Boardwalk at Moonstone Beach, Cambria, Californa

In the last few weeks, I haven’t been doing a whole lot of writing here.

Instead, I’ve been writing a novel.

Y’know, like one does.

But for the Thanksgiving holiday I’ll be traveling again: Adam and I are heading up to Central California to go cove exploring, wine tasting and beachcombing in Morro Bay, Paso Robles and Cambria.

Y’know, like two do.

The novel is a project I first started back in 1998 and have been skillfully avoiding ever since. Novel-writing has been to me what air travel is to the flying-phobic. However, since they don’t make Xanax for novelists, I’ve just had to duck, dodge, weave and finally just choose the right time in my life to get started.

Apparently, the right time is now.

Set in a fictional version of the Age of Exploration, my book-in-process is a Young Adult tale of a witty young princess who feels she’s been born to the wrong family. She’s happiest having adventures with her science-geek best friend, who is unrequitedly in love with her. When our heroine is faced with a potentially disastrous arranged marriage, she and her pal stow away onboard a ship taking a trip ’round a fantasy version of the world; by the time this eye-opening journey is over, she discovers that she wants to be a leader, in her own right.

I figure a trilogy ought to do it, but let’s start with the one book, shall we?

I’m grateful that I can actually string together paragraphs of fiction, after not testing this theory since about, oh, the second Clinton Administration. 

In addition to noveling, I’ll soon be sporting a site re-design here at Travels With Two, as well as debuting a new website altogether: Have Snark, Will Travel will feature comedic photos and micro-stories from around the world.

I’m grateful that my chosen domain name wasn’t taken. I’m also grateful to have found a helpful, communicative coder/designer.

But not so grateful that I’m unwilling to take a break from the computer for a few days.

On Thanksgiving morning, we’ll climb in the car and drive four hours north. We’ll stay at The Fogcatcher Inn right on Moonstone Beach and have a hopefully delightful four-course dinner at the Cass House in nearby Cayucos. Then we’ll spend the weekend trolling around the rocky shores of Morro Bay, the wine tasting rooms of Paso Robles, the elephant seal breeding grounds at Piedras Blancas, and the sweet little village of Cambria itself.

Aside from the weekend to come, it”ll be nice to be back in Los Angeles for a good long while. It feels like about half of this year has been spent away from home and/or each other; just lately, I’ve been in Arizona and Maryland for 10 days combined…and that’s just lately.

In the weeks to come, keep an eye out for:

-the kick-off of the 4th annual Passports with Purpose
-a link to my radio interview by travel guru Peter Greenberg
-tales of resorts in sunny Arizona
-a layover plan for Sydney, Australia
-a visit to a seaside inn in central Belize
-the surprising foodie scene in Tijuana, Mexico
-further explorations in Taiwan
-and of course…more

For now, I wish you all a happy holiday of togetherness, tryptophan and travel, wherever it may be!

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See also
Central California: Cambria
A Dog-Friendly Stay by the Cambria Shore
Weird House of Cambria: Nitt Witt Ridge
Central California: Paso Robles
A Weekend of Wine in Paso Robles
Central California: Morro Bay
Central California: San Simeon
TWT Travel Binder: California

Travels With Two

Ojai's Topa Topa Mountains

After a recent weekend in the small Southern California town of Ojai, I was excited to learn that the area’s long been a shooting location for Hollywood movies.

Maybe the film crews come for the soaring mountains, the almost-endless valleys, the acres of orange groves, the gurgling streams, the antique trains, the soft, dreamy color palette, the peace and quiet…or all of the above.

Just outside of town, wind your way north up the 33. As the Topa Topas grow higher and closer, you’ll find yourselves in hiking and waterfall country. A rushing creek burbles over smooth stones between jagged canyon walls that bake in glittering sun or cool off in the fringed shade of pepper trees and dry-brush natives; the Old West landscape here inspired D.W. Griffith in 1915 for his silent/racist epic, Birth of a Nation. Up here we were excited to discover plenty of alone time and the dramatic Rose Falls, a spectacular 300-foot waterfall that, in late February, rushed straight and strong off of snow-capped mountains.

