Wine Country #1

We discovered we had a taste for good wine decades ago and have been chasing it ever since. It's led us to California many times, as well as Oregon, Washington, and many wineries on the East Coast in Virginia, Maryland and elsewhere. We took a river cruise in the Bordeaux region of France some years ago and went to a couple of wineries in Tuscany in 2024.

So it was a natural fit to drive through the Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez region of southern California on this trip. They've made some pretty good Pinot Noir and Chardonnay there for generations. It's also beautiful country. We visited there in the 2010s and wanted to go back.

We left the desert and headed west, getting "cut-rate" gasoline on the Morongo Indian reservation along I-10 where we didn't have to pay the California gasoline tax, which is pretty significant. It was still more than $100 to fill up the Jeep. Unfortunately we have several weeks of buying the most expensive gas in the nation ahead of us.

This was $10 less than it would have been if we bought gas anywhere besides the Morongo Reservation.

We went north of LA, avoiding the worst of the mid-morning traffic. LA is not a favorite city of ours, too many people and too much traffic. It was a pretty smooth drive all the way to Santa Barbara, where we got out to stretch our legs and found a thriving farmer's market right on a main street downtown. Since we were nearing the end of Part Two of the trip, we didn't buy anything, but the produce looked spectacular.

The Pacific Coast approaching Santa Barbara.

We met some friends for a glass of wine and an early dinner at The Harbor Restaurant on Stearns Wharf. It was early and the kitchen was just getting started, which may have explained some things. Phil should have known better than to get lobster on the other side of the country from Maine. It wasn't that great. The view is really nice, though.

After dinner we finished the drive to Solvang, which was founded by Danish immigrants in the late 1800's. It's a great little town, made famous by the 2004 movie Sideways. It's right in the heart of Santa Ynez wine country and tasting rooms abound.

We stayed in a cottage right downtown and could walk to everything. We found an excellent independent bookstore where we each bought a book, then had a great wine tasting at Casa Cassara and a fabulous lunch at Peasants Feast.

Downtown Solvang.

This was a really nice little bookstore.

We were only in Solvang for one night, but we will be back. While there is a lot to do there besides tasting wine, there are also a lot of tasting rooms we haven't yet explored, More research is needed.

The next morning we headed north along the Pacific Coast Highway toward Monterey. For those who haven't driven it, there are some gorgeous views of the mountains and cliffs along the rocky shores and the Pacific. At the right times of the year you can see whales as they migrate by in their never-ending loops through the ocean.

There are also migration beaches for elephant seals along the way. There were several hundred along one of the beaches where we stopped.

Elephant seals on the beach along CA Rte. 1.

But the last 60 miles approaching and through Big Sur are a white-knuckle experience for the driver, especially in a larger vehicle like we have. Ann saw some beautiful vistas and got some photos of them. Phil kept his eyes on the road!

The road hugs the cliffsides in many places in Big Sur.

The top of that hill slid down and took out the road last year.

The road is repaired enough to drive on it but needs more work.

We arrived at our hotel in the Cannery Row district of Monterey in time to have an OK late lunch at the Schooner Restaurant in the Monterey Plaza Hotel right on the water. Once again, the view was spectacular, the food was just passable. We walked along the shore for a while, but it was chilly as usual in Monterey so we didn't stay out long.

Beach on Monterey Bay. This was part of the Cannery Row area and was once lined with sardine processing plants until the sardines disappeared from the bay after World War II. You can still see the concrete foundations of some of the buildings,

We were on the Monterey peninsula, so of course a round of golf was in order. Pebble Beach being already booked (hah!) we went to the Pacific Grove Golf Links, which is about 6-times less expensive yet still has some amazing views along the shoreline.

View from the #14 tee box.

The Point Pinos lighthouse is on the golf course. Built in 1855, it is the oldest continually operating lighthouse on the West Coast.

It was the eighth round of golf for Phil and seventh for Ann on this trip, which is more than we would usually play if we were home. At least, more than we would play pre-retirement. We haven't been home in golfing weather since retirement, so that's still an unknown for us.

We had a great lunch at the Red House Cafe in Pacific Grove, which had the best cream of mushroom soup we've ever tasted. We then chased some less-expensive gas to fill up the tank before heading up to San Francisco.

We woke up early the next morning, drove to the airport, parked the car in long-term parking, and hopped on a plane back to Virginia. We are here for eight days to help celebrate our granddaughter's birthday and Mother's Day. Then on May 11, it's back on a plane to SFO, get the car and start Part Three of the trip as we head to Wine Country #2 in Napa.

Stay Tuned!