10/31-11/5 Lompoc, Orcutt and Paso Robles, CA

10/31- 11/5 Lompoc, Orcutt, and Paso Robles
Everywhere we stopped we were given candy as it was Halloween. At a bank in Turlock, one teller was dressed in a costume that made him look like he was going to rob the place. Quite a sense of humor for a bank teller! I don’t think I will try that costume on as a customer. Maybe next year for Halloween I will dress up like a bank teller.
It was very difficult to find an espresso for the car in Turlock. Eventually we found one and were on our way heading south on 99 to Fresno.
In Sioux Falls, we purchased a Golden Eagle Pass to our countries National Parks which is good for one year. We have decided to visit National Parks that are close (within reason) to where we are traveling. The next concert was on November 3rd so we had a couple of days to sightsee. We decided to spend the night at Wuksachi Lodge, a “neo-rustic” lodge in Sequoia National Park.
We left highway 99 in Fresno for highway 180 traveling through orange groves on the outskirts of town. We entered the chaparral (California’s sagebrush) filled with oak and buckeye, climbing ever higher to the crown of the Sierra Nevada in Kings Canyon National Park. An interesting note is that missionaries named the canyon after the three kings visiting the nativity. That is why there is not an apostrophe in the word “Kings.” “Kings” is plural.
Kings Canyon is billed as the deepest gorge in North America. It’s deeper than Grand Canyon in Arizona. I almost got in a “fist-i-cuff” with a ranger. Earlier we visited Hell’s Canyon, also billed as the nations deepest gorge, deeper than Grand Canyon. I told the ranger “what’s for.” It was Halloween and I pretended to be an obnoxious tourist!
The ranger told me that there are three different types of canyons. The Colorado River in the Grand Canyon is the classic canyon carved from a plateau on both sides. The Snake River of the Hell’s Canyon travels through high mountains. Measuring from mountain peak to mountain peak, the canyon is the deepest in the world. The south fork of the Kings River traveling through Kings Canyon has higher mountains than Hell’s Canyon but only on one side. Measuring from the highest peak in Kings Canyon to the river level makes Kings Canyon the deepest canyon. All three canyons have their own unique marvelous sights standing on their own merit. Grand Canyon is still the “grandest” canyon of them all as it is used as the measuring stick for all canyons. There are many things in Kings Canyon and Hell’s Canyon that aren’t in the Grand Canyon.
We loved the fact that the road descends to the bottom of Kings Canyon. We felt very small and insignificant winding on the road the clings to the sides of the massive cliffs. We were a bit disappointed that there was controlled burning occurring to prevent forest fires, leading to smoke in the valley. It is a necessary evil.
Up from the canyon we drove and made it to the lodge shortly after dark. We unloaded the car and had dinner in the dining room being served by someone in a clown outfit. They had gorilla waiters on Halloween. It turned out that there was a Halloween staff party in the banquet room.
On Wednesday, we visited Sequoia National Park. The trees are magnificent. Through the efforts of John Muir, our countries second national park was established, mainly to preserve the giant trees. Sequoia trees are voluminous because of their age. They do not die. Not only are the Giant Sequoias the largest living things, they are also the oldest. The particular ecosystem that the giant trees thrive is quite small. One-third of the area had been logged. 150 years ago it would take two men two weeks to fell a tree. Walking through the forest of the giant trees was almost like being in church.
We did a bit of walking such as out to the top of Moro rock. From one side, it looks like an impressive climb. The back side there is a road that goes most of the way to the top to where stairs were carved in the rock to help hikers have sure footing. Beautiful views of the Sierra Nevada range! We left the national parks inspired on highway 198 and headed off to the coast on highway 41 to Paso Robles to stay with new friends, the O’Farrells. We met Steve and Paula in San Francisco at a show. Through their great generosity and trustworthiness in their fellow man we were asked to stay with them in their cute apartment above their wine making shop. Steve is an avid hobbyist winemaker. He told me, “If you want to make a small fortune in wine, you need to start with a large fortune.” They have a very nice home. Paula plays the harp so we were had a connection through the harp. On top of that, Steve likes football so we were able to see the Monday Night Football game when we arrived. Paula fixed a light dinner for us and Steve showed us our lodging for five nights! It was very pleasant to stay in one place for so long. We had our privacy and were actually able to unpack our suitcase.
On Wednesday, I played my harp in a store in Cambria, CA that sells our music, called “Ellen’s Cottage.” I am honored that they play my music in their store. I greeted customers and tried to play their requests. In fun to play off of the stage once in awhile to meet people face to face.
We took a drive to Hearst castle on the coast at San Simeon and walked out to the end of the pier Mr. Hearst constructed for the ships that delivered building materials to his estate. What a life. I know exactly how much money Mr. Hearst left when he died. He left all of it. Walking to the end of the pier, it’s as if Mr. Hearst built the pier for me. He left it and now everyone else can enjoy it. That was very nice of him!
We were back at the “farm” to go with the O’Farrells for dinner in a very nice French restaurant in Paso Robles. It was fabulous. An 8 course dinner counting the glasses of wine. We loved every course except one particular style of cheese. I am sure it was supposed to smell “that” way. I am sure it was supposed to taste good. But if the cheese were bad or rancid, I don’t think one could tell. I have never had cheese as strong as that. The cheese was from France. It must have been delivered by way of foot travel many years ago. The actual translation of the cheese’ name is “monk’s head.”
On Friday we gave a concert in Lompoc, 90 miles south of Paso Robles. We were treated by the Wilson’s to a tour of the many murals adorning the buildings of Lompoc. The town is running out of blank walls suitable for the murals, many which tell a historic story of Lompoc. The Wilson’s treated us to a nice early supper at an Italian restaurant before the concert.
The concert was held in a church. I love the acoustics and ambience in a church. Lynn was the tech person helping us out. He is a techie for the techies. He had a metre machine that would tell where the best spot was to place speakers. He was knowledgeable and showed me a better way to connect the electric keyboard for a better sound. We were also given many cookies. I love it when that happens.
On Saturday, we gave a concert in Orcutt at the Orcutt Presbyterian Church organized by our good friends, Diane and Ken Parker. We have given concerts in their church for quite a few years every other year. Ken is a huge fan of USC, being a graduate with an education doctorate. I keep telling him to watch out for my UW Huskies. They almost beat USC this year. Ken and Diane treated us to a grand lunch at the Santa Maria Inn. Many stars from Hollywood stayed there. I had a huge salad big enough to feed a farm of rabbits. I sat next to Pastor Bob and had a pleasant conversation.
The concert went well. Diane helped to sell CDs after. She asked me to play at church the following day with the choir which I enjoyed doing a lot. Sometimes, if I am not asked to play at church when we are out of town, then it is easy to simply not attend. We’ll be back there in a couple of years.
We had an afternoon concert in Paso Robles held at Trinity Lutheran Church. The earthquake a few years ago in Paso Robles damaged the performing arts center so severely that the building was condemned. We enjoyed playing at the church. It was quite a shock and surprise to see a former high school friend in the front row at our concert. To think we were all the way from Washington State in Southern California and to run into an alumni from Nathan Hale, class of ’79 is amazing to me. Not only that, Sue is the one I took to the prom! There was a good friend of my mom’s at the concert as well from Moro Bay, Mrs. Jones. It’s good to see friends.
We were back at the O”Farrells’ for a dinner and to enjoy their new addition to their family, Sadie, a chocolate lab. We had nice a conversation for a few hours and played Paula’s harp to see how it sounded. It is a very nice lever harp from Triplett Harps in San Luis Obispo. It was a joy to become acquainted with new friends and to touch bases with old ones.