Rose Valley and Rose Falls, above Ojai off the 33 heading north

Back down on Main Street, the creation of one of Ojai’s founding fathers, glass magnate Edward Libbey, you can escape the rush of the big city along a 1917 porticoed shopping arcade, a period post office and movie theater, and a sprawling park built around an ornate fountain. A few blocks away, the 2010 movie Easy A was shot at Ojai’s Spanish-style Nordhoff High School; the German “Nordhoff” was Ojai’s original name, changed during World War II in a stroke of pro-American public relations.

In and around Ojai's downtown

For a less architectural view, take a left off Main venture up to Meditation Mount (10340 Reeves Road). Here amongst the wild rabbits and purple cacti, take a deep breath as fluffy clouds drift by the rocky peaks, casting shadows on the rolling orchard hills. The Mount stood in for Shangri-La in 1937′s Lost Horizon, and since 1971 has been home to a spiritual center and meandering hilltop garden.

Meditation Mount

Most recently, the Ojai Valley and the nearby town of Fillmore were locations for the upcoming movie Water for Elephants. In a daring leap of cross-Waldman promotion, I’m pleased to mention that the national poster campaign for this movie was created by Adam’s company, The Refinery.

The circus drama, based on a bestseller by Sara Gruen, is set largely on a Depression-era train provided by the Fillmore & Western Railway Co. The Railway’s collection of antique trains, depots and props have made appearances in many movies (e.g., Inception and Unstoppable), but the company also specializes in scenic jaunts between the small Ojai-adjacent towns of Fillmore and Santa Paula.

Our experience with the Murder Mystery Dinner Theater was, sadly, less than romantic. The actors in our western-themed evening were pretty hilarious, but after a while, we felt our faces straining with the effort of smiling at energetically-encouraged audience participation. For the three-hour evening, we were seated at a table with slightly humorless strangers, and found the three-course meat-and-potatoes meal largely inedible; we had higher hopes for an event that costs about $90 per person. We loved the train itself and its vintage 1930s details, though, and were left wishing that we’d at least had a chance to see some scenery out of the windows.

Fillmore and Western Railway Co.'s Stargazer Express and the train depot in Santa Paula

You might want to instead try a daytime, weekend excursion; you could sit side-by-side and watch the countryside unfold, then poke around Santa Paula’s historic downtown ($24 US per adult). Once back at the depot in Fillmore, right across the train tracks you’ll find the Geissinger Winery tasting room in an old converted warehouse.

Back in the heart of Ojai, fields of fruit trees, farm houses and brushy native plants are surrounded by the huge, slanted peaks of the Topa Topas; just about every day at sunset, the light hits the mountains just so…and creates a glowing, romantic phenomenon known as the Pink Moment.

A Pink Moment in the Topatopa Mountains, an Ojai sunset phenomenon

Some folks feel this is the greatest show in town and make a regular event of toasting it with locally-made rosés and cocktails of the same name. The Pink Moment and the whole Ojai area are just waiting to be savored — and seen.

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See also
Indulge in a Bit of Ojai
The Ojai Valley

Travels With Two

The namesake of Ojai's Emerald Iguana Inn

We truly love the small Southern California town of Ojai, a good 1 ½-hour drive from our home in L.A. For almost two decades, we’ve gone there for day trips to enjoy the scenic valleys, the small-town feel of the main drag and the best farmer’s market in Ventura County.

But now we’ve finally spent the whole weekend, only to learn that all this time, Ojai has been a lovely, peaceful place to wake up in the morning…and stuff our faces all day and night.

Just recently, we were guests of the Emerald Iguana Inn, a couples-oriented  boutique lodging set in a quiet, residential neighborhood a few blocks off Ojai’s Main Street. The Art Nouveau-style buildings here, set amongst lush, frondy grounds, are a mix of Gaudí, historic California tile and the creative efforts of many local artists; the inn itself, as well as the nearby (and more child- and pet-friendly) Blue Iguana Inn, was designed by local architect Marc Whitman, who specializes in flights of fantasy.

The Emerald’s Acorn Room was ours for two cozy nights during a late-February weekend when it not only rained, but actually snowed. (Sure, it only stuck to the grass and not the street, but still…snow’s a pretty freakish occurrence ’round these parts.) Sadly, we didn’t have much occasion to use our enclosed garden patio, but on warmer days? This would be a beautiful place to relax with a book and a little music.

