April 9 to April 16, 2021
Road Trip!
This was our first real excursion out of San Diego since March of 2020 when we went to Arizona to see a couple Padres Spring Training Games!
We left Friday morning, the 9th, for Santa Barbara.
On Sunday, the 11th, we drove to Paso Robles where we met up with our wino friends for a few days of wine-tasting, eating, drinking, and so on.
On Wednesday, we all migrated to Solvang for a couple days of exploring the Sta. Rita Hills and Los Olivos wine areas
Keep on scrolling down to see photos and some commentary about the week.
The ride through LA was much more congested than we were hoping. It seems that everyone was taking off for the weekend and we were bumper to bumper from LAX to Oxnard. Yay! Things are back to normal!
We checked in to our hotel and this was the view from our front walkway. We were on the third level on the end, #27, which was OK except for lugging all our stuff up there.
A nice King bed
And a couple very comfortable leather chairs. Have I mentioned the place is a little dated? On the other hand, it's in a good location and reasonable (for a weekend in SB).
We settled in and then took a walk to the pier
And then we walked out on the pier
And then I took a photo of an old car. We wanted to grab a drink and snack but all the places had long waits. Bars are still not open and seating is still limited to outdoors.
They've had a few fires on Stearns Wharf...
Now they have a lot of fire hydrants, just in case.
I think red is a better color for a fire hydrant than yellow.
State Street, the main drag, was partially closed to vehicular traffic to allow for increased outdoor dining. I think this is a great idea and I hope these outdoor dining areas that are cropping up everywhere will continue even after COVID goes away.
We made a reservation for Saturday night for 8:00 o'clock. It was either that or 5:30.
We fortified ourselves with a Guinness at Dargan's and headed back to Las Brisas.
Cocktails on the deck as the sun sets.
We had a decent dinner at The Brewhouse, a couple blocks from our hotel.
Saturday, April 10
Saturday turned out to be a good day weather-wise and we had fun walking around the "Funk Zone" and downtown. After a brunch snack at the farmers market (hand pies!) we did our first tasting of the week.
This is where we sat. They make excellent wines!
Cheers!
Then we found the Happy Canyon in the "El Paseo" area, hidden in the middle of a city block - a quiet and peaceful little plaza.
Not sure what the polo players have to do with anything, or what "Piocho" does either, but I get the "vineyard" and "wine tasting" part.
A beautiful setting
We then went back to State Street where we sat at O'Malley's and people-watched for a while.
This is us.
This is our Guinness which we drink for it's known health benefits and because it's good for you.
This was across from O'Malley's. Unfortunately the photo doesn't do justice to the bright reds of the umbrellas and the tree blossoms.
You don't see many public drinking fountains anymore.
Back to Holdren's for dinner!
It was a bit chilly but we were ready for it and we had a heater near us too.
This is our dinner: A giant pork chop and bacon-wrapped scallops. And a bottle of wine. Muy bueno.
On to Paso!!!