Vacation Part Deux

Well, Sarah and I are in LAX and waiting to get on our Air France flight to Papeete, Tahiti. It has been a nice day with some wine tasting, some beautiful stretched of highway, etc.

We visited the Andrew Murray vineyards tasting room (he was mentioned in Sideways and we share a last name, what can I say). He wines were very nice.

From there we stopped into an Olive Oil tasting room. I had never done an olive oil tasting, so we gave it a spin. We tried 4 different kinds of extra virgin olive oil and 5 kinds of flavor infused olive oil. There were some really nice ones, and Sarah bought a six pack to send back home via her parents.

Next we visited the Rideau Vineyard/Winery just down the road. It was recommended in the Lonely Planet California guide book. It was ok, but they were all a little busy getting ready for a Christmas party that they are having tomorrow. There were a couple that we really liked despite the distracted pourers.

We then hit the road to get back to LA and our flight to Tahiti. We had enough time that I drove us back via the Pacific Coast Hwy. It is a very scenic stretch of highway that takes you along a vast stretch of beautiful beaches, including the Malibu area. We stopped along the way to watch some kite surfers. These guys were really moving fast! They used their huge chute/wing to catch the wind and rip across the ocean and surf at break neck speeds. We watched them for around 15 minutes and saw one guy who managed to really get a lot of air on more than one occasion. Very cool to watch.

By then it was time to start thinking about getting to the airport. We were really early, but the traffic was very heavy and we thought it best to not chance it. Anyway, we checked in and are sitting at the gate waiting for our flight.

I will attempt to make entries as wifi allows while we are in Tahiti. Hope to write again soon.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:World Way,Los Angeles,United States

Sideways - Day 2

Well we got up around 9a and took our time getting ready for a late breakfast at Pea Soup Andersen's in Buelton. I did have some split pea soup with my breakfast. It was very good. I recommend it with your next breakfast :)

From there we began our 2nd day of wine tasting through Sideways wine country. We started at the north end of Ballard Canyon Road and worked our way south toward Los Olivos and Solvang.

Ballard Canyon Road is incredibly picturesque with beautiful rolling hills in a smooth rolling valley just east of Los Olivos. Our 1st stop was at Rusack Winery and I think both Sarah and I were stunned at the flavors and the views. Not a bad wine in the entire flight of those that we tasted. I am definitely considering a membership in their wine club.

We then went east and stopped at Beckmen Vineyard. Another very nice tasting. A very modest tasting room and very nice pourer. He recommended Bridlewood which is just down the road from Beckmen. The wines were ok, but the grounds were amazing, so we stopped and had lunch and soaked in the view and sun.

From there we stopped at Blackjack, which was featured in the movie sideways. It was a nice tasting and a very good conversation with the pourer who was very knowledgable about everything from the horticulture to the crush to the art in creating the wines themselves.

Our final stop was at Kalyra just southeast of Solvang. This is the tasting room that Jack and Miles met up with Sandra Oh's character in Sideways. The wine was good, but at that point we were ready to rest up before dinner at the Hitching Post in Buelton.

After about 2 hours of resting up, we went to the Hitching Post and had an amazing meal. Sarah had quail and I had a filet mignon. We had a ridiculously delicious appetizer of chanterelle mushrooms in some sort of wine reduction. It was amazing.

That meal made me need a good 15 minute walk before settling in for the evening. Check out today's photos at Facebook. Tomorrow we head back to LA to catch our flight to Tahiti, so we may not have a posting. See you the next day for sure.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Copenhagen Dr,Solvang,United States

Sideways - Day 1

We began our day eating at the Solvang Restaurant. This is the same restaurant that Miles and Jack ate at their first morning in the movie. From their we made our way to a grocery store to pick up some picnic items for later. On the way to the store we stopped and took a gander at some Ostriches at the local farm. They look delicious.

We started at the Sanford winery and then drove over to Foxen Canyon Road. On Foxen Canyon Road we stopped at Rancho Sisquoc Winery, Foxen Winery, and Fess Parker Winery. They were all nice, but Sarah and I really liked Foxen. The tasting room is literally a shack on the side of the road. The wine was excellent. Foxen just built a new tasting room about 500 feet further down the road from the original shack, but they are keeping the shack open....it has too much character to get rid of, which makes me happy.

After Foxen, but before Fess Parker, we stopped on the side of the road and ate hummus, olives, cheese, pita bread, and salami....it was delicious after tasting wine for a couple of hours.

Fess Parker was the actor who played Davey Crocket in the Disney movies. He parlayed his fame into a nice winery. In the movie Sideways it was the scene where Miles had his melt down and drank from the wine "spittoons". The wine was fine, but there was a neighbor Jack Russel Terrior who is kind of the tasting room mascot. He found us and pretty much hung out with us during our tasting. It was all I could do to keep Sarah from buying a coon skin cap (just kidding).

We came back to the hotel and relaxed for a couple of hours before heading to dinner at the very nice Los Olivos Cafe'. The food was very nice. I had the pan seared duck and Sarah had the ravioli. We are both stuffed.

We are already looking forward to Sideways - day 2. Check out Facebook for photos of the Ostrich farm.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Copenhagen Dr,Solvang,United States

Presidential Library and Danish Country

We are both tired from traveling, but are feeling great about being on our vacation. Using Dollar Rent-a-car out of LAX is a bit of a hassle, but once we got on the road, we have had pretty smooth sailing.

We drove from LA to Simi Valley and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. We saw a portion of the Berlin Wall, Marine 1, and Air Force 1. It is the actual Air Force 1 used by all of the presidents from Ford through Bush 2. We were able to tour the inside which was quite an experience.

We toured an exact replica of the Oval Office as it was during Reagan's presidency. We also saw a miniature of the White House that is precisely scaled and is constantly updated to include the changes made during each presidency. It was fascinating looking through the window of the White House and seeing scaled versions of paintings and photographs that are on the wall of the actual White House.

From the Reagan Library we drove to Solvang and our hotel. We are both bushed, but got a dinner at a local cafe. Tomorrow we plan on packing a picnic lunch and heading out on the local wine trail. We have reservations at the Los Olivos Cafe (as seen in Sideways).

Check out our photos from today at Facebook. Below is our photo taken at the door of Air Force 1.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Copenhagen Dr,Solvang,United States

Vacation Bound

Sarah and I are on our 2nd great journey together. My last post concluded our wedding trip in the great American Southwest. This vacation will see us in Tahiti by way of Santa Barbara wine country.

From Anchorage we fly to LA (through Seattle). Once in LA we will be driving strait to Sideways country and a hotel in Solvang, CA. If you have seen the movie you know that we are going to have a great time.

This Friday we head back to LA and our plane to Tahiti. We will meet up with our friend Richard and spend a little over a week on the island of Mo'orea scuba diving, sunning ourselves, and generally relaxing.

Stay tuned! I will attempt to post daily and this time I should be able to include some photos.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Tower Rd,Anchorage,United States