Bridlewood Winery
As I’ve probably mentioned a couple times, I was recently vacationing in Santa Barbara. It was a short one though, 4 days in all but I wish I could have made it just a couple days longer. I was there for a wedding, the marriage of two amazing people I know (the groom especially with his stylish collection of hats) and they really made everyone feel at home. Yes, you two are WONDERFUL. From the welcoming party to the wedding and reception on the beach, the wine tour, and the beachside BBQ…it was definitely one of the best vacations I’ve ever been on. Truth!
I mean, seriously, when every day looks like this, how can you be unhappy?
Santa Barbara, by the East beach
I even ran a couple mornings. I never run. I hate running. Yet I felt oddly at ease just jogging down the beach path. And you know what? I enjoyed it…a lot!
Santa Barbara from Stearns Wharf
Santa Barbara from Stearns Wharf
Stearn’s Wharf
I arrived at about 10am local time (after being up at 4am EST to catch the flight) and then spent the rest of the day wandering the beach and then down to State Street. I think I ended up with 5 meals total (it was a long day). I got to catch the sights at Stearn’s Wharf (and observe a seal napping in someone’s boat) and then walked up State Street a ways (stopped in a board game store while I was at it) before ending the night at the welcome party. By the way, Firestone Brewery serves up some amazing beer, the Firestone DBA being my favorite (I ordered something else to start and then after watching about 20 DBA’s get poured in a row, decided I’d be the 21st). Also enjoyed some fine meals around the area, I’ll post about this next time.
The day after the wedding, we were all loaded up onto a bus headed for the Santa Ynez Valley, as the newlywed couple put it, “The Sideways inspired wine tour” (I loaned them the DVD by the way…gotta take credit wherever I can =P ). We ended up at Gainey Winery, Bridlewood, and then finally a town I can’t seem to remember that well (Los Olivos maybe?). The highlights definitely were the Gainey Riesling, the Bridlewood Blue Roan Syrah, and the cries of anguish/agony as the bus drove past Firestone Brewery on the way back.
Gainey Vineyard
Bridlewood Vineyard
Bridlewood Vineyard
Last but not least, the Ledbetter beach BBQ. Festivities started at 10am and closed at 6pm…making this pretty much a full day of work for everyone involved. And I can’t forget kudos to the newlyweds for setting this all up and managing not to go insane in the process! The California tri-tip highlighted a great day of BBQ and fun!