Rooms here are large with few straight edges, and feature wood-style gas stoves and full kitchens; our bed was as dreamy-soft as the water pressure was strong. The one drawback to a room with shared walls: we were, um, privy to just how much our neighbors were enjoying their weekend. For those of you with keen hearing, know that the inn offers several stand-alone rooms and even a separate vacation bungalow, just 10 minutes outside of town.

Emerald Iguana Inn: our bed in the Acorn Room and the artsy, frondy grounds

The complimentary cold-buffet breakfast served beside the inn’s inviting, palm-fringed pool is certainly serviceable, but you might also want to venture out for provisions. On Sunday mornings, 9am to 1pm, you can eat your way around the Ojai Certified Farmers’ Market, where the entire town seems to gather to visit and buy everything from meats to eggs to gluten-free breads, as well as stunning produce, flowers and handmade crafts.

Or, glory in the splendid bakery case at the nearby Ojai Café Emporium, a mere block from the sexy wares of the Knead Baking Company; while Knead has a lock on presentation, for tasty breakfast treats I veer toward the Emporium in terms of both price and oh-wow-that’s-good factor.

Because of its Main Street proximity, its bright and cozy interior and the parade of local dogs and owners outside, we wanted to love the cappuccino at the Ojai Coffee Roasting Co., but because it was heavy on the milk and very light on espresso…we didn’t.

Treats at Knead Bakery, menu at Ojai Coffee Roasting Co. and bakery case at Ojai Cafe Emporium

My vote for best coffee in town will take you to the nearby community of Meiners Oaks, for a dark, spicy, elegant Mayan Mocha at the Coffee Connection, a beloved local watering hole with a tiny little patio out back.

Nearby, you’ll find the main drag in Meiners Oaks, once the largest oak grove in California and area-famous for being the home of the Krishnamurti Foundation and its idyllic Pepper Tree Retreat. Here, you’ll find a handful of local businesses, a canopy of fine old oaks and pepper trees, and an organic vegan/vegetarian Mexican eatery called The Farmer and the Cook. Run by a husband-wife team of a farmer and a…cook, the menu and scene here is enormously popular with Ojai’s crunchier residents. The front patio has a ring-side seat to all kinds of overalls, bandanna and hackeysack action, and the bakery case has offerings for the gluten-and cane sugar-challenged.

The funky vibe in Meiners Oaks includes organic foods and gorgeous coffee

Nearby, you’ll find another delicious meal at The Ranch House. Opened as a one-room operation in the ’30s and discovered by Hollywood celebrities back in the early ’60s, this quiet, meandering sprawl of patios set beside a fruit and herb garden has made few leaps in cuisine since then; instead, they focus on big, pretty and hearty meals served beside a bamboo-rimmed koi pond and trickling waterfall. At Sunday brunch, we were impressed by the fresh-juice mimosas and friendly service, and especially loved the sausage-and-peppers and the whole-grain “atomic” muffins. Their tasty breads are made in-house, and you can pick up loaves to go at a tiny little bakery door out front.

The Ranch House

For the most elegant, romantic dinners in town, head to the seasonally-focused Suzanne’s Cuisine. Set a little back from Main Street in a fairy-lit Craftsman bungalow since 1992, the food here has been lovingly designed to marry the produce and Asian influences of California with the French and Italian recipes gathered in Europe by chef Suzanne Roll. The menu is huge, you’ll hear Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett on the stereo, and even with a crowd, the dining rooms are quiet enough for conversation. For chillier nights, there are heat lamps on the patio and a fireplace by the garden, a snapshot of California planting.

The cocktail list is big and exciting and the wine list is a trip around most of the neighboring valleys; pair a little of both with the nightly specials, which could be a rich, earthy soup with nine varieties of mushrooms or a light, soft butterfish with pale green tobiko caviar. Roll now shares her restaurant with her daughter and divides her time between Ojai and Culver City, but her focus clearly remains in her kitchen.

