Out and About: The Portside

Los Olivos and Solvang

Santa Barbara County

March 16, 2015

We've been fortunate to have The Man's Mom stop in for visits while earning and preserving her Premier Platinum status with United Airlines. During her visits we mostly hang out and enjoy the animals. Which is to say, we don't really do much of anything. We . . .  relax.

On a whim, we decided to drive south to Solvang for the day. Although The Man and I have been going to the Christmas Tree Burn at the Old Santa Inés Mission in Solvang, it's been many (many) moons since the three of us spent time visiting the Danish-styled town.

Tourists (with Tina)      circa mid-1980's

On the trip south we detoured to the pretty town of Los Olivos to say howdy to our friend Lauren at the Daniel Gehrs Wines Tasting Room.

We had not intended to do any wine tasting during our visit, we just wanted to catch up with Lauren. Such a cute tasting room and beautiful outdoor courtyard; Lauren gave us a tour and then invited us to sample a glass of Port wine . . . with chocolate chip wafers.

How to describe Port, the delicious fortified wine?

One word: Yum. 

Two words: Yum Yum.

After our fun visit with Lauren, we hit the streets of Los Olivos.

 The Grange Hall - it doubles as the Public Library on Saturdays from 10 am-1 pm.

The magical J. Woeste in Los Olivos: the former home of my red begonia potted plant. That is, I'm talking about my still-alive-and-still-pretty-but-not-as-beautiful-as-when-I-first-received-it-from-Al-and-Anda (Lauren's family) 'Barkos' Begonia.

There was so much to see in this incredible place. And since we decided to sit in a giant red chair, I thought it fitting to "transform y(our) world into a live cartoon" (ToonCamera app).

Eventually we did make our way down to Solvang. We briefly browsed a few of the same shops we visited thirty years ago. (Sadly, no photo op cutouts.) We ate a Danish Smorgasbord lunch at the Red Viking Restaurant; I even tried the pickled herring and pickled herring cauliflower with curry mayo (now I can cross Smørgåsbord off my bucket list).

Next time we'll skip Solvang.

Instead we'll spend the day in Los Olivos: revisit J. Woeste's Home and Garden Treasures, savor Port wine, eat chocolate, and spend slow time with family and friends.

Lauren, fortified with Brandy  1/30/15

TGIF

Our friends from Hawaii, John and Kyle, were visiting their kids in Santa Cruz so we did a meet up on Friday at Monterey's (old) Fisherman's Wharf for lunch.  It was an easy 2-hour drive for us.  We enjoyed our delicious meal at Rappa's - the last restaurant at the end of the pier.  But mostly we enjoyed seeing our friends again and catching up.

 

Landscaping with Protea

Omiyage from SLO

I made a Brambles Beret for Kyle.  I used Cascade 220, colorway "Olive Heather".  I hesitate using non-superwash yarn for folks in Hawaii because generally we are not wool-savvy.  Once, I found a doll-sized hat I made for my brother sitting on top of the dryer.  But I think Kyle understands felting and shrinkage.  Besides she is knit-worthy and I can always make her another hat.  In superwash yarn.

*Superwash wool is a special wool product that has been treated or processed in a way that allows it to be machine washable.

Wine Whines

We live in wine country.  Wikipedia says, "San Luis Obispo County is the third largest producer of wine in California, surpassed only by Sonoma and Napa Counties".  Paso Robles to the north, Edna Valley to the south, and all points in between.  It's a requirement for residents to drink wine. 

The Man and I have been drinking cheap inexpensive wine occasionally with dinner. We offer the better stuff to guests, usually gifted wine from more knowledgeable people.  Before the holidays we made a visit to Trader Joe's and picked up several Charles Shaw wines, Two-Buck Chuck, for $1.99 per bottle.  What a deal.

Last night we had the Two-Buck Chuck Cabernet Sauvignon with leftover McClintock's pork and beef ribs.  (The Man went to SLO Farmer's Market the night before.)  It wasn't bad and my usual 1/2 glass of wine was refilled while we ate chocolate for dessert.  I woke at 1:30 am.  Heartburn.  Two fruity TUMS and back to bed.  Wine and TUMS, a most unusual pairing.

~ ~

The Man's sister brought a special wine suitcase to carry her Central Coast wine haul back to Denver.  We made a trip to Costco where she found a very good selection of local wines.  She narrowed her long list of Paso wineries down to two that she wanted to visit.  Both places were busy with out-of-town visitors.  I followed her lead and tried the wines she wanted to taste.  One special reserve had a most unique aroma: full bodied, robust, with just a hint of bleach.  The wine glasses were not rinsed out well.  We left; she didn't buy anything there.