Back to Superstork.com Home Page
<<<<<Previous Next>>>>>
Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, Solvang
Feb 18 to 24, 2026
We had this trip planned for quite a while. It was to be our friend Temp's first trip to this area and we were looking forward to showing him around and re-visiting some of our favorite places along the Central Coast. Alas! At the last minute Temp. and then Jan, came down with a bad case of something and they were not able to travel, so it was left to Lorri, me, Greg and Kelly to carry on.
I'm happy to say that we carried on pretty well: two nights in downtown Santa Barbara, two nights in Paso Robles and finally, two nights in Solvang
We were having so much fun, I was constantly forgetting to memorialize the trip in photos. I did get a few though, and here they are!
We stayed at this hotel, the Riviera Beach House located right in the middle of everything - a great location.
It was sort of European in style and by that I mean the rooms were small but they were adequate. The staff was friendly, we had a place to park, and we could walk everywhere.
This was the view from our room.
This is the view of our room!
This is a view of our room and the window where the view from our room was from!
We got settled and headed to the Funk Zone and our first stop.
Margerum! It was a good place to start and we were now ready to continue our explorations.
We had cocktails in our "living room", the second floor gathering area in the atrium near our room. From there we had cocktails and apps at Rare Society and then a light dinner at Finney's. Where are the photos you ask? I didn't take any. Get used to it.
Thursday morning the rains continued off and on. Lorri and I managed to get in a nice stroll with getting soaked.
Stearns Wharf, the big pier at the end of State Street
The other side of the Wharf
A little while later after breakfast at Helena Avenue Bakery (great spot, no photos!) we headed up State Street for some shopping and sight-seeing.
After a couple light showers the sun came out and things started to dry up.
All of a sudden we ended up at a winery! This frequently happens. Frequency Wines!
And here we are!
After Frequency we stopped at this Irish Pub on the way back to the hotel.
We didn't stray far for dinner that night but maybe we should have. We ate at the Mexican place downstairs in the hotel. The food was good but the atmosphere, because of the obnoxious loud music, was not very relaxing. Photos? You guessed it. None.
Friday!
Time to hit the road to Paso.
We stopped at Tin City, a one-stop spot for wine, food, and, well, more wine and food.
We had lunch at "Etto" and tastings at Aaron and Sans Liege. As you can see we had plenty of choices!
After lunch and wine at Tin City, we checked in our hotel, The Paso Robles Inn.
The rooms were renovated relatively recently and they did a pretty good job. Of course that was a good excuse to raise the rates, start charging for parking, and so on.
The view from just outside our room
Our room was the first door on the right.
That evening we had cocktails at Parchetto and dinner at the Paso Steak House at our hotel. Sorry, Photoless. :-(
Saturday
Tasting at Adelaida where they always provide a fine sit-down tasting experience!
Here we are, standing up, in front of the fireplace where we had our tasting. No, our tasting was in comfy chairs in front of the fireplace, not in it.
It was still a little chilly and windy outside, but the sun was out and it was warming up. So were we!
After Adelaida we cruised down the road to Parrish Family Vineyard.
This is Parrish's facility. They are famous for their BLT sandwiches which feature praline bacon, home made sourdough, and other secret ingredients, which make them the best BLT you will ever have. Maybe.They are really good!
This was the view from our table!
Outside after lunch
Outside after lunch too!
Next stop, McPrice Myers
The "Beautiful Earth" wines helped to make "Mac" famous. He also sells a lot of what he calls "Hard Working Wines", namely Bull by the Horns, Right Hand Man, Pound for Pound, etc. You may have seen them in a wine shop near you - good wines, reasonably priced.
This is Mac (McPrice) Myers and me. He happened to be there and hung out with us for while. Very down to earth guy. I felt kind of dorky getting a selfie with him but it's not everyday a guy that makes some of your favorite wines!
The view from McPrice Myers.
It was still a little chilly, but nice!
Saturday night we walked to dinner at "Tastes" small bites concept where for a fixed price you can order two or three (depending on which fixed price you choose) of anything on the menu. Next time, I'll take some photos.
Sunday
We drove back down to Solvang, stopping on the way at Los Olivos for wine and lunch!
Lorri was driving so I took the opportunity to take a couple photos of the passing scenery.
Beautiful sunny day and pretty clear. You could see the Channel Islands a few miles off the coast.
Love the live oaks. The dead ones too!
The hillsides were green from the rainy winter
Downtown Los Olivos
Relaxing in the sunshine waiting for Greg and Kelly
Looking across the intersection you can see the chairs in which we had been sitting.
Another favorite winery!
Inside Samsara
We ate lunch here!
Last stop in Los Olivos was Dragonnette, another favorite winery! This is their logo with the shadows of our glasses.
Our hotel in Solvang, the Wine Valley Inn.
Our room #216 was a good one!
A good one by Wine Valley Inn standards, anyway. The only issue was a little clomping around at odd hours by our upstairs neighbors.
We had cocktails and a light dinner at Mad & Vin at the Landry Hotel across the street. This is my only photo, my ceviche! At least I got one photo!
Monday
Lorri and I walked around Solvang after a delicious (free!) breakfast the Wine Valley Inn.
Here is my one photo from that excursion.
On the way to Industrial Eats where we met G&K for lunch we made a pit stop at Kaena which is just off the road down from the Hitching Post.
The weather was really getting nice now and we enjoyed being alone and soaking up the sun in the outdoor tasting area.
Another wine glass shadow photo
Kaena makes very nice Grenache
After a great lunch at Industrial Eats (No photos) we drove out to D'Alfonso-Curran to see our old friend Bruno D'Alfonso.
Kelly and Lorri - my only photo at D-C. Okay, kick me. Next time I'll be more diligent with my photography.
Monday dinner was at Grappolo and surprisingly, I got a couple photos!
And that's it! It was a great trip with our great friends, Greg and Kelly. We only wish that Jan and Temp could have been with us. Next time, they will be, and next time I will take more photos. I promise.
<<<<<Previous Next>>>>>