This was the first of three weekends of travel in a row. We flew to San Luis Obispo to visit Diana’s stepson John, his wife Madison and their family. Our arrival was delayed as we missed our connection in Phoenix so didn’t get in until late evening on Friday. We’re so spoiled by being able to take a direct flight to almost anywhere from Dallas.
John and Madi picked us up at the airport and drove us to our hotel, “The Carlton”, in downtown Atascadero. I kept thinking of the dance on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air show that the character Carlton does. This is a very small downtown but has most everything you could need – a good hotel, a great bakery and several very good cocktail bars. We enjoyed the dive bar, “Whiskey and June”, for a nightcap after arrival.
Saturday started with coffee and a very buttery and delicious croissant from the Back Porch bakery. Then we enjoyed a lovely brunch at the “Kitchenette” in nearby Templeton.
Then it was off wine tasting in the Paso Robles wine country. Diana had organized a large van through Uber that worked out very well. John, Madi, 
and her parents, Tad and Terri, joined us. First stop was the Tablas Creek winery where Tad had arranged a private barrel room tasting for us. We liked a few of the wines but nothing jumped out and grabbed us. Our hostess was a wine student at Cal Poly who really knew her stuff and could answer all of Tad’s 
various questions with ease. Madi wasn’t dealing with the twisty roads too well and so we chose close wineries for our next stops. I was amazed at how mountainous the region was – much more varied than Napa valley and more difficult to navigate.
Next stop was Adelaida and we all agreed that this was our least favorite 
stop – sweet and fruity wines for the most part. The views from the mountaintop were very good with a straight line view to the Hearst ranch where the famous castle sits. We finished up at McPrice Myers which was the smallest and friendliest of the wineries. Our hostess invited us to bring in our meat and cheese 
and enjoy it on the counter during the tasting. I made friends with the house Westie. A couple of the wines at this stop were quite pleasant.
We headed back to Atascadero to relieve the babysitters who had been watching John and Madi’s kids – Ben and Lilly. They are quite busy and time consuming for sure – both being under the age of two. John had been smoking a brisket for 12 hours or more and we enjoyed it for dinner in the garden of Tad and Terri’s house with a nice breeze and a great view over the valley.
Sunday had a lazy start with breakfast at the Back Porch bakery and then hanging around outside at Tad and Terri’s home reading and enjoying 
Bloody Mary’s and bagels and lox. In the evening John and Madi took us over to Morro Bay on the coast for dinner. The water front looks directly out on Morro Rock, a 581 foot volcanic plug that is connected to shore by a causeway. It is the last peak of the Nine Sisters which extend from San Luis Obispo to Morro Bay. It was named by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (a Portuguese explorer) in 1542 – “Morro” in Spanish translates as crown shaped hill.
We had appetizers at 3 different places that were quite different and 
enjoyed them all. Tognazzini’s was our first stop where we had oysters and calamari on the deck with a good country singer for entertainment. Next was Morro Bay Wine Seller where champagne flights were sampled by all but me along with the “ultimate” crostini and some very pleasant live music. We captured this silly boardwalk picture on the walk to the final progressive meal stop at Windows on the Water where I sampled some yummy risotto. Some shuffle board and pool at 
Whiskey and June and then it was off to bed.
Travel home on Monday was smooth with no delays and actually arriving home a little early.
I finished the book “Swing Time” by Zadie Smith this week. The British author writes about friendship between two girls growing up in a poor part of London. One of them goes on to dance on the stage in London while the other works for a pop star and travels the world. A key 
theme is the attempts by the pop star to create a school in Africa and the challenges that ensue. The book was very well reviewed and was a quick read but didn’t really do a lot for me. Some of the references reminded me of things I had forgotten all about – “I ventured into the kitchen to get two beakers of Ribena”, “I sometimes sang for him – the theme tune to “Top Cat”” – now I can’t get that tune out of my head.
In the credits for “Moonglow”, Michael Chabon comments on enjoying music from “A Winged Victory for the Sullen” while writing the book. This is interesting and relaxing music that would be helpful background music while concentrating. It’s kind of a cross between Keith Jarrett’s Koln concert and Brian Eno’s ambient music.
This thought sent me off to listen to the Koln concert again and I came across an excellent TED talk explaining how Jarrett wasn’t going to perform that night because the wrong piano was delivered. It was too small for the 1,400 seat hall and unplayable in the high register. The seventeen year old promoter convinced him to go ahead and he had to improvise around all the flaws of the piano. I had never heard this story before – I just really enjoyed the concert. Amazing what a challenge can bring out in a world class musician.
Two other songs really caught my attention this week. “I’d Rather Go Blind” by Julie Rhodes showcases a powerful new voice and some excellent guitar. This song was written by Ellington Jordan and first released by Etta James in 1967. I’ve listened to a few versions including this one, Beyonce, and Joe Bonamassa and definitely prefer the Julie Rhodes rendition.
The next is “Tell Me” by Meena Cryle. I found this because she also does a version of “I’d Rather Go Blind”.