Everything at Suzanne's Cuisine is delicious, from cocktails to dessert

For local wine and a sense of the various microclimates in the Ojai area, head to Montgomery Street and visit The Ojai Vineyard‘s tasting room; the winery purchases their grapes by the acre, so each wine reflects an extremely specific and local character. We purchased two bottles of the un-oaked ’07 Solomon Hills Chardonnay, which allowed us to waive the $15 (!) tasting fee.

The Ojai Vineyard's downtown tasting room

If the wine doesn’t entirely remove the big-city stress from your muscles and bones, hand yourself over to the staff at The Day Spa of Ojai. Set in an old stone house off the northern end of Main Street, this funky, trippy haven of relaxation features a little Nordic sauna shaped like a barrel and a series of meditative sitting areas in a big backyard; you can request a couples’ massage out here in a covered cabaña. The digs here aren’t as fancy as the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa‘s on the southern end of town, but you’ll leave smiling, feeling cared-for and rejuvenated…with a bit more money left in your pocket.

The Day Spa of Ojai

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See also
Picturing Ojai
The Ojai Valley

Travels With Two

Whoowhee, but we love us some central California…especially its wine valleys.

Happy for us, then, that Sunset Magazine is soon sponsoring a four-day event on a ranch in San Luis Obispo County to celebrate the tastes and vintages of the entire region.

Sunset‘s festival, called Savor the Central Coast, will be held September 30-October 2, 2010 in and around San Luis Obispo (about 3 hours north of Los Angeles or south of San Francisco).

The festival’s main events will be held Saturday and Sunday on the Santa Margarita Ranch’s 13,900 acres of grazing land and vineyards. Sunset will have a demonstration kitchen and cook’s garden and offer seminars on farmers’ market shopping and cooking with local chefs.

In case you’re both eager for some day-tripping in your weekend, there will also be tours of abalone, oyster, organic produce, olive oil and cattle farms. There’s also a chance to visit a goat dairy (and here, a small tear of joy runs down my cheek as I type) to learn how to make cheese.

On Friday night, there are two special events: a pairing of San Luis Obispo’s best food and wine in the city’s downtown, and Sunset‘s Western Wine Awards. Saturday night, there are about seven (quickly selling out) Winemaker Dinners from which to choose.

However, the most romantic event of the STCC promises to be a showdown between Saturday’s Paso Glow, when City Park in downtown Paso Robles will be fairy-lit for a food and wine celebration; and Sunday’s end-of-festival dinner on the beach, accompanied by Chris Isaak and a sky full of fireworks.

STCC is a chance for the farmers, chefs and vintners from all around the county to show that Napa and Sonoma aren’t the only game in the state. Take a break from city living to enjoy the Pacific, rolling golden hills, gnarled oaks, clean air, peace, quiet…

…and, did I mention that there’ll be wine?

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PRICES: Thursday’s opening event is $25. Friday’s events are $125-185. Saturday and Sunday day passes to the Ranch are $85-$150. Seminars cost $15, tours $50. Each of Saturday night’s events cost $125, and Sunday’s beach dinner will be $85-$185. (All prices per person, not per couple)

TICKETS: Purchase tickets through the festival’s website: Savor the Central Coast

STAY: Cozy, hot-tub-tastic Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort, one of our favorite spots in the area, is offering a special STCC package.

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Resources

Central California: The San Luis Obispo Area
Central California: Paso Robles
A Weekend of Wine in Paso Robles
Central California: Pismo & Avila Beaches
Central California: Morro Bay
TWT Travel Binder: California

Travels With Two

View from Firestone Winery - Photo by Minuk

About 20 minutes up above Santa Barbara, the Santa Maria Wine Valley is peppered with gorgeous driving, great food and sweet little places to shop.

And if you’re into wine? Boy, are you two in for a treat.

The most scenic route to the Santa Maria Wine Valley:

From downtown Santa Barbara, take State Street north to signs for the 154
Hop on the 154 heading up into the hills, past gorgeous Lake Cachuma
Go 17 miles
Follow signs for Los Olivos on your left

Los Olivos, the valley’s main town, has a downtown that’s two blocks long and a block wide on either side, with artist’s studio showrooms, gift boutiques and antique shops, and a Western-wear store that’s been here for ages.

For a home base up here, try the Fess Parker Wine Country Inn & Spa. With a new outpost of our Manhattan Beach favorite, Petros, as the onsite restaurant, and a few romantic spa packages to choose from,  you both (as well as the recently deceased proprietor) could rest in peace.

