Hi all. DH and I wound up, not really intentionally, on a Sideways tour of wine country. Went up and stayed at the Marriott Santa Ynez in Buellton, just down the street from the windmill hotel. And just down the street from Solvang, the little Danish down. The hotel was great. Nice rooms, awesome beds. Quiet (this was mid week) and good location for wine tasting in the area.

Wine tasting is amazing. About 60 wineries. Many of them specialize in the Rhone style of reds, grapes from that region in France. We went to Zaca Mesa, Curtis and Firestone. The last two are connected, Curtis is the boutique winery of Firestone. Skipped Fess Parker.

Had breakfast in Los Olivos at the Fess Parker Inn (OK) and wound up running into the old man, who smiled at us. The town is so small and on a Tuesday overcast morning, not a whole lot going on.

After the tasting, we went to Los Olivos Cafe for lunch and this place is amazing. Meditteranean style food, fresh, delicious. Could eat here over and over. We loved their butternut squash salad (with cranberries and pine nuts) and the torta rustica.

For dinner we ate three nights in a row at the Hitching Post. LOVED it. Fun place. Hanging out at the bar is like going to a party. Everyone is friendly. You can eat at the bar if you want. Monday is burger night. We passed and tried the prime rib chop, bone in. Wonderful. Generous portions, everything we had was good. Great service, nice and friendly people. Parking can be a challenge during prime time.

Then we tried Gainy (OK) and Sunstone (highly recommended and we loved it) and last on our list, Mosby, across the 101. We had the whold place to ourselves, so we learned a lot from this one very educated wine pourer. They were even pressing grapes that day. Excellent reds.

I think that covers the wineries. The weather was beautiful which added to the "Autumn" atmosphere. We enjoyed Solvang for breakfast one morning and tried those batter balls they make there. They are truly good and worth the carbs. And of course their pastries.

We had a wonderful trip. During the week made the trip rather low key, no stress. Not so crowded. We met some wonderful people, out just cruising having a good time like us. I highly recommend you drive there sometime and get lost for a few days. You'll love it...

thanks, Heavens!

I forgot to mention a few other things about this trip. One is that everything is so close. All about 15 minutes away or less, which makes cruising the area very easy.

Also the views of wine country, pumpkin patches and horse farms. Do not forget to pack your camera.

Also, don't forget to take the 154 to or from Santa Barbaara during the day. Beautiful views and didn't take that much longer than the 101.

Really ya'll, please take this trip some day and be good to yourself. It is so worth it.

Thanks for the report. My husband and I leave in two weeks to do a short trip from LA to SF with a day spent in the "Sideways" area. Your report will really help.

Thanks again!

Great report, heavens! Glad you enjoyed the Los Olivos Cafe. If you ever get a chance, go for dinner and check out the lamb shanks and the "chocolate scream" for dessert. Bernat (owner of the cafe) makes a really nice Syrah, also. Cheers! ***kim***

Great detailed report Heavens. I've printed this one for my file. Thanks for taking the time to post it!

Hi Heavens!

Sounds like a relaxing (and tasty!) trip. Did you get a chance to see Reagan's Library and Museum? I posted a reply to your thread asking about it, but you might have left before you saw it..?

Glad you had a good time and thanks for posting!

Hi. No Reagan's Library. Since it was opening day of Air Force One exhibit we decided to make it another day. We were also going to try and do Ojai on the way up, but cloudy and foggy. We wound up with plenty to do without the other side trips.

Ah, but we did try the chocolate scream, after lunch. It was awesome and I would highly recommend it. Great place. A must "eat".

Thanks Heavens!
My girlfriend and i are leaving a week from today to do basically the same thing combined w/ visiting my daughter at her college in SLO and then down to her daughter's college in San Diego-can hardly wait!

For a nice rest between LA and SF--stop in Pismo Beach. Just stayed two nights (after doing a Sideways tour) on the beach. Dinner at Steamer's of Pismo both nights--excellent!

We love that area too. LOVE Pismo. We stayed once at a BW that is on a cliff next to a pelican preserve. Quite interesting place. And there is a little chowda place in the town, near the pier, Splash. Excellent chowda. And you can take it home. Great little place.

Splash is also open in SLO. We ate at the Pismo one in October, very fun, beachy spot.