From the Desk of the Publisher

Seeing the Green, Tasting the Red

NO 1 alligator and robin

I am a fortunate woman.
Last week I was ready to get away for the weekend and was lucky to have friends – generous friends – who loaned me the keys to their home in Cambria (or as I say, Cambriahhhh). The ahhhh part of the weekend began shortly after getting on the road and heading north. The rains that we have experienced – and will continue to experience (see Sue Kilpatrick’s Weather in the Foothills column across from mine) – have turned our brown hillsides back to a healthy green. Climbing up the Grapevine, I was dazzled by how beautiful and lush everything is and, as we crossed the 46 into Cambria from Paso Robles, it was evident how much the rain was needed. Whereas in the last few years we traveled on highway stretching between dried wisps of grass on the hillsides this year we were greeted with abundant growth. It truly looked like a picture, not like anything real.
Rain did keep us indoors for a day and a half, but on Saturday we ventured out for wine tasting. A fundraiser for the organization Zoo To You provided tastes from several participating wineries that also had some of the animals on-site for us to meet. So in addition to sipping a Cabaret we could pet a kangaroo. We touched an alligator (an alligator!) while trying a zinfandel. In addition, we saw hedgehogs, an armadillo, a porcupine and a fox. It was really a once-in-a-lifetime event and I’m glad that we were able to support such a worthy cause.
Sadly not everything was good news in Cambria. Though I was very careful, it turns out that my credit card information was compromised. Thankfully the credit card company is very diligent and was quick to call to confirm that I spent $700 in Victoria Secret lingerie – in Michigan. (Funny – they didn’t question the $50 I spent on wine.)
Even with that hiccup I feel that all went well and I look forward to heading north once again to see the green and taste the red.

Robin Goldsworthy is the publisher of the Crescenta Valley Weekly.
She can be reached at
robin@cvweekly.com or
(818) 248-2740.