paso Robles.
  • First to San Diego on October 15.  The last time I was there was maybe 25 years ago.  
    • We plan to visit relatives, go the the San Diego Zoo, etc.  This zoo is rated #1 in the nation....and maybe world.  I remember my dad a long time ago after visiting this zoo remarking that he saw the largest rat ever.  This was a capybara, another rodent, and can grow to 125 pounds
  • At one time this trip was to occur in September, so we thought about a Dodgers at Padres baseball game, but our schedule required a shift  of a couple of weeks into October.
  • We have two friends who will drive us to Paso Robles, and participate in the wine tastings.  San Diego is 325 miles from Paso Robles, and will take 6 hours without any stop.  So it will probably be a 7-hour ordeal, if not longer.  The fastest way will be on Highway 5, then, soon after Bakersfield, turn left, or west, on Highway 46.  At least we will avoid getting close to the Atascadero State Hospital. 
  • Where we stay in Paso Robles has not yet been decided.  But October is their busiest month, so we need to do something soon.
  • Wineries?   Well, more than 200 of them.  High on our list are:
    • Daou.  The Justin winery is a little bit further away in that direction, but there is a Justin tasting place in downtown Paso Robles.
    • Opolo and Willow Creek.  Like their Black Dahlia Petite Sirah bottle.
    • Vina Robles.
    • San Simeon.  But this will be a drive of 39 miles.  Hearst Castle, is here, so this could be an all-day affair to work in Cambria, Epoch and Turley.
Maybe a side trip to, yikes, Atacasdero?
  • One of the problems we face is how much it will cost to ship the wines back to Honolulu.  
    • This will cost up to  $10/bottle, plus other legal ramifications.  
    • Not only by wineries, but UPS and BevMo! in Paso Robles are known to ship cases of wine to Hawaii.  Wonder how much they charge.
    • Why not first check with liquor outlets in Hawaii to find out what they will charge if they do it for us.  
    • We have ordered the Opolo Mountain Zinfandel from Tamura's.  I'll talk to them before we leave.
  • Since we still have a train ride from Paso Robles to San Jose, we certainly don't want to carry cases of wine with us.
  • The timing was such that there is a Hawaii at San Jose State football game when we get to San Jose.  The Sheraton is not that far from the stadium.
  • We then fly back to Honolulu on October 27.  Hawaiian Airlines has a code share with Alaska Air, where we first stop in San Diego.
That should be a nice trip.  However, three weeks later, we embark on our longest trip ever.  Two months of flying and cruising through much of the Orient, down through Southeast Asia into Singapore, and then to Hong Kong on the Ritz Carlton Yacht Luminara, which will be launched on 31July2025.  Finally, stops in Seoul and Tokyo before we return to Honolulu.

- 

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