OK, August 27 was when the final installment of the Filling family arrived in San Diego! Malarie in May, Jake in July and now....
Their mama and papa, Deb & Mike.
On Sunday, Mike and I had the honor of joining my good friend and former business partner, Dave, for a friendly round of golf at his private club, which name I won't mention here because it's a pretty private club and I'm sure the members don't want photos plastered all over the Internet.
We enjoyed the round (even me!), the views, the weather, and the company. Oh yeah, our fourth was my old friend and co-worker, Doug S. Am I being paranoid about not putting up last names?
Here's Mike on a par 3. I think his shot landed a couple feet from the pin. Maybe not.
If you look at a couple of these photos, you may be able to figure out the identity of the club.
A Bridge; Mike, Dave and Doug; the 18th fairway; Mike, Dave & me
After the round we had a drink in the gentlemen's lounge and then a few beers with Dave and Wendy at their house.
Monday was a beach day. We spent some quality sand time at D Street.
Monday evening we took advantage of Firefly's all evening happy hour.
Here are Lorri and Deb with a couple foo-foo cocktails.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
Time for a road trip to Santa Barbara, Solvang and Los Olivos for a little wining and dining. We rented a land yacht, packed up and took off!
In Santa Barbara, the first stop on the "Urban Wine Trail" was Jaffurs where we did a tasting and bought a few bottles for later.
We all learned a lot from listening to our tasting guide, especially Debbie. Ask her what she now knows about wine barrels.
We had a nice deli lunch here.
We didn't taste here but liked to photo ops.
From Stearn's Wharf, we took the 25-cent bus ride up State Street and walked back down for more tasting. State Street has become, sadly, a long row of chain retail stores. How many Forever 21's do we need.
Mike posing in front of the Church of Skatan, a skate shop housed in a former Baptist church.
Solvang
We stayed for two nights at the HI Express in Solvang. That is our room and that is our view from the room. If you go, ask for a room on the second floor facing the back of the property. Dinner was at Solvang Brewing Company, one of the few places open in town at 8PM Tuesday night.
Lots of grapes were still on the vine including these in front of Bridlewood.
Bridlewood occupies the site of a former horse farm and the vestiges are everywhere...
...except of course in the wine, except for its name. On the left you can see a portion of the training track.
On to Beckman
More great wines at Beckman but the grounds and tasting room are a little more modest than Bridlewood.
Beckman tasting room on the left and their forklift on the right.
Rusack up next.
After a quick cruise through Los Olivos, we decided to head to Rusack by way of Ballard Canyon Road.
The road and the winery were first time experiences for all of us. Ballard Canyon runs from Rt. 154 near Los Olivos down to 246 near Solvang.
It is a pretty amazing drive if you like the rolling hills, vine and farmland of that area.
Not only did Rusack have very nice wines, their picnic areas are among the best in the valley.
We had stopped for supplies at Los Olivos Market and we bought a couple Rusack wines to accompany a great lunch.
Perfect location, food, , wine, views and company.
The photos don't capture the ambiance.
I will definitely keep Rusack on my "go back to" list.
Final stop was Sunstone where we encountered cats and dogs as well as some wines.
After a big lunch and being the fourth wine stop, we weren't as much into it as we may have been earlier.
Still, it's an interesting place and their wines are good.
Sunstone. There are stones in the sun and stones in the caves.
Cavestones.
Wines.
Sunstones.
More stones.
After regrouping at the hotel, it was only a short cab ride to the Hitching Post II.
We had a great dinner, had a great waitress and met a couple from Denmark. In Solvang. Imagine that.
We had to go into the bar for a nightcap before going back to the HI for another nightcap.
There I am wearing my nightcap. One too many, I guess.
Mike was playing DJ with iTunes on my laptop. Somewhere there is a photo of Lorri dancing...
Links to additional 2011 pages:
Page 2: Encinitas, Oceanside Harbor
Page 3: Padres Spring Training
Page 4: Moonlight Beach, Little Italy, Mothers Day, MALARIE VISIT, San Elijo camping!
Page 5: Padres Game with the Thompson Clan
Page 6: June Events: Ashley's B-day, Home Brew Night, Martini Night, Fathers Day
Page 9: Martini Night, Jazz in the Park
Page 10: Deb & Mike Visit, Part 1
Page 11: Deb & Mike Visit, Part 2
Page 12: Paso Robles Birthday Wine Tour
Page 13: Ciaran Visit and GMA V's B-day
Page 14: Williamsburg, Malarie & Debbie Visit
Page 15: Williamsburg, Edna & Lisy & Families Visit
Page 16: T-Day at Tom & Patty's House
Page 17: eYc Holiday Happy Hour