Across the street, Los Olivos Cafe & Wine Merchant uses locally-farmed produce and boasts a great wine shop. Here you’ll find offerings from excellent independent wineries that can be hard to find outside restaurants menus. I’d recommend Qupé, Fiddlehead, Tantara, and Addamo.

Someday we plan to eat at Brothers’ Restaurant at Mattei’s Tavern. A former stagecoach stop along the Camino Real, this romantic clapboard building is evocative of the Old West. Every time we drive by, I think, “Okay, next time — seriously.”

If a simple picnic’s more your speed, stock up at the Los Olivos Grocery.

Once you’ve had your fill of town, head over to the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail.

1/4 mile past Los Olivos, turn right off the 154 onto Foxen Canyon. Spread out along a couple miles’ worth of loping drive dotted with cows and gnarled trees amongst golden grass are our favorite area wineries:

Koehler
Friendly tasting room with beautiful syrahs and an adjacent picnic area overlooking a small hill and creek.

Zaca Mesa
Come here for a daytime party atmosphere on weekends. They specialize in unusual, tasty whites and have an absolutely huge outdoor chess board to play with…when said whites kick in.

Foxen
The tasting room is a small tin shed, but the real action’s out at the valley-view patio’s two tasting stations. We’ve never been here without a small crowd, but have also never gone without seats if we wanted them. Long respected for their chardonnay and pinot noir, in recent years they’ve begun creating gorgeous, French-varietal red blends for around $30 a bottle; each one is a work of art.

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See related posts

Central California: The Santa Ynez Wine Valley
Romancing the Old West: Alisal Guest Ranch
Central California: Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara’s Urban Wine Trail
A Santa Barbara “ReTweet”…I Mean, Retreat
Lean Times for Luxury?
The Best of Central California

Travels With Two

View from the tasting room at Lafond Winery, Buellton, California

In the Santa Ynez Wine Valley, 40 minutes north of  Santa Barbara in Central California, the game plan is easy:

Pick up two wine glasses, gaze up at a windmill and head off down a garden path.

To reach the Santa Ynez from Santa Barbara, head north on the 101 and take the exit for Solvang.

Solvang, or “sunny field” in Danish, looks like a Disney interpretation of Denmark – but was in fact started by Lutheran Danes back in 1911 as a place to quietly practice their religion and celebrate the architecture (windmills) and treats (waffle cookies) of home.

Even before gaining fame as the location for the movie Sideways, Solvang was crowded, kitschy, and full of people dressed like they’re going to an amusement park. There’s a big Thomas Kinkade Gallery and shops selling nothing but Christmas swag all year round. But for all its endearing tackiness, it’s worth an oenological stop.

There are some excellent winery tasting rooms right in downtown Solvang.

After a recent visit, I suggest:

At the D'Alfonso-Curran Tasting Room

Presidio
This fully biodynamic winery in actually located in the nearby (but much cooler) Santa Rita Hills AVA. Winemaker Doug Braun specializes in pinot noir, chardonnay and syrah, and he’s passionate about the Demeter-certified, cyclical system of farming he’s been practicing at Presidio since 1991. The care he takes shows in the product: I was impressed with the the dry, crisp 2008 Presidio Estate Rosé and the hint of sweetness in the 2008 Alisos Vineyard Gewürtztraminer. The tasting room has a full array of picnic snacks for sale, in case you live not by wine alone. (1603 Copenhagen Drive #1, corner of Mission Drive & Atterdag Street, (805) 693-8585)

D’Alfonso-Curran Wines
The tasting room collaboration of husband and wife team Kris Curran and Bruno D’Alfonso. Both are Santa Maria Valley winemaking stars: D’Alfonso was long the head winemaker at Sanford, and Kris worked as head winemaker at Koehler before developing many of the legendary pinot noirs at Sea Smoke.D’Alfonso now creates wines under two of his own labels, DiBruno (specializing in Italian varietals) and pinot-focused BADGE. Kris (now also a winemaker at Foley) has her own eponymous label, Curran; I took home her bold 2005 Reeves’ Ranches Syrah.The couple is always accompanied by their four gentle German Shepherds; you’ll often find the dogs curled up in different corners of the tasting room, or wandering over to say hello. (1557 Mission Drive, (805) 688-3494)

Heading west out of town towards Buellton, some of the most popular area wineries are along Route 246.

