One of the first wineries was Melville. They're among a few that plant CA poppies between the vine rows. The wines are from the Sta. Rita AVA and as good as you can find. Mostly Chard & Pinot.

Next stop was Foley. Tom can be seen center-left in the garden trying a recreation of the Garden of Gethsemane scene. Since he's an ordained minister we decided to leave him alone - just in case.

Friday morning started at Brucher/Golden Bear, with a nice spread laid out for our tasting, courtesy of Proprietor Janis Schmidt. Very thoughtful to have food considering we were about to taste about 10 of her wines.

The boys and Janis. Damn good lookin' bunch, except for that one guy near the .....

Go figure - the name Pat isn't that common and here we have: one from Chicago, one who pours wine for Janis, and one who's been drinking wine since the Last Supper. By the way, Pat The PourMaster does a great job.

In addition to the several tastings next door, we were treated to barrel sampling of a few futures.

Cottonwood Canyon is always a good stop as Mgr. Rhonda sees to it that we taste anything and everything we want. Owner/winemaker Norman Beko has some 2001 Chard that's still outstanding in color and taste.

Tom remembers seeing his friend Bob sitting in this chair and how much Bob emulated the Vito Corleone persona. In this case we're thinkin' more like Vito Goombah.

He also likes to entertain friends with his rendition of "Ohhhklahoma"'

Rhonda poses with her new Tasting Room puzzlepiece: the forks, cork, and needle are balancing on the head of a dime and can be spun around without falling off.

Next stop was Costa De Oro and a very lively room. After tasting for 1½ hours I think we went to check in at our hotel. I think.

Room Mgr. Leslie, with helper Joanna, managed to accomodate about 20 tasters without missing a beat. But that look tells you her husband hands over his testicles before he leaves the house each morning. She takes no sh*t but is as sweet as they come.

After several tastes the boys start to become a bit subdued.

That night, dinner would be at the Santa Maria Elks Cook-Your-Own. Choice of ribs, steak, halibut, or chicken - and you do the cooking over these huge BBQ racks and the ever-popular Red Oak in the pit. Live music there as well. This is a tiny Elks Lodge, only 4,200 members!!!

Poor Tony. Catches an early morning flight from Wisconsin, Rents a car at LAX and tries to find friends about 150 miles away. Then joins them in a bunch of wine tasting.

Perhaps it's the aromatic ambience of the popcorn machine in back. Sure, that's it. Popcorn always puts people to sleep.

Not bad for a guy who's 6 months along.

Zonk.

Saturday's first was RiverBench, at the top of the Foxen Wine Trail. This shot looks south at their vines and the San Rafael Mtns.

Volk's red-wines-only tasting room.

Had to put this 2nd shot in so that you could see the lovely Elizabeth.

The hills behind Volk.

Rancho Sisquoc was next. It's off the beaten path and a fun place to stop, get a bite and refuel.

While at Sisquoc, Pat made sure that on this trip, unlike all others, he'd finally get some pussy. And where else does one pick 'em up but outside the restrooms.

(...don't leave, I have treats in my pocket)

Gainey's private tasting room is the only way to go. Your own pourer, up to 8-10 wines, and all of 'em good. That and 20% off all purchases

Gainey's upper-end sister label is Evans Ranch with tasting in Los Olivos. Room Mgr. Jan (sorry didn't get her pic) gives a good pour with lots of info, all of it laced with a good sense of humor.

OMG, you're right, you CAN pull your cheek out to simulate a 3rd ear. You must be the one from Chicago.

Saturday's dinner was at a new place (for us) - The Swiss. It's on the order of Jocko's in menu and great taste but we voted Jocko's as having the better ambience.

As is our bent, you can't end the trip without a quickie at Sunstone before heading home...

...and again back at Gainey where the faces tell the story of one long and liver-endangering trip.

And finally a tip of the hat to PJ for submitting so many of the trip pics you see. The guy with the camera rarely gets his mug in so we're happy to feature him here, despite the Registered Sex Offender look.

Poolside at the Bahia Hotel about two hours and a few sixpacks before shedding all the extraneous clothing and heading for the jacuzzi.

Okay, maybe a few of these studmuffins might reconsider that clothing issue. Would prefer to use the term "nice tits" on the chicks only.

The 1st Sunday and Mother Nature reminds us of who's in control by using the old Hailstorm trick. Pellets 1" in diameter can mess you up

Prior to Tuesday's Tom Horn ride we paid respects to the HHA Float Hoes.

The 1st Tuesday and we're ready to roll. Ten gals, and only two of legal age, and boy will the 16-year- olds be hot in a few years. I'm just sayin', not pervin'.

Here's three of 'em a bit more up close. Any more up close and yours truly is goin' to jail. Can you believe -- each one is 16! Okay Louise, you're still a youngster too, and that new hairstyle looks great. Nice pull on gettin' them younguns but would you mind much trolling for a few "legal" ones?

Officer Tom joins after quite a long absence. Last time he had to check a gal's ID before proceeding. This This time he dashed right in. Pension that secure, eh Tom?

