Spring Training Trip to Phoenix, March 14-22, 2012

I've been going down to Phoenix to watch "cactus league" spring training baseball, since 1994, only missing one year since '94. Since 2010, I've been driving down to Phoenix in my own car, saving money on airfare and rental cars, though the long drive can be quite tiring. I split the trip down to Phoenix in two days, spending the night with my sister and her family in Lancaster; then traveling on to Phoenix the next day.

The whole trip is about 1,700 total miles. I've been making the trip from Phoenix-to-Hayward in one day, a whopping 780 miles driven in one day. I eat dinner at the Harris Ranch Restaurant off of I-5 near Coalinga, as the major stop / break along the return trip.

My friends from Oakland and Portland usually come down for a weekend, and this year we saw the Seattle Mariners play the Oakland Athletics in Phoenix on Friday night (March 16); the Chicago Cubs play the Oakland A's on St. Patricks Day; and the Oakland A's at the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, March 18. Unfortunately, it was raining and hailing on us at the A's/D'Backs game, so we cut out early and went to the airport.... We tried to get tickets to the A's/Giants game (at Scottsdale) for March 17, but the only available seats were the grass seats behind the outfield for $45 apiece. So, we opted to see the A's "split squad" game in Phoenix.

The next few days I spent watching the Oakland A's minor league teams play at Papago Park, their practice facilities just north of the Phoenix Municipal Stadium. The minor league games are pretty low-key, and sometimes you'll see the major leaguers take at-bats. Wednesday, March 21, I saw Manny Ramirez, Kurt Suzuki, Yoenis Cespedes, Coco Crisp, Josh Reddick, Jonny Gomes, all take at-bats in a Papago Park AAA game.....

One of these years I'll head down to Tucson to see the caves at Kartchner Caverns State Park; and return to the Sonora Desert Museum outside of Tucson. It might make sense to head there, before heading to see more baseball in Phoenix.

Wine Tasting in Paso Robles, March 1-4, 2012

My niece and her husband were having a housewarming party in Vista, CA, on March 3rd, so I took the slow road down US-101 and did some wine tasting in Paso Robles  (http://www.pasowine.com/) on the way south, and on the way north a few days later.

On Thursday, March 1, I went to some of the "east side" wineries, mostly along Union Road, south of Cal-46 (the main-east west highway). Wineries I visited included:

• Pear Valley (http://www.pearvalley.com/)
• Maloy O'Neill (http://www.maloyoneill.com/)
• PasoPort / Steinbeck (http://www.steinbeckwines.com/, http://www.pasoportwine.com/)
• Bianchi (http://www.bianchiwine.com/)
• Eberle (http://www.eberlewinery.com/)

I'm a repeat visitor to Eberle. And have never been to the others. I'll probably be back to Eberle and Bianchi on future visits. I've never heard of the "Lagrein" varietal until I went to Maloy O'Neill. That was a nice find. Also, the sangiovese and refosco at Bianchi were quite nice; and the sangiovese and "up shiraz" at Eberle. Next time I'll try to hit Tobin James, a little further east on Cal-46. Wine tasting on Thursdays??? Not crowded at all, though there can be crowds to go on the cave tours at Eberle, any day of the week.

Thursday evening I stayed in San Luis Obispo. SLO has a great farmers market along Higuera Street. I had dinner at the Big Sky Cafe, and a few after dinner beers at the Central Coast Brewing Company. That was a long, long day!

The stay in San Diego County (Vista/Carlsbad) was fun, meeting my relatives at the Pizza Port in San Clemente; and visiting the Pizza Port in Carlsbad, as well.

I started back early Sunday morning, March 4th, on the drive from Vista to home. A very long day, but I was able to visit several wineries on the "west side" of Paso Robles:

• Rotta (http://www.rottawinery.com/)
• Venteux (http://www.venteuxvineyards.com/)
• Castoro (http://www.castorocellars.com/)
• Fratelli Perata (http://www.fratelliperata.com/)
• Doce Robles  (http://www.docerobleswinery.com/)
• Caparone  (http://www.caparone.com/)

I've been to Castoro and Caparone before; the others were my "first time" visit. (That's not hard, since there are about four dozen wineries in the Paso Robles area!)

Interesting finds include the "Black Monukka" dessert wine from Rotta; some very nice Montepulcianos from Fratelli Perata; and the great value Sangiovese, Nebbiolo and Aglianico at Caparone. I'll probably be a return visitor to Fratelli Perata; Doce Robles; and Caparone.

I'm quite fond of the zinfandels and syrahs of Paso Robles; and I'm very excited about the italian varietals I've seen over the years (sangiovese, nebbiolo, refosco,  aglianico, etc. ) No more wine tasting for a few months!