Santa Barbara Wine Country/"If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much."

Mom and Dad arrived in town Friday morning. I picked them up from the airport and we headed right up to wine country. We stopped in Santa Barbara on the way to grab a little lunch before starting inland ~ the weather was absolutely perfect. Mom and Dad really enjoyed the countryside and I think they were a little surprised to see how beautiful everything was just an hour or two outside of LA.














Last time Jodie and I went wine tasting, we stopped for breakfast in Solvang...(Paula's Pancake House...I'm sure I blogged it!) It's a cute little Dutch town and I thought it would be fun to stay there with Mom and Dad.









After checking in, we explored the town and did a little wine tasting at an event the hotel was hosting...then we headed back to our room and had our own wine party! I'd packed a great bottle of wine (Schoolhouse ~ Recess Red...thanks sista!) and a variety of cheeses for us to enjoy that nigth! We finished off the bottle before heading out to dinner (we walked, of course!).





























Saturday morning, we filled-up on some Dutch Pancakes and hit the road for some wine tasting. First Stop: Fess Parker. I knew mom would love this one because of the whole Davy Crockett connection! The grounds were stunning, as usual, and we were really able to relax there and enjoy the wines. We left with a couple of bottles and a few pieces of memorabilia ~ including one mini raccoon hat!





























































After examining the vines of Fess Parker, we decided to drive down to Los Olivos for a little walk and some fresh air before heading to Melville.




I thought Melville would be a great place to do our next wine tasting because it's so different from Fess. The tasting room has more of a Spanish feel and the wisteria covering the outside is gorgeous. A few good wines here, but unfortunately, a "know-it-all pourer".







































On the way home we stopped off at an Ostrich/Emu Farm...Yikes ~ Those birds are intimidating! We were able to get as close as we liked, but I kept my distance. We were also able to check out a real ostrich egg...equivalent to two dozen chicken eggs!

That night we had dinner at The Hitching Post...if you've seen Sideways, then you know it's a must! After dinner we weren't quite ready to call it a night, so we decided to go to this little wine bar we spotted the night before. We relaxed on a couple of sofas, had a few more glasses of wine, and enjoyed some entertainment ~ a retired Vegas performer turned limo company owner, know as Alan "Casanova" King. He was great! Although it was just a tiny place (the only one open late) there were a ton of "townies" there. They were definitely having a good time...dancing, drinking wine, singing along...and at one point informed the rest of us that "if you ain't Dutch, you ain't much"....I love Solvang!