After the parade it was a trip to Guernsey again. We made new friends last year but they got wind we were coming so they left. Don't matter, we made some new ones like these and several more at Ben's, many from the local WyNG base. Great guys.

We're not sure who's the more afraid here, the Dickhead or the Organ Grinder. And you'll kindly note that she had to use two hands. Ta-da.

Across the street from Ben's is Kelly's, a fun place, and finally we get a shot of Luke, our bartender du jour. He's willing to put up with our schtick because we tip well. Right Luke? We played Guess the Line from "Blazing Saddles" with the locals. Now that's good clean fun.

Here's the motel that saved us from a drive back to the nearest town with a hotel. It had 2 rooms we could grab. Amen. About 100 yards from the bar. Life is good.

Perhaps this is why Dave wasn't in the above picture. It's not only the "stache" but the "Hey Bruce" look.

This young, Miniature Border Collie looked quite fetching with his new pink scarf from HHA float's Cris in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Day, with the Thursday theme of "Tough Enough to Wear Pink." Saturday it was Testicular Cancer Awareness Day. Same pink shirt but now it's wrinkled and hairy.

Uh JJ, maybe you'd like to check out Dave's look in a couple of pictures up. You two may have more in common that you think.

Uh JJ, why don'tcha scroll down a few pics to see what we mean when we say we like a "squirter."

Our good friends from Warren AFB, and we like to do the pink thing.

"No really, honey, no one would know or ever find out. Besides, it's a rather small plaque and only MY initials would be on it. So, whaddaya say?"

Another morning another round of Bloodys at JJ's 4 Winds, joined by old AF friends formerly from Warren AFB. Bartender Tammy said we broke the CFD record for $$ receipts due to our visit.

Since we don't have a shot of the whole High Horses band, we'll give 'em to you one at a time, left to right, starting with Roger.  Darn good guitarist and plays the foil for PJ well.

In the middle are PJ & Bill. PJ's the lead singer and does a great John Wayne impression. Bill is the venerable leader of HH, having started the group in the 80's. Oh, and they're related,

On the right is OJ, guitarist extraordinaire. This is the kind of guy you want to cut those difficult riffs.

In the back on drums is Rob and we understand he's still coping with the problem of occasionally using his head instead of the cymbals. Oh, and he's another Wilber.

And speaking of people in the Wilber line, here's our little group nephew, Shaw, now all of 2½ years old. The lovely Kelli is slightly older and just as cute. In fact, check the next pic.

Much mo betta. She even makes that guy on her left look good.

Meanwhiile, Jen was showing Pat the tasting menu. Then again, for someone that old it'd be more like the drooling menu.

Nevermind, I'll help myself to this crevice for a quick taste.

This almost looks like a CFD oxymoron, 'cept that the sushi was fresh and outta sight. We gladly went thru several courses of some of the best we've had in ages.

Final Saturday and Louise has assembled the finest hide in Cheyenne, tho some have a few more ice-cream season to go. Also thanks to the Kansas City guys for joining and making the ride all that more fun. Dammit but they're young.

But before we go any further, the folks at the tourism council want to give props to the hotel where the KC boys stayed in 90+° weather with a room A/C that could just as easily have subbed as a doorstop or a footstool. Now ain't that Grand.

It was either volunteerism or a great case of the other KC guys doing a BF, but it doesn't matter, Adam did a great job as Tom Horn.

Sorry that it's a bit blurry but this was taken from a movie clip when the KC boys were doin' their chasing of Tom Horn. Kansas City's elevation is 882' and Cheyenne's is 6,067'. How's those lungs feel now guys? You see what we've put up with all those years.

The boys had just retrieved Tom Horn from his attempted escape and brung him back fer a hangin'. Great job fellas, good innovation on the script (of which there is none).

"No old timer, when I said cell phone I didn't mean for you to "sell" your phone. And does that model really sport a windup key on the back?" Wait, isn't that the Lawrence Welk model?

Meanwhile Mark (yes, the sound made by a hairlip dog) wonders if the chicks would notice him if he was hung better.

Yo Mark, it's Tom Horn who's supposed to be wearing the noose, unless you're still fixated on that "hung" word.

The aftermath. Hey, it's only a difference of 5,185'. Bunch of pussies.

"Some friends all right. One little beef & bean burrito fart and the cowards take off. Hey guys, turn in your Man Cards."

Temps in the mid to hi 80s, an adult beverage in hand, some hotties from the Green Door to direct traffic (or is that distract traffic) and the cooling waters of a Red Neck swimmin' pule. Hot damn.

Just what every man dreams of: a squirter and two swallowers. Life's good when you've got three strippers playin' Red Neck Pool with ya.

Quick quiz - which gal is wearing this pair of shoes? Doesn't matter, she has a fine figure and and cool personality to match.

Now how about matching this pair to one of the ladies. Hint, the leggings are pink (and not to be worn in the pool). Yep, the one who's doing the squirt job. Way cute baby face and good sense of humor.

It was over 85° so a back splash as the pool unloaded was more than welcome.