Two Days in Paso Robles

Thursday, February 18th, began as overcast and drizzly but cleared later in the afternoon.  We left 1000 Trails Campground and got on the road by 10 AM heading South on 101 to visit with our Finn friends, Paavo and Terttu Leinonen in Paso Robles.  Paavo and Terttu belong to the same Kaleva Lodge as we do in Seattle. Traffic moved along but slowed for 20 minutes for an accident.  It gave me a chance to notice that lupine was in bloom along the road banks. We had a reservation at Paso Robles RV resort which was a small, well kept park outside of town.  We got set up, had coffee at Starbucks (before Sonny totally had withdrawals from going a week without an Americano) and took the Leinonens out for Thai food. We were having coffee and desert at their home when a 3.8 quake rocked the house for a couple of seconds. The next day, we met Paavo and Terttu for breakfast. They had errands to do so we went to the Estrella Warbird Museum to check out the airplane exhibit and car collection.  "Chuck", the docent, spent 2 hours with us talking about the history of the cars. Sonny was excited to see an A-7 like the ones he worked on in the Navy. We picked up the Leinonens and drove out into the hills to a winery run by a Finnish family who named it "Kuukula", Finnish for "hills" which describes the surrounding landscape.  We made dinner back at Leinonen's before bidding them farewell. 

Sunset from Leinonen's patio.

Kuukula Winery. Portions of the walls are wired panels filled with
rocks from the surrounding hills.

Paavo and Terttu, Sonny at the bar tasting the wine options.

Kuukula Gift Shop.  "Sisu" is Finnish for intestinal fortitude.

Tasting room entrance.

Cactus garden flower

Looking beyond the tasting room to the vintner's residence on the hill.
The family has 80 acres of grapes, olives and walnuts.

Estrella Warbird Museum.
Deuce and a half on display.  My dad drove these in WWII.

Race car from the 50s next to modern day racers.

Not much body protection here and hardly comfy.

Vintage RV with tow vehicle.

Interior of the antique RV. Looked pretty comfy for traveling.

Whizzer bike

Sonny inside an Army tank trainer.

Our dad's were on boats like these during the invasion on
Normandy's beaches.  This particular boat was in Maine after the war
before being sold and moved to California.

Sonny worked on the flight deck of the USS Independence keeping these
A7s and their captains flying in the early 70s.

New, old McDonald's in Paso Robles

I would like to have a tanker this size on our property
to capture winter rain water for summer use.

Good, brown earth ready for planting in Salinas Valley.

We began to see oil wells, almond and pistachio groves.

This tree was interesting with its
gray bark near Camp Roberts.

We learned how the oil is pumped from the ground using steam to warm
the earth for easier flow.

Lupine in bloom.