We left San Diego and headed for Santa Barbara on February 18. “We”, being Jack and Lorri, and Greg and Kelly. Unfortunately, Temp and Jan couldn’t join us due to illness. And this was supposed to be Temp’s trip! Troopers that we are, we made the most of it!
First Stop: Santa Barbara
Our Santa Barbara hotel was called the Riviera Beach Hotel and was situated in a great location on State Street. On one side there were the railroad tracks. If you crossed the street, you entered the “Funk Zone” an area full of boutique shops, restaurants, breweries, and wineries! Our kind of place! A short walk south takes you to the ocean and pier. Go north and you are in the central tourist area, where the main action is on State Street.
Our hotel!
The recent rainstorms transformed the countryside from tan and buff to green and greener! Almost like Ireland except we don’t have many castle ruins or Blarney Stones.
Below is a view of the Pier and on the right, the sign signifying you’re getting close to a guinness!
On the Way to Paso Robles
Tin City
We left Santa Barbara and met up again in Tin City, an area just south of Paso Robles that has gone from an industrial park to a wine and food mecca. We had lunch at Etto, an Italian restaurant and gourmet food shop.
We’ve always enjoyed going to Paso and staying in the downtown area. There is a relaxing small-town vibe, with a town square, plenty of shops, restaurants, and tasting rooms. Over the years it’s gotten a little more expensive, a little more commercial, but mostly it has stayed the same friendly place to visit.
Here we are at Adelaida on Saturday morning. Our tasting was indoors by the fireplace because it was still chilly outside. But the sun was out, it was warming up, and the day was young!
After Adelaida we zipped down the road to Parrish Family Winery where they make excellent wines but are justly famous for their gourmet BLT sandwiches! That’s the winery above and the view from our lunch table below.