Our favorite tasting rooms here are:

The tasting room courtyard at Alma Rosa

Alma Rosa
In an isolated spot at the top of a long dusty driveway, this tasting room is little more than an airy shack. But, the happy creation of a married couple, this winery makes delicate pinot noirs and an excellent, buttery chardonnay. Mostly, it’s a lovely spot with a perfect little fountain courtyard (pictured here), a great big fat cat, and friendly staff.

Melville
Greg Brewer of nearby Brewer-Clifton is also the vintner at this big Mediterranean villa, where the focus is on pinot noir. Melville’s 2008 Pinot Noir is comparable to one you’d find in Oregon’s North Willamette, with just a hint of fruit and a soft finish.

Our least favorite:

Sanford
They have excellent wines (that are easy to find in stores and restaurants) and a setting worthy of Argentina’s fabled Mendoza trail, but we find the staff here cold and dismissive…even to each other.

The wine cave at Sunstone

Elsewhere in the area, be sure to try:

Buttonwood Farm
Both their red and white wines are simple and ready to drink, and the secondary attraction is the gorgeous flower and herb garden out back. With a glass of wine in hand, while away some time looking at the flowers and not having to be anywhere else.

Sunstone
We think this is the most beautiful winery in Santa Barbara County. Set at the top of a hilly road in an old stone house with a big open porch, it’s surrounded by an acre of prime picnic land; their white wines are the stars. While here, ask to see the wine cave.

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Beat the crowds:
For maximum elbow room at area wineries, try tasting between 11-noon and 3-4 pm .

Where to stay:
From May to September, The Ballard Inn & Restaurant, a small country inn on a quiet street with friendly staff, a cozy porch and delicious food in a very small, romantic dining room.

From September to May (when it’s not fully booked), the Alisal Guest Ranch, an idyllic country getaway snuggled into 10,000-acres of fields, creeks and rolling hills.

Where to eat:
Besides the Ballard, check out The Hitching Post II for dinners of heavenly BBQ and local wines, and Root 246 for creative, (almost entirely) locally-sourced cuisine.

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See related posts

Romancing the Old West: Alisal Guest Ranch
Central California: The Santa Maria Wine Valley
Santa Barbara’s Urban Wine Trail
Central California: Santa Barbara
A Santa Barbara “ReTweet”…I Mean, Retreat
Lean Times for Luxury?
The Best of Central California

Travels With Two

* I was a sponsored guest of Alisal Guest Ranch, but all opinions are my own

Last week in Central California, I went back a-ways in time, to the Alisal Guest Ranch‘s slow, green and peaceful slice of the Old West.

At this working ranch/rustic chic resort, you can ride horses over rolling hills as as golden light settles on the lake, sip hand-crafted wines beneath a sky full of stars, and sway to some cowboy poetry. It’s a lovely place to rediscover some frontier history… and each other.

For about six sunny months of the year, Alisal is the Catskills of the West, or as I like to call it, Dirty Square Dancing.

Since the ranch added a resort back in 1946, many of the same families have been spending their extended summers here and — beyond some bathroom updates and the recent addition of a small spa — want Alisal to stay as it’s always been: a comfortable place to stay by a crackling fire, eat locally-sourced cuisine and play on a 10,000-acre working cattle ranch.

However, thanks to these loyal families, it’s nearly impossible to find a room here from May to September.

The good news is, before Memorial Day, there’s plenty of room to stretch out by the pool, learn how to ride Western, book a signature spa treatment, play tennis or golf, go fishing by the lake, or just roam aimlessly through the lilacs and wildflowers. And soon after Labor Day, it’s harvest time in the surrounding Santa Ynez and Santa Maria wine valleys. Weather permitting at any time of year, the resort can arrange for walking tours to local wine tasting rooms in the adjacent town of Solvang (a Danish homage replete with windmills and waffle cookies), or you can borrow a couple of bikes and explore on your own. Don’t miss a stellar barbecue with tender grass-fed steak, the sweetest beets you’ve ever had, and fresh-baked jalapeño-corn muffins.

