Paso Robles

On one corner of Paso Robles' main square--a charming place with a park and gazebo at its heart and a sweet mix of historic buildings, wine-tasting rooms and boutiques at its edges--is a clock tower shaped like an acorn. It is meant as a tribute to the oak trees that give the area its high visual drama.

WE drove north looking for the rain because I was tired of the endless days of gray sunlight, and we found Paso Robles, shimmering in a light mist, its crisp air laced with the rich bouquet of a pinot noir. This is wine's newest California boomtown, luring visitors from throughout the world to bask in a generosity of nature that has produced 170 wineries.

Regarding "A Bright Idea, It Turns Out," Pardon Our Dust, Feb. 18: What a pleasure to read about innovative, imaginative owners who get thoroughly involved in their remodel and are able to accomplish it in a reasonable time and for a reasonable dollar figure. I have read nearly every Sunday's Real Estate section during the 40-year span of my moves from La Canada Flintridge to San Juan Capistrano to present-day Paso Robles. In recent times, I have gotten bored with so many stories featuring multimillion-dollar listings, half-million-dollar remodels and much too much about who bought whose place in Hollywood.

The road to and from Mission San Antonio de Padua is twisty, but I've seen worse and it's beautiful ("Paso Robles," by Ann Herold, The Travel Issue, Oct. 15). We took it in our "Synopsis Tour of California" in '02, just when our oldest had finished studying the history of California in sixth grade. I was impressed with the size of the wine cellar at Mission San Antonio. It seems that my compatriots (I come from Barcelona) knew their catechism as well as how to keep their vino cool.

DESTINATION: Central Coast Loop TOWN: Paso Robles ELEVATION: 735 feet POPULATION: 27,477 MEDIAN AGE: 33 CLOSEST HIGH WAY: 101 Freeway NEAREST AIRPORT: San Luis Obispo TEMPERATURE SWING: 33° (winter low) to 94° (summer high) * In Paso Robles, cattle ranches that go back to the 1800s border vineyards that were planted five minutes ago. The same downtown deli where cowboys eat tri-tip has a better wine selection than many L.A. restaurants.

"WE just spent a great long weekend in Paso Robles and happened upon a wonderful new place to eat. It has only been open for six months. Ristorante da Gaetano, better known as Gaetano's, was superb. It is in an adorable little cottage. Nice and cozy. We loved it so much that we ate there three nights in a row." Entrees from $13. Ristorante da Gaetano, 1646 Spring St., Paso Robles 93446; (805) 239-1070.

MY fiancee and I were delighted that you featured the Carlton Hotel in Atascadero ["3 Mommies Minus Their 'Me's,' " Weekend Escape, April 2], but the article did not do justice to the property. I travel often and have been fortunate enough to have stayed in such hotels as the Four Seasons George V in Paris, the Carlyle in New York, and the Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons in Maui. The Carlton Hotel is where I stay for wine-tasting excursions to Paso Robles. It's worthy of having the "Ritz" on its moniker -- it is that good.

IS there a bond stronger than the one between women who survive "Mommy and Me" class together? I think not, and my friends Sara and Patricia agree. From that early connection though our first-born sons, we quickly found we had the same mordant sense of humor about motherhood, a path fraught with issues for three working moms. When the kids were little, we compared notes while they played in a local park on Saturday mornings.

Re "For the State's Aged, Blind, Disabled, a Lump of Coal for Christmas," column, Dec. 22 Kudos to George Skelton for his eye-opening expose on what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature have done to aged, blind and disabled Californians while at the same time legislators were given a 12% pay hike of close to $12,000. Why are the most disadvantaged always the first to feel the budget ax? Is it a coincidence that our Scrooge Vice President Dick Cheney cast the tie-breaking vote for spending cuts aimed at student loans, Medicare and Medicaid (Dec.

Authorities at a California Army National Guard base near Paso Robles had hoped to complete an unusual mission last week: the return of the last of 25 wallets discovered in old barracks to their original owners or surviving relatives. Some of the wallets disappeared six decades ago and the tale of their discovery and efforts to return them has captivated veterans who served at the base.