by Bob Sparrow
We had the opportunity last Thursday to drive through the world of the movie, Sideways, on the Central Coast to visit my brother and his wife, Jack & Sharon in Santa Maria. We decided that we would leave Orange County during the middle of the day to avoid commuter traffic. How many years will it take living in Southern California to know that there is always commute traffic going through L.A.? At least we had good music on the radio; well I did, Linda was listening to her book through her ‘Meta Glasses’.
We had planned to meet them at our favorite restaurant up there, The Brother’s Red Barn in Santa Ynez, for a 6:00 o’clock dinner reservation. After we got through L.A., we had several hours to kill, so we stopped in Solvang, the quaint Scandinavian tourist town along the way and walked up and down the main street, grabbed a quick bite to eat and decided we’d seen enough. Truth be told, there was slot machine money burning a hole in Linda’s pocket, so we headed to the Chumash Indian Casino. We were proud to donate to the welfare of our indigenous people!
We met up with Jack & Sharon at the Red Barn; the reason it’s my favorite restaurant on the Central Coast is the petrale sole – it is the best fish I have ever tasted!
Friday after breakfast at Jack & Sharon’s we headed for the Fess Parker Winery, where Jack has worked in tasting room for 22 years! We had not been to the winery in several years and we observed lots of renovation as we sat on the patio and got the ‘free employee tasting’ of several very good wines. Yes, wine isn’t just for breakfast anymore! After the winery we headed back to the Chumash Indian Casino to get our money back! You can probably imagine the outcome. Actually, I did recoup some of my earlier losses as I stopped playing slots and only played blackjack. On our way home, it was hard not to be awed by the pastoral countryside with its beautiful rolling hills, plenty of large, sturdy oak trees and an occasional horse or cow grazing in the open fields. Beautiful!
Back to Jack & Sharons for Jack’s delicious barbequed rack of lamb and Ceasar salad and watching some March Madness basketball.
On Saturday we went to Presqu’ile Winery in Santa Maria Valley to meet up with Sharon’s daughter, Debbie and her husband, Steve, who are members of this winery. It is located high atop a hill with breathtaking views of sprawling vineyards and the Pacific Ocean. We tasted various wines as well as had a spread of scrumptious food. Later that afternoon, we were invited over to Debbie and Steve’s for some pizza and more wine tasting. Steve has been making wine for many years now and I tried one of his Syrahs – delicious!!! He also made me a delicious smoked Old Fashion. Diet starts Monday!
Home on Sunday full of food, wine and joy – always a great time seeing Jack and Sharon.