During the offseason, Alisal offers two ideal packages for couples:

Wine & Roses includes daily breakfast and dinner, all activities on the ranch and a couples massage, as well as lots of goodies and wine (like, for instance, the Alisal’s smoky and gorgeous house pinot noir.) The three-day, two-night package is available September 2010-May 2011, midweek and weekends. ($1,850-$2,150 per couple)

Couples Bootcamp, held October 14-17, 2010, provides an all-inclusive pass to the best of Alisal. All meals and activities are included, like lakeside and winemaker dinners, fly-fishing and two-step lessons, a moonlight hay ride and more. ($2,750 per couple)

The latter specifically includes my hands-down favorite activity at the ranch, a morning ride to the Old Adobe. You’ll each be matched with one of the ranch’s 100 quarter horses — like the infamous and barrel-shaped  Lil’ Moe, who affects an impressive yoga-bend for grass snacks — and led by guides on rolling trails over creeks and through groves of enormous sycamores. (“Alisal” means sycamore in native Chumash.) It’s an hour in and back to a re-created 1930s clay adobe house chock full of stuffed game and antiques; while seated outside before a groaning flapjack breakfast, you’ll be entertained by a softly singing cowboy and the tale of how the Alisal Ranch and the Old Adobe came to be.

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GETTING TO ALISAL:

By car: Alisal is halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, about a three-hour drive from either.

By train: From as far south as San Diego, Alisal can be reached by Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner, which stops nearby; north of San Luis Obispo, connections can be made with the San Joaquin route.

By plane: Nearby, there are two commercial airports. The closest is Santa Maria (SMX), with daily United Express connections from LAX. The other is about 40 minutes away in Santa Barbara (SBA), with United, American and Delta connections from L.A., San Francisco, Phoenix, Seattle and more.

Travels With Two

Santa Ynez Valley - Photo by Renee Nichols

True, we live in Los Angeles, but this week is about experiencing two wholly different versions of California:

A ranch resort in the Santa Barbara wine country and a garden cottage in Marin County.

Today I’m off on a brief press trip as the guest of my dear friend Ann Shepphird, editor of Association News and writer of the blog Gardens to Tables. The magazine allows her to indulge her great love for hotels, while her blog allows her to dig deep into her love for all things gardenesque. GTT’s Travel section is a fantastic resource for hotel gardens, local farmer’s markets, garden tours and more (btw: you’ll see a few of my posts there).

Ann has invited me along to the Alisal Guest Ranch in the central California town of Solvang, set in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley about 40 minutes above Santa Barbara. It’s about a three-hour drive from Los Angeles, which will finally give busy Ann and I enough time to finally start and finish a whole conversation.

While at Alisal, we’ll hike around the miles of trails, gnaw on some barbecue, try local wines at downtown tasting rooms, and go for a morning horseback ride followed by a flapjack breakfast.

I’m pretty darn excited to get into the saddle for the first time since I was twelve years old, and to try some wines that are (despite my gajillion visits to the area) wholly new to me. I plan on not combining horseback riding and wine drinking…but you never know.

Santa Ynez grapes and the Alisal Guest Ranch

On Thursday, I’m home for one day to clean the house, water plants and convince Toby the Corgi that he’s still loved before handing him off to a friend for the weekend. On Friday morning, Adam and I will take an hour’s flight to Oakland, climb into an SUV with his mom and stepdad, and drive about an hour to Inverness, a sleepy little bayside community in Northern California’s Marin County.

In Inverness, Adam and I will be staying in the one-bedroom Secret Garden Cottage, which is owned and run by my dear friend Amy’s aunt and uncle. We once treated Adam’s folks to a stay here, and they enjoyed it so much that they’ve done the same for us.

From L: Secret Garden Cottage (Visit Marin); our visit to the Point Reyes Seashore; wild irises (Turning Toward the Light)

It’s wild iris season up there just now, so we’ll all be frolicking in some fleurs as well as indulging in some local oysters and Cowgirl Creamery cheese. There are miles of windswept seashore to explore, and many deep breaths to be taken.

Should be a darn good week — come follow my adventures on Facebook and Twitter!

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Travels With Two