An Overnight getaway to the coast

Mom came in town this week. It's been nice to have someone else around the house for a bit. Two weeks ago today is when I dropped Mike off :-( I'm making it through okay. This was good timing for her to come and visit though. I'm going to be in AZ in another 2-3 weeks for a bit.

Anywho, when Mom comes to visit we usually try to head down to Santa Barbara to visit her brother and his family. So that's just what we did. Yesterday morning we got up and headed south. But we didn't just drive straight there, we stopped a some wineries :-)

Stop #1: Niner Vineyards
Tasting Fee: $10, waived with 3 bottle purchase

I had been here once before and remember it being good. Mom had run into a wine distributor that told her if she was in the area she should stop here and try the Sangiovese. So that's what we did. We stopped and tasted one white and four reds. I remembered the wines being good, but it did not remember them being this good. Everything we tasted was nice and easy drinking, but could easily be paired with food for a slightly different flavor. 

We were the only ones in the tasting room at 10:45 am :-) and the gentleman that served us was really nice. We had a good time chatting, and he actually sent us in a different direction for the rest of our adventure. We had planned on hitting a few other wineries in Paso Robles, but he suggested we try Edna Valley which was another way to head south to Santa Barbara. So, after buying one of every bottle we tasted plus an additional Sangiovese, we headed to the Edna Valley.

Stop #2: Tolosa Winery

Tasting Fee: $8, waived with purchase

I liked this door.

Our first stop in the Edna Valley was to Tolosa. We had been informed that the Edna Valley dealt more in the white wines and Pinot Noir varietals of wine. Tolosa shown in those varietals. While I am not usually a fan of white wines I did enjoy one of the Chardonnays here. I purchased a bottle of their Syrah however because I enjoy drinking red wine. One of their Pinot Noir's was very good but it was about $50 a bottle, much more than I like to spend. I would recommend stopping in here if you are in the Edna Valley for wines. I would not put high praise in their customer service. Other than pouring our wine for us and telling the name, the woman behind the counter was not very friendly or talkative. 

Stop #3: Sextant Wine

Tasting Fee: $8, or $12 for reserves; tasting fee is not waived unless you purchase 12 bottles =0

We were starting get hungry and were unsure if we were going to stop at another winery or just get some lunch and move on to Santa Barbara. However, when we saw this cute little old barn we just had to stop. Mom and I enjoy wineries that have a smaller atmosphere, where you are more likely to talk to the person pouring your wine and learn a little about the winery, the wines, and the owners. We found that at Sextant. As with the other two stops we were the only ones in the tasting room. The gentleman that was pouring for us was a retiree who was doing this to pass the time during the day, and he just enjoyed wine and chatting with people. Sextant has a nautical motif (Mom and I didn't know what a sextant was; in case you don't know either it is the way in which they navigated and charted on the seas in the old days). 

We very much enjoyed that atmosphere at Sextant. We also enjoyed many of their wines. Since we had two people tasting we paid for one "Main Deck" ($8) and one "Upper Deck" ($12) tasting and shared. From the Main Deck flight we purchased a bottle of the 10knots Chardonnay and Wheelhouse Zinfandel. From the Upper Deck flight we purchased an Atlantis (red blend) and Holystone Zinfandel. 

It was not time to stop for lunch.

Stop #4: Ventana Grill in Pismo Beach

Price: $10-$18 for entree

The view from our table.

View looking out the other direction.

While at Tolosa Winery we had asked for a lunch recommendation along the coast with a bit of a view. We were not steered wrong. The view during lunch was amazing. The food was decent as well. I had a skirt steak sandwich that alright. Mom had a chicken sandwich that was very good. However, I will be coming back here to try their mexican dishes. We say many of them come out of the kitchen while we were there and they all looked very good. The lunch salads also looked incredible. For the location the price was not half bad. Sandwiches were about $10-$14 and for the fish dishes you were looking at a few dollars more. All in all, a great place to relax and watch the surf.

Stop #5: Doug and Jane's

Priceless time and fun!!

I always love coming to Doug and Jane's house and spending time with them and their kids. It is just so much fun. The town of Santa Barbara is amazing. We always have wonderful food. We just have a genuinely good time. The evening we were their Doug (who always makes amazing food!) made a Moroccan Lamb dish and black peppercorn salmon. Oh so yummy!! We had a lovely evening chatting and drinking tea. The next morning we had coffee at Via Maestro, and Jane's brother dropped off these from his bakery:

After some coffee, Mom and I started to head back up the coast to home. 

Stop #6: Hendry's Dog Beach

Mom brought her itty bitty dog with us for out little trip. (Sunset stayed home with some friends of hers) Rosie has seen the snow but hadn't been to the beach yet, so we decided to introduce her. She wasn't too sure of the waves. We had to drop her and run to try and get some pictures so you can see just how tiny she us up against the waves in the background.

Stop #7: Splash Cafe in Pismo Beach

Price: $3 for a fish taco - $7 for sandwich plates and chowder in a bread bowl

Said to have world famous clam chowder this was somewhere we needed to check out. Mom and I usually go to Brophy Brothers in Santa Barbara for clam chowder but didn't make it there this trip. This place had great reviews and came recommended by a few friends. Unfortunately I would disagree with the best clam chowder ever. For me it had way too much butter and that was about all I could taste. The bread bowl, however, was good. They butter and grill it! We ordered salmon tacos as well. They were stuffed to the brim and very, very messy. The salmon was good, but the avocado and cilantro relish on top was amazing. This is not somewhere I would go out of my way to go to. 

We made it back home and picked up Sunset from her friends house. 

Everybody had a great little overnight!!